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Category — ddos
Zyxel Patches Critical OS Command Injection Flaw in Access Points and Routers

Zyxel Patches Critical OS Command Injection Flaw in Access Points and Routers

Sep 04, 2024 Vulnerability / Network Security
Zyxel has released software updates to address a critical security flaw impacting certain access point (AP) and security router versions that could result in the execution of unauthorized commands. Tracked as CVE-2024-7261 (CVSS score: 9.8), the vulnerability has been described as a case of operating system (OS) command injection. "The improper neutralization of special elements in the parameter 'host' in the CGI program of some AP and security router versions could allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute OS commands by sending a crafted cookie to a vulnerable device," Zyxel said in an advisory. Chengchao Ai from the ROIS team of Fuzhou University has been credited with discovering and reporting the flaw. Zyxel has also shipped updates for eight vulnerabilities in its routers and firewalls, including few that are high in severity, that could result in OS command execution, a denial-of-service (DoS), or access browser-based information - CVE-2024
DDoS Attacks Surge 46% in First Half of 2024, Gcore Report Reveals

DDoS Attacks Surge 46% in First Half of 2024, Gcore Report Reveals

Aug 14, 2024 Network Security / Cyber Threat
Monitoring evolving DDoS trends is essential for anticipating threats and adapting defensive strategies. The comprehensive Gcore Radar Report for the first half of 2024 provides detailed insights into DDoS attack data, showcasing changes in attack patterns and the broader landscape of cyber threats. Here, we share a selection of findings from the full report. Key Takeaways The number of DDoS attacks in H1 2024 has increased by 46% compared to the same period last year, reaching 445K in Q2 2024. Compared to data for the previous six months (Q3–4 2023), it increased by 34%. Peak attack power increased slightly: The most powerful attack in H1 2024 reached 1.7 Tbps. By comparison, in 2023, it was 1.6 Tbps. Although there has only been an increase of 0.1 Tbps in a year, this still indicates a gain in power that poses a significant danger. To put this into perspective, a terabit per second (Tbps) represents a massive amount of data flooding a network, equivalent to over 212,000 high-d
5 Actionable Steps to Prevent GenAI Data Leaks Without Fully Blocking AI Usage

5 Actionable Steps to Prevent GenAI Data Leaks Without Fully Blocking AI Usage

Oct 01, 2024Generative AI / Data Protection
Since its emergence, Generative AI has revolutionized enterprise productivity. GenAI tools enable faster and more effective software development, financial analysis, business planning, and customer engagement. However, this business agility comes with significant risks, particularly the potential for sensitive data leakage. As organizations attempt to balance productivity gains with security concerns, many have been forced to choose between unrestricted GenAI usage to banning it altogether. A new e-guide by LayerX titled 5 Actionable Measures to Prevent Data Leakage Through Generative AI Tools is designed to help organizations navigate the challenges of GenAI usage in the workplace. The guide offers practical steps for security managers to protect sensitive corporate data while still reaping the productivity benefits of GenAI tools like ChatGPT. This approach is intended to allow companies to strike the right balance between innovation and security. Why Worry About ChatGPT? The e
Muhstik Botnet Exploiting Apache RocketMQ Flaw to Expand DDoS Attacks

Muhstik Botnet Exploiting Apache RocketMQ Flaw to Expand DDoS Attacks

Jun 06, 2024 Botnet / DDoS Attack
Muhstik botnet exploits a critical Apache RocketMQ flaw (CVE-2023-33246) for remote code execution , targeting Linux servers and IoT devices for DDoS attacks and cryptocurrency mining . Infection involves executing a shell script from a remote IP, downloading the Muhstik malware binary ("pty3") , and ensuring persistence by copying to multiple directories and editing system files. With over 5,000 vulnerable Apache RocketMQ instances still exposed, organizations must update to the latest version to mitigate risks, while securing MS-SQL servers against brute-force attacks and ensuring regular password changes. The distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) botnet known as Muhstik has been observed leveraging a now-patched security flaw impacting Apache RocketMQ to co-opt susceptible servers and expand its scale. "Muhstik is a well-known threat targeting IoT devices and Linux-based servers, notorious for its ability to infect devices and utilize the
cyber security

2024 State of SaaS Security Report eBook

websiteWing SecuritySaaS Security / Insider Threat
A research report featuring astonishing statistics on the security risks of third-party SaaS applications.
A New Age of Hacktivism

