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Category — encryption
CISA Warns of Threat Actors Exploiting F5 BIG-IP Cookies for Network Reconnaissance

CISA Warns of Threat Actors Exploiting F5 BIG-IP Cookies for Network Reconnaissance

Oct 11, 2024 Vulnerability / Network Security
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning that it has observed threat actors leveraging unencrypted persistent cookies managed by the F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) module to conduct reconnaissance of target networks. It said the module is being used to enumerate other non-internet-facing devices on the network. The agency, however, did not disclose who is behind the activity, or what the end goals of the campaign are. "A malicious cyber actor could leverage the information gathered from unencrypted persistence cookies to infer or identify additional network resources and potentially exploit vulnerabilities found in other devices present on the network," CISA said in an advisory. It has also recommended organizations encrypt persistent cookies employed in F5 BIG-IP devices by configuring cookie encryption within the HTTP profile. Furthermore, it's urging users to verify the protection of their systems by running a diagnostic
Discord Introduces DAVE Protocol for End-to-End Encryption in Audio and Video Calls

Discord Introduces DAVE Protocol for End-to-End Encryption in Audio and Video Calls

Sep 23, 2024 Encryption / Data Protection
Popular social messaging platform Discord has announced that it's rolling out a new custom end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) protocol to secure audio and video calls. The protocol has been dubbed DAVE , short for Discord's audio and video end-to-end encryption ("E2EE A/V"). As part of the change introduced last week, voice and video in DMs, Group DMs, voice channels, and Go Live streams are expected to be migrated to use DAVE. That said, it's worth noting that messages on Discord will remain unencrypted and are subject to its content moderation approach. "When we consider adding new privacy features like E2EE A/V, we do not do so in isolation from safety," Discord said . "That is why safety is integrated across our product and policies, and why messages on Discord are unencrypted." "Messages will still be subject to our content moderation approach, allowing us to continue offering additional safety protections." DAVE is publicly au
How to Get Going with CTEM When You Don't Know Where to Start

How to Get Going with CTEM When You Don't Know Where to Start

Oct 04, 2024Vulnerability Management / Security Posture
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a strategic framework that helps organizations continuously assess and manage cyber risk. It breaks down the complex task of managing security threats into five distinct stages: Scoping, Discovery, Prioritization, Validation, and Mobilization. Each of these stages plays a crucial role in identifying, addressing, and mitigating vulnerabilities - before they can be exploited by attackers.  On paper, CTEM sounds great . But where the rubber meets the road – especially for CTEM neophytes - implementing CTEM can seem overwhelming. The process of putting CTEM principles into practice can look prohibitively complex at first. However, with the right tools and a clear understanding of each stage, CTEM can be an effective method for strengthening your organization's security posture.  That's why I've put together a step-by-step guide on which tools to use for which stage. Want to learn more? Read on… Stage 1: Scoping  When you're defin
Chrome Users Can Now Sync Passkeys Across Devices with New Google PIN Feature

Chrome Users Can Now Sync Passkeys Across Devices with New Google PIN Feature

Sep 20, 2024 Encryption / Digital Security
Google on Thursday unveiled a Password Manager PIN to let Chrome web users sync their passkeys across Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, and Android devices. "This PIN adds an additional layer of security to ensure your passkeys are end-to-end encrypted and can't be accessed by anyone, not even Google," Chrome product manager Chirag Desai said . The PIN is a six-digit code by default, although it's also possible to create a longer alpha-numeric PIN by selecting "PIN options." This marks a change from the previous status quo where users could only save passkeys to save passkeys to Google Password Manager on Android. While the passkeys could be used on other platforms, it was necessary to scan a QR code using the device where they were generated. The latest change removes that step, making it a lot easier for users to sign in to online services using passkeys by simply scanning their biometrics. Google noted that support for iOS is expected to arrive soon
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The State of SaaS Security 2024 Report

websiteAppOmniSaaS Security / Data Security
Learn the latest SaaS security trends and discover how to boost your cyber resilience. Get your free…
GSMA Plans End-to-End Encryption for Cross-Platform RCS Messaging

