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Google has removed two new malicious dropper apps that have been detected on the Play Store for Android, one of which posed as a lifestyle app and was caught distributing the Xenomorph banking malware. "Xenomorph is a trojan that steals credentials from banking applications on users' devices," Zscaler ThreatLabz researchers Himanshu Sharma and Viral Gandhi  said  in an analysis published Thursday. "It is also capable of intercepting users' SMS messages and notifications, enabling it to steal one-time passwords and multi-factor authentication requests." The cybersecurity firm said it also found an expense tracker app that exhibited similar behavior, but noted that it couldn't extract the URL used to fetch the malware artifact. The two malicious apps are as follows - Todo: Day manager (com.todo.daymanager) 経費キーパー (com.setprice.expenses) Both the apps function as a dropper, meaning the apps themselves are harmless and are a conduit to retrieve t...

When you are trying to get another layer of cyber protection that would not require a lot of resources, you are most likely choosing between a VPN service & a DNS Security solution. Let's discuss both.  VPN Explained VPN stands for Virtual Private Networks and basically hides your IP and provides an encrypted server by redirecting your traffic via a server run by a VPN host. It establishes a protected connection in public networks. It does protect your actions from being seen by your ISP and potential hackers, however, it does not provide full protection and can still let intrusions happen.  Worth noting, VPN does gain access to restricted resources in your region, but bear in mind, it might be collecting your personal data. This problem relates mostly to free and cheap VPN services. In addition to that, VPNs, depending on their type, can proxy requests or not. Most of the free ones do not even encrypt your data. According to Cybernews, last year 20 million emails and...

Multiple high-severity flaws have been uncovered in the open source OpenLiteSpeed Web Server as well as its enterprise variant that could be weaponized to achieve remote code execution. "By chaining and exploiting the vulnerabilities, adversaries could compromise the web server and gain fully privileged remote code execution," Palo Alto Networks Unit 42  said  in a Thursday report. OpenLiteSpeed , the open source edition of LiteSpeed Web Server, is the sixth most popular web server, accounting for 1.9 million unique servers across the world. The first of the three flaws is a directory traversal flaw ( CVE-2022-0072 , CVSS score: 5.8), which could be exploited to access forbidden files in the web root directory. The remaining two vulnerabilities ( CVE-2022-0073  and  CVE-2022-0074 , CVSS scores: 8.8) relate to a case of privilege escalation and command injection, respectively, that could be chained to achieve privileged code execution. "A threat actor who man...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced charges against a dual Russian and Canadian national for his alleged participation in  LockBit ransomware attacks  across the world. The 33-year-old Ontario resident,  Mikhail Vasiliev , has been taken into custody and is awaiting extradition to the U.S., where is likely to be sentenced for a maximum of five years in prison. Vasiliev has been charged with conspiracy to intentionally damage protected computers and to transmit ransom demands, according to a  criminal complaint  filed in the District of New Jersey. A search of the defendant's home in August and October 2022 by Canadian law enforcement unearthed a file stored on a device containing what's suspected to be a list of "prospective or historical" victims as well as screenshots of communications exchanged with "LockBitSupp" on the Tox messaging platform. Also found were a text file with instructions to deploy LockBit ransomware, the malware'...

It's no secret that antivirus software is as essential to your computer as a power cord. However, the threats don't stop at your devices. For example, criminals trying to steal your data can attack your Wi-Fi router, and phishing attempts can target your email.  ESET's latest consumer product release takes a comprehensive approach to security to guard against a full range of threats. All are built with ESET's signature light footprint for gaming, browsing, shopping and socializing with no interruptions or slowdowns. Introducing enhanced security for Windows, Mac and Android For more than 30 years, ESET® has created industry-leading IT security software and services, protecting businesses worldwide from ever-evolving digital threats.  ESET's solutions for consumers use the same advanced technologies. By protecting your digital life, ESET delivers real-world protection against criminals trying to steal your identity, hack your bank account or lock down your com...

Microsoft on Thursday attributed the recent spate of ransomware incidents targeting transportation and logistics sectors in Ukraine and Poland to a threat cluster that shares overlaps with the Russian state-sponsored  Sandworm group . The attacks, which were disclosed by the tech giant last month, involved a strain of previously undocumented malware called  Prestige  and is said to have taken place within an hour of each other across all victims. The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) is now tracking the threat actor under its element-themed moniker Iridium (née DEV-0960), a Russia-based group that's publicly tracked by the name Sandworm (aka Iron Viking, TeleBots, and Voodoo Bear). "This attribution assessment is based on forensic artifacts, as well as overlaps in victimology, tradecraft, capabilities, and infrastructure, with known Iridium activity," MSTIC  said  in an update. The company also further assessed the group to have orchestrated comp...