A New Age of Hacktivism

Feb 22, 2024 Hacktivism / Information Warfare
In the past 2 years, we have observed a significant surge in hacktivism activity due to ongoing wars and geopolitical conflicts in various regions. Since the war against Ukraine began, we have witnessed a notable mobilization of non-state and state-backed actors alike, forming new groups or joining existing hacker collectives.  We understand hacktivism as a form of computer hacking that is done to further the goals of political or social  activism 1 . While  activism  describes a normal, non-disruptive use of the Internet in order to support a specific cause (online petitions, fundraising, coordinating activities),  hacktivism  includes operations that use hacking techniques with the intent to disrupt but not to cause serious harm (e.g., data theft, website defacements, redirects, Denial-of-Service attacks). Cyber operations that inherit a willingness or intent to cause harm to physical property, severe economic damage or loss of life would be referred to as  cyberterrorism, 2, 3  Th
From Megabits to Terabits: Gcore Radar Warns of a New Era of DDoS Attacks

From Megabits to Terabits: Gcore Radar Warns of a New Era of DDoS Attacks

Jan 23, 2024 Cybersecurity / Server Security
As we enter 2024, Gcore has released its latest Gcore Radar report, a twice-annual publication in which the company releases internal analytics to track DDoS attacks. Gcore's broad, internationally distributed network of scrubbing centers allows them to follow attack trends over time. Read on to learn about DDoS attack trends for Q3–Q4 of 2023, and what they mean for developing a robust protection strategy in 2024. Gcore's Key Findings DDoS attack trends for the second half of 2023 reveal alarming developments in the scale and sophistication of cyberthreats. Unprecedented Attack Power The past three years have brought about a >100% annual increase in DDoS peak (registered maximum) attack volume: In 2021, the peak capacity of DDoS attacks was  300 Gbps In 2022, it increased to  650 Gbps In Q1–Q2 of 2023, it increased again to  800 Gbps In Q3–Q4 of 2023, it surged to  1600 Gbps  (1.6 Tbps) Notably, the jump in H2 of 2023 means the cybersecurity industry is measuring DDoS a
Remcos RAT Spreading Through Adult Games in New Attack Wave

Remcos RAT Spreading Through Adult Games in New Attack Wave

Jan 16, 2024 Botnet / Malware
The remote access trojan (RAT) known as Remcos RAT has been found being propagated via webhards by disguising it as adult-themed games in South Korea. WebHard, short for  web hard drive , is a popular online file storage system used to upload, download, and share files in the country. While webhards have been used in the past to deliver  njRAT ,  UDP RAT, and DDoS botnet malware , the AhnLab Security Emergency Response Center's (ASEC) latest analysis shows that the technique has been adopted to distribute Remcos RAT. In these attacks, users are tricked into opening booby-trapped files by passing them off as adult games, which, when launched, execute malicious Visual Basic scripts in order to run an intermediate binary named "ffmpeg.exe." This results in the retrieval of Remcos RAT from an actor-controlled server. A sophisticated RAT, Remcos (aka Remote Control and Surveillance) facilitates unauthorized remote control and surveillance of compromised hosts, enablin
New NKAbuse Malware Exploits NKN Blockchain Tech for DDoS Attacks

New NKAbuse Malware Exploits NKN Blockchain Tech for DDoS Attacks

Dec 15, 2023 Blockchain / Internet of Things
A novel multi-platform threat called  NKAbuse  has been discovered using a decentralized, peer-to-peer network connectivity protocol known as  NKN  (short for New Kind of Network) as a communications channel. "The malware utilizes NKN technology for data exchange between peers, functioning as a potent implant, and equipped with both flooder and backdoor capabilities," Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky  said  in a Thursday report. NKN, which has over 62,000 nodes, is  described  as a "software overlay network built on top of today's Internet that enables users to share unused bandwidth and earn token rewards." It incorporates a blockchain layer on top of the existing TCP/IP stack. While threat actors are known to take advantage of emerging communication protocols for command-and-control (C2) purposes and evade detection, NKAbuse leverages blockchain technology to conduct distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and function as an implant inside com
Record-Breaking 100 Million RPS DDoS Attack Exploits HTTP/2 Rapid Reset Flaw