GSMA Plans End-to-End Encryption for Cross-Platform RCS Messaging

Sep 18, 2024 Mobile Security / Encryption
The GSM Association (GSMA), the governing body that oversees the development of the Rich Communications Services (RCS) protocol, on Tuesday, said it's working towards implementing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to secure messages sent between the Android and iOS ecosystems. "The next major milestone is for the RCS Universal Profile to add important user protections such as interoperable end-to-end encryption," Tom Van Pelt, technical director of GSMA, said . "This will be the first deployment of standardized, interoperable messaging encryption between different computing platforms, addressing significant technical challenges such as key federation and cryptographically-enforced group membership." The development comes a day after Apple officially rolled out iOS 18 with support for RCS in its Messages app, which comes with advanced features like message reactions, typing indications, read receipts, and high-quality media sharing, among others. RCS, an impro
Google Chrome Switches to ML-KEM for Post-Quantum Cryptography Defense

Google Chrome Switches to ML-KEM for Post-Quantum Cryptography Defense

Sep 17, 2024 Browser Security / Quantum Computing
Google has announced that it will be switching from KYBER to ML-KEM in its Chrome web browser as part of its ongoing efforts to defend against the risk posed by cryptographically relevant quantum computers ( CRQCs ). "Chrome will offer a key share prediction for hybrid ML-KEM (codepoint 0x11EC)," David Adrian, David Benjamin, Bob Beck, and Devon O'Brien of the Chrome Team said . "The PostQuantumKeyAgreementEnabled flag and enterprise policy will apply to both Kyber and ML-KEM." The changes are expected to take effect in Chrome version 131, which is on track for release in early November 2024. Google noted that the two hybrid post-quantum key exchange approaches are essentially incompatible with each other, prompting it to abandon KYBER. "The changes to the final version of ML-KEM make it incompatible with the previously deployed version of Kyber," the company said. "As a result, the codepoint in TLS for hybrid post-quantum key exchange is ch
New RAMBO Attack Uses RAM Radio Signals to Steal Data from Air-Gapped Networks

New RAMBO Attack Uses RAM Radio Signals to Steal Data from Air-Gapped Networks

Sep 09, 2024 Vulnerability / Hardware Security
A novel side-channel attack has been found to leverage radio signals emanated by a device's random access memory (RAM) as a data exfiltration mechanism, posing a threat to air-gapped networks. The technique has been codenamed RAMBO (short for "Radiation of Air-gapped Memory Bus for Offense") by Dr. Mordechai Guri, the head of the Offensive Cyber Research Lab in the Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. "Using software-generated radio signals, malware can encode sensitive information such as files, images, keylogging, biometric information, and encryption keys," Dr. Guri said in a newly published research paper. "With software-defined radio (SDR) hardware, and a simple off-the-shelf antenna, an attacker can intercept transmitted raw radio signals from a distance. The signals can then be decoded and translated back into binary information." Over the years, Dr. Guri has conco
Pavel Durov Criticizes Outdated Laws After Arrest Over Telegram Criminal Activity

Pavel Durov Criticizes Outdated Laws After Arrest Over Telegram Criminal Activity

Sep 06, 2024 Privacy / Data Security
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has broken his silence nearly two weeks after his arrest in France, stating the charges are misguided. "If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start a legal action against the service itself," Durov said in a 600-word statement on his Telegram account. "Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third-parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach." Durov was charged late last month for enabling various forms of criminal activity on Telegram, including drug trafficking and money laundering, following a probe into an unnamed person's distribution of child sexual abuse material on the messaging service. He also highlighted the struggles to balance both privacy and security, noting that Telegram is ready to exit markets that aren't compatible with its mission to "protect our users in authoritarian regimes." Durov also blamed &q
New Rust-Based Ransomware Cicada3301 Targets Windows and Linux Systems

New Rust-Based Ransomware Cicada3301 Targets Windows and Linux Systems

Sep 03, 2024 Endpoint Security / Malware
Cybersecurity researchers have unpacked the inner workings of a new ransomware variant called Cicada3301 that shares similarities with the now-defunct BlackCat (aka ALPHV) operation. "It appears that Cicada3301 ransomware primarily targets small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), likely through opportunistic attacks that exploit vulnerabilities as the initial access vector," cybersecurity company Morphisec said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. Written in Rust and capable of targeting both Windows and Linux/ESXi hosts, Cicada3301 first emerged in June 2024, inviting potential affiliates to join their ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platform via an advertisement on the RAMP underground forum. A notable aspect of the ransomware is that the executable embeds the compromised user's credentials, which are then used to run PsExec , a legitimate tool that makes it possible to run programs remotely. Cicada3301's similarities with BlackCat also extend t
French Authorities Charge Telegram CEO with Facilitating Criminal Activities on Platform

French Authorities Charge Telegram CEO with Facilitating Criminal Activities on Platform

