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The Problem The "2024 Attack Intelligence Report" from the staff at Rapid7 [1] is a well-researched, well-written report that is worthy of careful study. Some key takeaways are:  53% of the over 30 new vulnerabilities that were widely exploited in 2023 and at the start of 2024 were zero-days . More mass compromise events arose from zero-day vulnerabilities than from n-day vulnerabilities. Nearly a quarter of widespread attacks were zero-day attacks where a single adversary compromised dozens to hundreds of organizations simultaneously. Attackers are moving from initial access to exploitation in minutes or hours rather than days or weeks. So the conventional patch and put strategy is as effective as a firetruck showing up after a building has burned to the ground! Of course, patch and put could prevent future attacks, but taking into account that patch development takes from days to weeks [2] and that the average time to apply critical patches is 16 days [3], devices are vulner

Apple has released a firmware update for AirPods that could allow a malicious actor to gain access to the headphones in an unauthorized manner. Tracked as CVE-2024-27867, the authentication issue affects AirPods (2nd generation and later), AirPods Pro (all models), AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, and Beats Fit Pro. "When your headphones are seeking a connection request to one of your previously paired devices, an attacker in Bluetooth range might be able to spoof the intended source device and gain access to your headphones," Apple said in a Tuesday advisory. In other words, an adversary in physical proximity could exploit the vulnerability to eavesdrop on private conversations. Apple said the issue has been addressed with improved state management. Jonas Dreßler has been credited with discovering and reporting the flaw. It has been patched as part of AirPods Firmware Update 6A326, AirPods Firmware Update 6F8, and Beats Firmware Update 6F8. The development comes two week

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.

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed multiple security flaws in Cinterion cellular modems that could be potentially exploited by threat actors to access sensitive information and achieve code execution. "These vulnerabilities include critical flaws that permit remote code execution and unauthorized privilege escalation, posing substantial risks to integral communication networks and IoT devices foundational to industrial, healthcare, automotive, financial and telecommunications sectors," Kaspersky  said . Cinterion modems were originally developed by Gemalto before the business was  acquired  by Telit from Thales as part of a deal announced in July 2022. The findings were  presented  at the OffensiveCon held in Berlin on May 11. The list of eight flaws is as follows - CVE-2023-47610  (CVSS score: 8.1) - A buffer overflow vulnerability that could allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system by sending a specially crafted S

The U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is calling on manufacturers of smart devices to comply with new legislation that prohibits them from using default passwords, effective April 29, 2024. "The law, known as the  Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure act  (or PSTI act), will help consumers to choose smart devices that have been designed to provide ongoing protection against cyber attacks," the NCSC  said . To that end, manufacturers are required to not supply devices that use guessable default passwords, provide a point of contact to report security issues, and state the duration for which their devices are expected to receive important security updates. Default passwords can not only be easily found online, they also act as a vector for threat actors to log in to devices for follow-on exploitation. That said, a unique default password is permissible under the law. The law, which aims to enforce a set of minimum security standards across the b

Cisco is warning about a global surge in brute-force attacks targeting various devices, including Virtual Private Network (VPN) services, web application authentication interfaces, and SSH services, since at least March 18, 2024. "These attacks all appear to be originating from TOR exit nodes and a range of other anonymizing tunnels and proxies," Cisco Talos  said . Successful attacks could pave the way for unauthorized network access, account lockouts, or denial-of-service conditions, the cybersecurity company added. The attacks, said to be broad and opportunistic, have been observed targeting the below devices - Cisco Secure Firewall VPN  Check Point VPN Fortinet VPN SonicWall VPN RD Web Services  MikroTik  Draytek  Ubiquiti  Cisco Talos described the brute-forcing attempts as using both generic and valid usernames for specific organizations, with the attacks indiscriminately targeting a wide range of sectors across geographies. The source IP addresses for

A botnet previously considered to be rendered inert has been observed enslaving end-of-life (EoL) small home/small office (SOHO) routers and IoT devices to fuel a criminal proxy service called Faceless. " TheMoon , which  emerged  in  2014 , has been operating quietly while growing to over 40,000 bots from 88 countries in January and February of 2024," the Black Lotus Labs team at Lumen Technologies  said . Faceless,  detailed  by security journalist Brian Krebs in April 2023, is a malicious residential proxy service that's offered its anonymity services to other threat actors for a negligible fee that costs less than a dollar per day. In doing so, it allows the customers to route their malicious traffic through tens of thousands of compromised systems advertised on the service, effectively concealing their true origins. The Faceless-backed infrastructure has been assessed to be used by operators of malware such as  SolarMarker  and  IcedID  to connect to their comm

Due to the rapid evolution of technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way business is conducted around the world. This advancement and the power of the IoT have been nothing short of transformational in making data-driven decisions, accelerating efficiencies, and streamlining operations to meet the demands of a competitive global marketplace. IoT At a Crossroads IoT, in its most basic terms, is the intersection of the physical and digital world with distinct applications and purposes. It is devices, sensors, and systems of all kinds harnessing the power of interconnectivity through the internet to provide seamless experiences for business. Up until today, we, as security professionals, have been very good at writing about the numerous and varying IoT applications and uses and have agreed upon the fact that the security of the IoT is important. However, have we really understood the big picture? And that is for IoT to really reach its full potential as a fully inter

