insider threat | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Attacks on your network are often meticulously planned operations launched by sophisticated threats. Sometimes your technical fortifications provide a formidable challenge, and the attack requires assistance from the inside to succeed. For example, in 2022, the FBI issued a warning 1 that SIM swap attacks are growing: gain control of the phone and earn a gateway to email, bank accounts, stocks, bitcoins, identity credentials, and passwords. This past spring, current and former T-Mobile and Verizon employees reported receiving unsolicited text messages asking if they would be interested in some side cash 2 in exchange for intentionally enabling the " SIM jacking." These headline-grabbing stories about the malicious insider are certainly real, but many external attacks stem from a much less conspicuous source: the accidental insider . These are career employees, contractors, partners, or even temporary seasonal workers who, through negligence or lack of awareness, enable the exploit

Today, all organizations are exposed to the threat of cyber breaches, irrespective of their scale. Historically, larger companies were frequent targets due to their substantial resources, sensitive data, and regulatory responsibilities, whereas smaller entities often underestimated their attractiveness to hackers. However, this assumption is precarious, as cybercriminals frequently exploit perceived vulnerabilities in smaller firms for expedient profit.  Small to medium-sized organizations often lack the resources and expertise for robust privileged identity management . Yet they increasingly require PAM solutions. Fortunately, the market now offers numerous vendors specializing in these needs. Recognizing the demand for accessible solutions, these vendors provide affordable options tailored to organizations aiming to meet stringent compliance standards or enhance security practices, requiring minimal installation and maintenance to gain full access controls .  To enhance threat awa

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.

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

A recent study by Wing Security found that 63% of businesses may have former employees with access to organizational data, and that automating SaaS Security can help mitigate offboarding risks.  Employee offboarding is typically seen as a routine administrative task, but it can pose substantial security risks, if not handled correctly. Failing to quickly and thoroughly remove access for departing employees introduces serious insider threats, leaving a company vulnerable to multiple kinds of risks, such as data breaches, intellectual property theft, and regulatory non-compliance.  Today, where SaaS applications are easily onboarded and are commonly used by users within and beyond the organization, effective offboarding procedures are non-negotiable to prevent instances of data leaks and other cybersecurity issues. Let's explore insider risk management and user offboarding in more detail, looking at their security risks and discussing best practices for ensuring a secure organiz

A new report from XM Cyber has found – among other insights - a  dramatic  gap between where most organizations focus their security efforts, and where the most serious threats actually reside. The new report, Navigating the Paths of Risk: The State of Exposure Management in 2024, is based on hundreds of thousands of attack path assessments conducted by the  XM Cyber platform  during 2023. These assessments uncovered over 40 million exposures that affected millions of business-critical assets. Anonymized data regarding these exposures was then provided to the Cyentia Institute for independent analysis. To read the full report,  check it out here . Download the report to discover: Key findings on the types of exposures putting organizations at greatest risk of breach. The state of attack paths between on-prem and cloud networks. Top attack techniques seen in 2023. How to focus on what matters most, and remediate high-impact exposure risks to your critical assets. The

A former employee of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has been sentenced to nearly 22 years (262 months) in prison for attempting to transfer classified documents to Russia. "This sentence should serve as a stark warning to all those entrusted with protecting national defense information that there are consequences to betraying that trust,"  said  FBI Director Christopher Wray. Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 32, of Colorado Springs was employed as an Information Systems Security Designer between June 6 to July 1, 2022, during which time he had access to sensitive information. Despite his short tenure at the intelligence agency, Dalke is said to have made contact with a person he thought was a Russian agent sometime between August and September of that year. In reality, the person was an undercover agent working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). To demonstrate his "legitimate access and willingness to share," he then emailed the purported Russian ag

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced the indictment of a 38-year-old Chinese national and a California resident for allegedly stealing proprietary information from Google while covertly working for two China-based tech companies. Linwei Ding (aka Leon Ding), a former Google engineer who was arrested on March 6, 2024, "transferred sensitive Google trade secrets and other confidential information from Google's network to his personal account while secretly affiliating himself with PRC-based companies in the AI industry," the DoJ  said . The defendant is said to have pilfered from Google over 500 confidential files containing artificial intelligence (AI) trade secrets with the goal of passing them on to two unnamed Chinese companies looking to gain an edge in the ongoing AI race. "While Linwei Ding was employed as a software engineer at Google, he was secretly working to enrich himself and two companies based in the People's Republic of China," sa