Cybersecurity researchers are warning of "massive phishing campaigns" that distribute five different malware targeting banking users in India. "The bank customers targeted include account subscribers of seven banks, including some of the most well-known banks located in the country and potentially affecting millions of customers," Trend Micro  said  in a report published this week. Some of the targeted banks include Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and the State Bank of India (SBI), among others. The infection chains all have a common entry point in that they rely on SMS messages containing a phishing link that urge potential victims to enter their personal details and credit card information to supposedly get a tax refund or gain credit card reward points. The smishing attacks, which deliver Elibomi, FakeReward, AxBanker, IcRAT, and IcSpy, are just the latest in a series of similar rewards-themed malware campaigns that have been documented by  Microsoft, Cyble , and  K...

Google has resolved a high-severity security issue affecting all Pixel smartphones that could be trivially exploited to unlock the devices. The vulnerability, tracked as  CVE-2022-20465  and reported by security researcher David Schütz in June 2022, was remediated as part of the search giant's  monthly Android update  for November 2022. "The issue allowed an attacker with physical access to bypass the lock screen protections (fingerprint, PIN, etc.) and gain complete access to the user's device," Schütz, who was awarded $70,000 for the lock screen bypass,  said  in a write-up of the flaw. The problem, per the researcher, is rooted in the fact that lock screen protections are completely defeated when following a specific sequence of steps - Supply incorrect fingerprint three times to disable biometric authentication on the locked device Hot swap  the SIM card in the device with an attacker-controlled SIM that has a PIN code set up Enter incorre...

A malicious package discovered on the Python Package Index (PyPI) has been found employing a steganographic trick to conceal malicious code within image files. The package in question, named " apicolor ," was uploaded to the Python third-party repository on October 31, 2022, and described as a "Core lib for REST API," according to Israeli cybersecurity firm  Check Point . It has since been  taken down . Apicolor, like other  rogue packages  detected recently, harbors its malicious behavior in the setup script used to specify metadata associated with the package, such as its dependencies. This takes the form of a second package called "judyb" as well as a seemingly harmless PNG file ("8F4D2uF.png") hosted on Imgur, an image-sharing service. "The judyb code turned out to be a steganography module, responsible [for] hiding and revealing hidden messages inside pictures," Check Point explained. The attack chain entails using the judy...

Cybersecurity Awareness Month has been going on since 2004. This year,  Cybersecurity Awareness Month  urged the public, professionals, and industry partners to "see themselves in cyber" in the following ways:  The public, by taking action to stay safe online. Professionals, by joining the cyber workforce. Cyber industry partners, as part of the cybersecurity solution. CISA outlined four "things you can do" to stay safe online for individuals and families, including updating their software, thinking before they click, using strong passwords, and enabling multifactor authentication on sensitive accounts. The industry has been teaching security tips to employees and the public for a long time. With so much repetitive media and education on cyber awareness in the rearview mirror, the returning October focus weighs on many. Here's a roundup of reactions to cyber month and traction from this year's themes and messaging which should tell us if there's ...

Citrix has released  security updates  to address a critical authentication bypass flaw in the application delivery controller (ADC) and Gateway products that could be exploited to take control of affected systems. Successful exploitation of the issues could enable an adversary to gain authorized access, perform remote desktop takeover, and even circumvent defenses against login brute-force attempts under specific configurations. CVE-2022-27510  - Unauthorized access to Gateway user capabilities CVE-2022-27513  - Remote desktop takeover via phishing CVE-2022-27516  - User login brute-force protection functionality bypass The following supported versions of Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway are affected by the flaws - Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway 13.1 before 13.1-33.47  Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway 13.0 before 13.0-88.12  Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway 12.1 before 12.1.65.21 Citrix ADC 12.1-FIPS before 12.1-55.289 Citrix ADC 12.1-NDcPP befor...

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new vulnerability in a system used across oil and gas organizations that could be exploited by an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code. The high-severity issue, tracked as  CVE-2022-0902  (CVSS score: 8.1), is a path-traversal vulnerability in ABB Totalflow  flow computers and remote controllers . "Attackers can exploit this flaw to gain root access on an ABB flow computer, read and write files, and remotely execute code," industrial security company Claroty  said  in a report shared with The Hacker News. ABB, a Swedish-Swiss industrial automation firm, has since released  firmware updates  as of July 14, 2022, following responsible disclosure. Flow computers are special-purpose electronic instruments used by petrochemical manufacturers to interpret data from flow meters and calculate and record the volume of substances such as natural gas, crude oils, and other hydrocarbon fluids at ...