Multiple high-severity security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in ConnectedIO's ER2000 edge routers and the cloud-based management platform that could be exploited by malicious actors to execute malicious code and access sensitive data. "An attacker could have leveraged these flaws to fully compromise the cloud infrastructure, remotely execute code, and leak all customer and device information," Claroty's Noam Moshe  said  in an analysis published last week. Vulnerabilities in 3G/4G routers could expose thousands of internal networks to severe threats, enabling bad actors to seize control, intercept traffic, and even infiltrate Extended Internet of Things (XIoT) things. The shortcomings impacting the ConnectedIO platform versions v2.1.0 and prior, primarily the 4G ER2000 edge router and cloud services, could be chained, permitting attackers to execute arbitrary code on the cloud-based devices without requiring direct access to them. Flaws have also been unea

The  Internet of Things (IoT)  is transforming efficiency in various sectors like healthcare and logistics but has also introduced new security risks, particularly IoT-driven DDoS attacks. This article explores how these attacks work, why they're uniquely problematic, and how to mitigate them. What Is IoT? IoT (Internet of Things) refers to online, interconnected devices that collect and exchange data. This broad category of devices includes sensors, cameras, network routers, and advanced machinery, and their integration into everyday life and work processes results in an ecosystem that can automate operations, improve decision-making, and enhance user experience. IoT: A Breeding Ground for Botnets IoT's rapid adoption amplifies its vulnerability, as poorly secured devices become easy prey for attackers and may become part of a botnet. Controlled by attackers, botnets can scale and rapidly execute various attacks, including DDoS, data theft, ad fraud, cryptocurrency mining, spam a

Malicious actors are constantly adapting their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to adapt to political, technological, and regulatory changes quickly. A few emerging threats that organizations of all sizes should be aware of include the following: Increased use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning : Malicious actors are increasingly leveraging AI and machine learning to automate their attacks, allowing them to scale their operations faster than ever before. The exploitation of cloud-based technologies:  Cloud-based services are increasingly being targeted by malicious actors due to the lack of visibility and control over these platforms. Increased use of ransomware:  Ransomware is becoming a more popular method of attack, allowing malicious actors to monetize their operations quickly. According to  CompTIA , ransomware attacks grew by 41% in 2022, while identification and remediation for a breach took 49 days longer than average. Phishing attacks  also increas

A pair of serious security defects has been disclosed in the Trusted Platform Module ( TPM ) 2.0 reference library specification that could potentially lead to information disclosure or privilege escalation. One of the vulnerabilities,  CVE-2023-1017 , concerns an out-of-bounds write, while the other,  CVE-2023-1018 , is described as an out-of-bounds read. Credited with discovering and reporting the issues in November 2022 is cybersecurity company Quarkslab. "These vulnerabilities can be triggered from user-mode applications by sending malicious commands to a TPM 2.0 whose firmware is based on an affected TCG reference implementation," the Trusted Computing Group (TCG)  said  in an advisory. Large tech vendors, organizations using enterprise computers, servers, IoT devices, and embedded systems that include a TPM can be impacted by the flaws, Quarkslab  noted , adding they "could affect billions of devices." TPM is a hardware-based solution (i.e., a crypto-pro

A new variant of the notorious Mirai botnet has been found leveraging several security vulnerabilities to propagate itself to Linux and IoT devices. Observed during the second half of 2022, the new version has been dubbed  V3G4  by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, which identified three different campaigns likely conducted by the same threat actor. "Once the vulnerable devices are compromised, they will be fully controlled by attackers and become a part of the botnet," Unit 42 researchers  said . "The threat actor has the capability to utilize those devices to conduct further attacks, such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks." The attacks primarily single out exposed servers and networking devices running Linux, with the adversary weaponizing as many as 13 flaws that could lead to remote code execution (RCE). Some of the notable flaws relate to critical flaws in Atlassian Confluence Server and Data Center, DrayTek Vigor routers, Airspan AirSpot, and Geu

A set of 38 security vulnerabilities has been uncovered in wireless industrial internet of things (IIoT) devices from four different vendors that could pose a significant attack surface for threat actors looking to exploit operational technology (OT) environments. "Threat actors can exploit vulnerabilities in Wireless IIoT devices to gain initial access to internal OT networks," Israeli industrial cybersecurity company Otorio  said . "They can use these vulnerabilities to bypass security layers and infiltrate target networks, putting critical infrastructure at risk or interrupting manufacturing." The flaws, in a nutshell, offer a remote entry point for attack, enabling unauthenticated adversaries to gain a foothold and subsequently use it as leverage to spread to other hosts, thereby causing serious damage. Some of the identified shortcomings could be chained to give an external actor direct access to thousands of internal OT networks over the internet, security