A company's lifecycle stage, size, and state have a significant impact on its security needs, policies, and priorities. This is particularly true for modern mid-market companies that are either experiencing or have experienced rapid growth. As requirements and tasks continue to accumulate and malicious actors remain active around the clock, budgets are often stagnant at best. Yet, it is crucial to keep track of the tools and solutions that employees are introducing, the data and know-how shared through these tools, and to ensure that these processes are secure. This need is even more pronounced in today's dynamic and interconnected world, where third-party applications and solutions can be easily accessed and onboarded. The potential damage of losing control over the numerous applications with access and permissions to your data requires no explanation. Security leaders in mid-market companies face a unique set of challenges that demand a distinct approach to overcome.  To begin

A malicious Python script known as  SNS Sender  is being advertised as a way for threat actors to send bulk smishing messages by abusing Amazon Web Services (AWS) Simple Notification Service ( SNS ). The SMS phishing messages are designed to propagate malicious links that are designed to capture victims' personally identifiable information (PII) and payment card details, SentinelOne  said  in a new report, attributing it to a threat actor named ARDUINO_DAS. "The smishing scams often take the guise of a message from the United States Postal Service (USPS) regarding a missed package delivery," security researcher Alex Delamotte said. SNS Sender is also the first tool observed in the wild that leverages AWS SNS to conduct SMS spamming attacks. SentinelOne said that it identified links between ARDUINO_DAS and more than 150 phishing kits offered for sale. The malware requires a list of phishing links stored in a file named links.txt in its working directory, in addition t

Picture this: you stumble upon a concealed secret within your company's source code. Instantly, a wave of panic hits as you grasp the possible consequences. This one hidden secret has the power to pave the way for unauthorized entry, data breaches, and a damaged reputation. Understanding the secret is just the beginning; swift and resolute action becomes imperative. However, lacking the necessary context, you're left pondering the optimal steps to take. What's the right path forward in this situation? Secrets management is an essential aspect of any organization's security strategy. In a world where breaches are increasingly common, managing sensitive information such as API keys, credentials, and tokens can make all the difference. Secret scanners play a role in identifying exposed secrets within source code, but they have one significant limitation:  they don't provide context. And without context, it's impossible to devise an appropriate response plan. Con

Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems are a staple to ensure only authorized individuals or entities have access to specific resources in order to protect sensitive information and secure business assets. But did you know that today over 80% of attacks now involve identity, compromised credentials or bypassing the authentication mechanism? Recent breaches at MGM and Caesars have underscored that, despite best efforts, it is not "if" but "when" a successful attack will have bypassed authentication and authorization controls. Account takeover, when an unauthorized individual gains access to a legitimate user account, is now the number one attack vector of choice for malicious actors. With so much focus on controls for prevention, the necessary detection and rapid response to identity-based attacks is often overlooked. And since these attacks use stolen or compromised credentials, it can be difficult to distinguish from legitimate users without a layer of detection. Dive deep i

If forecasters are right, over the course of today, consumers will spend  $13.7 billion . Just about every click, sale, and engagement will be captured by a CRM platform. Inventory applications will trigger automated re-orders; communication tools will send automated email and text messages confirming sales and sharing shipping information.  SaaS applications supporting retail efforts will host nearly all of this behind-the-scenes activity. While retailers are rightfully focused on sales during this time of year, they need to ensure that the SaaS apps supporting their business operations are secure. No one wants a repeat of one of the biggest retail cyber-snafus in history, like when one U.S.-based national retailer had 40 million credit card records stolen.  The attack surface is vast and retailers must remain vigilant in protecting their entire SaaS app stack. For example, many often use multiple instances of the same application. They may use a different Salesforce tenant for eve

What do basketball teams, government agencies, and car manufacturers have in common? Each one has been breached, having confidential, proprietary, or private information stolen and exposed by insiders. In each case, the motivations and methods varied, but the risk remained the same: insiders have access to too much data with too few controls. Insider threats  continue to prove difficult for organizations to combat because — unlike an outsider — insiders can navigate sensitive data undetected and typically without suspicion. Cybersecurity is not the first industry to tackle insider threats, however. Espionage has a long history of facing and defending against insiders by using the "CIA Triad" principles of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Varonis' modern cybersecurity answer to insider risk is the data security triad of "sensitivity, access, and activity." Using these three dimensions of data security, you can help reduce the risk and impact of an insider attack. Sen