The rise in the costs of data breaches, ransomware, and other cyber attacks leads to rising cyber insurance premiums and more limited cyber insurance coverage. This cyber insurance situation increases risks for organizations struggling to find coverage or facing steep increases. Some  Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's  law firm clients, for example, reported a three-fold increase in insurance rates, and carriers are making "a huge pullback" on coverage limits in the past two years. Their cybersecurity practice co-head, Michelle Reed, adds, "The reduced coverage amount can no longer shield policyholders from cyber losses. A $10 million policy can end up with a $150,000 limit on cyber frauds." The cyber-insurance situation is so concerning that the U.S. Treasury Department recently issued a  request for public input  on a potential federal cyber-insurance response program. This request is in addition to the assessment led conjointly by the Federal Insura...

PC maker Lenovo has addressed yet another set of three shortcomings in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware affecting several Yoga, IdeaPad, and ThinkBook devices. "The vulnerabilities allow disabling UEFI Secure Boot or restoring factory default Secure Boot databases (incl. dbx): all simply from an OS," Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET  explained  in a series of tweets. UEFI refers to software that acts as an interface between the operating system and the firmware embedded in the device's hardware. Because UEFI is  responsible  for launching the operating system when a device is powered on, it has made the technology an attractive option for threat actors looking to  drop malware  that's difficult to detect and remove. Viewed in that light, the flaws, tracked as CVE-2022-3430, CVE-2022-3431, and CVE-2022-3432, could be abused by an adversary to turn off Secure Boot, a security mechanism that's designed to prevent malicious programs ...

The Russia-linked APT29 nation-state actor has been found leveraging a "lesser-known" Windows feature called Credential Roaming following a successful phishing attack against an unnamed European diplomatic entity. "The diplomatic-centric targeting is consistent with Russian strategic priorities as well as historic APT29 targeting," Mandiant researcher Thibault Van Geluwe de Berlaere  said  in a technical write-up. APT29, a Russian espionage group also called Cozy Bear, Iron Hemlock, and The Dukes, is  known  for its intrusions aimed at collecting intelligence that align with the country's strategic objectives. It's believed to be sponsored by the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). Some of the adversarial collective's cyber activities are tracked publicly under the moniker  Nobelium , a threat cluster responsible for the widespread supply chain compromise through SolarWinds software in December 2020. The Google-owned threat intelligence and inciden...

A number of phishing campaigns are leveraging the decentralized InterPlanetary Filesystem (IPFS) network to host malware, phishing kit infrastructure, and facilitate other attacks. "Multiple malware families are currently being hosted within IPFS and retrieved during the initial stages of malware attacks," Cisco Talos researcher Edmund Brumaghin said in an analysis shared with The Hacker News. The research mirrors similar findings from Trustwave SpiderLabs in July 2022, which  found  more than 3,000 emails containing IPFS phishing URLs as an attack vector, calling IPFS the new "hotbed" for hosting phishing sites. IPFS as a technology is both resilient to censorship and takedowns, making it a double-edged sword. Underlying it is a peer-to-peer (P2P) network which replicates content across all participating nodes so that even if a file is removed from one machine, requests for the resource can still be served via other systems. This also makes it ripe for abuse...

The Keksec threat actor has been linked to a previously undocumented malware strain, which has been observed in the wild masquerading as an extension for Chromium-based web browsers to enslave compromised machines into a botnet. Called  Cloud9  by security firm Zimperium, the malicious browser add-on comes with a wide range of features that enables it to siphon cookies, log keystrokes, inject arbitrary JavaScript code, mine crypto, and even enlist the host to carry out DDoS attacks. The extension "not only steals the information available during the browser session but can also install malware on a user's device and subsequently assume control of the entire device," Zimperium researcher Nipun Gupta  said  in a new report. The JavaScript botnet isn't distributed via Chrome Web Store or Microsoft Edge Add-ons, but rather through fake executables and rogue websites disguised as Adobe Flash Player updates. Once installed, the extension is designed to inject a JavaSc...

There are several myths and misconceptions about API security. These myths about securing APIs are crushing your business.  Why so? Because these myths are widening your security gaps. This is making it easier for attackers to abuse APIs. And API attacks are costly. Of course, you will have to bear financial losses. But there are other consequences too:  Reputational damage  Customer attrition  Loss of customer trust  Difficulty in acquiring new customers Legal costs  Massive fines and penalties for non-compliance In this article, we will debunk the top 5 myths about  securing APIs   Secure APIs Better: Top 5 API Security Myths Demystified  Myth 1: API Gateways, Existing IAM Tools, and WAFs are Enough to Secure API Reality:   These aren't enough to secure your APIs. They are layers in API security. They need to be part of a larger security solution.  API gateways monitor endpoints. They provide visibility into API usa...