Aug 29, 2024 Online Crime / Privacy
French prosecutors on Wednesday formally charged Telegram CEO Pavel Durov with facilitating a litany of criminal activity on the popular messaging platform and placed him under formal investigation following his arrest Saturday. Russian-born Durov, who is also a French citizen, has been charged with being complicit in the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) as well as enabling organized crime, illicit transactions, drug trafficking, and fraud. Durov has also been charged with a "refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law," according to an English translation of the press release. The 39-year-old was detained at Le Bourget airport north of Paris at 8 p.m. local time on Saturday after disembarking from a private jet. To avoid pretrial detention, Durov has been ordered to pay a €5 million bail, but he is barred from leaving the country and must rep
Unpacking Slack Hacks: 6 Ways to Protect Sensitive Data with Secure Collaboration

Unpacking Slack Hacks: 6 Ways to Protect Sensitive Data with Secure Collaboration

Aug 26, 2024 Data Security / Compliance
Nowadays, sensitive and critical data is traveling in everyday business channels that offer only the basic level of security and encryption, and companies are often oblivious to the risk. A case in point: Disney suffered a devastating data leak by a hacktivist group known as NullBulge that got hold of over 1.2 terabytes of data from Disney's internal Slack messaging channels. The breach exposed sensitive information, including: details about unreleased projects, computer code, login details and passwords, and Intellectual Property (IP) and corporate secrets. Slack breaches have also impacted companies like Uber, Rockstar, and Electronic Arts (EA). Cisco Webex used by the German Bundeswehr leaked data from hundreds of meetings, some classified. Outlook was breached by Chinese hackers last year. We have nothing against any of the tools above. They are all great collaboration tools. However, just like companies don't allow developers to use just any old tool to push code to p
Obfuscation: There Are Two Sides To Everything

Obfuscation: There Are Two Sides To Everything

Aug 01, 2024 Software Security / Threat Detection
How to detect and prevent attackers from using these various techniques Obfuscation is an important technique for protecting software that also carries risks, especially when used by malware authors. In this article, we examine obfuscation, its effects, and responses to it. What Is Obfuscation? Obfuscation is the technique of intentionally making information difficult to read, especially in computer coding. An important use case is data obfuscation, in which sensitive data is made unrecognizable to protect it from unauthorized access. Various methods are used for this.  For example, only the last four digits of a credit card number are often displayed, while the remaining digits are replaced by Xs or asterisks. In contrast, encryption involves converting data into an unreadable form that can only be decrypted using a special key. Obfuscation In Code When computer code is obfuscated, complex language and redundant logic are used to make the code difficult to understand. The aim?
How Searchable Encryption Changes the Data Security Game

How Searchable Encryption Changes the Data Security Game

Jul 29, 2024 Data Security / Encryption
Searchable Encryption has long been a mystery. An oxymoron. An unattainable dream of cybersecurity professionals everywhere. Organizations know they must encrypt their most valuable, sensitive data to prevent data theft and breaches. They also understand that organizational data exists to be used. To be searched, viewed, and modified to keep businesses running. Unfortunately, our Network and Data Security Engineers were taught for decades that you just can't search or edit data while in an encrypted state. The best they could do was to wrap that plaintext, unencrypted data within a cocoon of complex hardware, software, policies, controls, and governance. And how has that worked to date? Just look at the T-Mobile breach, the United Healthcare breach, Uber, Verizon, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Bank of America, Prudential… and the list goes on. All the data that was stolen in those breaches remained unencrypted to support day-to-day operations. It's safe to conclude that the way we
RADIUS Protocol Vulnerability Exposes Networks to MitM Attacks

RADIUS Protocol Vulnerability Exposes Networks to MitM Attacks

Jul 09, 2024 Vulnerability / Network Security
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a security vulnerability in the RADIUS network authentication protocol called BlastRADIUS that could be exploited by an attacker to stage Mallory-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks and bypass integrity checks under certain circumstances. "The RADIUS protocol allows certain Access-Request messages to have no integrity or authentication checks," InkBridge Networks CEO Alan DeKok, who is the creator of the FreeRADIUS Project , said in a statement. "As a result, an attacker can modify these packets without detection. The attacker would be able to force any user to authenticate, and to give any authorization (VLAN, etc.) to that user." RADIUS, short for Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service, is a client/server protocol that provides centralized authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) management for users who connect and use a network service. The security of RADIUS is reliant on a hash that's derived usi
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