Record-Breaking 100 Million RPS DDoS Attack Exploits HTTP/2 Rapid Reset Flaw

Oct 26, 2023 Network Security / Cyber Attack
Cloudflare on Thursday said it mitigated thousands of hyper-volumetric HTTP distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that exploited a recently disclosed flaw called  HTTP/2 Rapid Reset , 89 of which exceeded 100 million requests per second (RPS). "The campaign contributed to an overall increase of 65% in HTTP DDoS attack traffic in Q3 compared to the previous quarter ," the web infrastructure and security company said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "Similarly,  L3/4 DDoS attacks  also increased by 14%." The total number of HTTP DDoS attack requests in the quarter surged to 8.9 trillion, up from 5.4 trillion in Q2 2023 and 4.7 trillion in Q1 2023. The number of attack requests in Q4 2022 stood at 6.5 trillion. HTTP/2 Rapid Reset (CVE-2023-44487) came to light earlier this month following an industry-wide coordinated disclosure that delved into DDoS attacks orchestrated by an unknown actor by leveraging the flaw to target various providers such as
ShellBot Uses Hex IPs to Evade Detection in Attacks on Linux SSH Servers

ShellBot Uses Hex IPs to Evade Detection in Attacks on Linux SSH Servers

Oct 12, 2023
The threat actors behind ShellBot are leveraging IP addresses transformed into their hexadecimal notation to infiltrate poorly managed Linux SSH servers and deploy the DDoS malware. "The overall flow remains the same, but the download URL used by the threat actor to install ShellBot has changed from a regular IP address to a hexadecimal value," the AhnLab Security Emergency response Center (ASEC) said in a new report published today. ShellBot, also known by the name PerlBot, is known to breach servers that have weak SSH credentials by means of a dictionary attack , with the malware used as a conduit to stage DDoS attacks and deliver cryptocurrency miners . Developed in Perl, the malware uses the IRC protocol to communicate with a command-and-control (C2) server. The latest set of observed attacks involving ShellBot has been found to install the malware using hexadecimal IP addresses – hxxp://0x2763da4e/ which corresponds to 39.99.218[.]78 – in what's seen as an a
KmsdBot Malware Gets an Upgrade: Now Targets IoT Devices with Enhanced Capabilities

KmsdBot Malware Gets an Upgrade: Now Targets IoT Devices with Enhanced Capabilities

Aug 28, 2023 Internet of Things / Malware
An updated version of a botnet malware called  KmsdBot  is now targeting Internet of Things (IoT) devices, simultaneously branching out its capabilities and the attack surface. "The binary now includes support for  Telnet scanning  and support for more CPU architectures," Akamai security researcher Larry W. Cashdollar  said  in an analysis published this month. The latest iteration, observed since July 16, 2023, comes months after it emerged that the botnet is being offered as a  DDoS-for-hire service  to other threat actors. The fact that it's being actively maintained indicates its effectiveness in real-world attacks. KmsdBot was  first documented  by the web infrastructure and security company in November 2022. It's mainly employed to target private gaming servers and cloud hosting providers, although it has since set its eyes on some Romanian government and Spanish educational sites. The malware is designed to scan random IP addresses for open SSH ports and
U.S. Authorities Seize 13 Domains Offering Criminal DDoS-for-Hire Services

U.S. Authorities Seize 13 Domains Offering Criminal DDoS-for-Hire Services

May 09, 2023 Cyber Crime / DDoS Attack
U.S. authorities have announced the seizure of 13 internet domains that offered DDoS-for-hire services to other criminal actors. The takedown is part of an ongoing international initiative dubbed  Operation PowerOFF  that's aimed at dismantling criminal DDoS-for-hire infrastructures worldwide. The development comes almost five months after a "sweep" in December 2022  dismantled 48 similar services  for abetting paying users to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against targets of interest. This includes school districts, universities, financial institutions, and government websites, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ). Ten of the 13 illicit domains seized are "reincarnations" of booter or stresser services that were previously shuttered towards the end of last year. "In recent years, booter services have continued to proliferate, as they offer a low barrier to entry for users looking to engage in cybercriminal activity,
U.K. National Crime Agency Sets Up Fake DDoS-For-Hire Sites to Catch Cybercriminals

U.K. National Crime Agency Sets Up Fake DDoS-For-Hire Sites to Catch Cybercriminals

Mar 25, 2023 Cyber Crime / DDoS Attack
In what's a case of setting a thief to catch a thief, the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed that it has created a network of fake DDoS-for-hire websites to infiltrate the online criminal underground. "All of the NCA-run sites, which have so far been accessed by around several thousand people, have been created to look like they offer the tools and services that enable cyber criminals to execute these attacks," the law enforcement agency  said . "However, after users register, rather than being given access to cyber crime tools, their data is collated by investigators." The effort is part of an ongoing international joint effort called Operation PowerOFF in collaboration with authorities from the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and Europol aimed at dismantling criminal DDoS-for-hire infrastructures worldwide. DDoS-for-hire (aka "Booter" or "Stresser") services rent out access to a network of infected devices to other crim
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