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Security researchers have disclosed an unpatched weakness in Microsoft Windows Platform Binary Table (WPBT) affecting all Windows-based devices since Windows 8 that could be potentially exploited to install a rootkit and compromise the integrity of devices. "These flaws make every Windows system vulnerable to easily-crafted attacks that install fraudulent vendor-specific tables," researchers from Eclypsium  said  in a report published on Monday. "These tables can be exploited by attackers with direct physical access, with remote access, or through manufacturer supply chains. More importantly, these motherboard-level flaws can obviate initiatives like  Secured-core  because of the ubiquitous usage of  ACPI  [Advanced Configuration and Power Interface] and WPBT." WPBT, introduced with Windows 8 in 2012, is a  feature  that enables "boot firmware to provide Windows with a platform binary that the operating system can execute."  In other wor...

Sysadmins know what the risks are of running unpatched services. Given the choice, and unlimited resources, most hardworking administrators will ensure that all systems and services are patched consistently. But things are rarely that simple. Technical resources are limited, and patching can often be more complicated than it appears at first glance. Worse, some services are so hidden in the background, that they just don't make it onto the list of things to be patched. QEMU is one of those services that tend to create difficulties with patching. It works away in the background and is easy to take for granted. Plus, patching QEMU involves significant technical and practical challenges – while requiring enormous resources. In this article, we'll address some of the difficulties around patching QEMU, and point to a solution that takes the toughest bits out of QEMU patching. Ignoring QEMU patching is a big risk You'll probably know about it if you're using QEMU – shor...

An "insidious" new SMS smishing malware has been found targeting Android mobile users in the U.S. and Canada as part of an ongoing campaign that uses SMS text message lures related to COVID-19 regulations and vaccine information in an attempt to steal personal and financial data. Proofpoint's messaging security subsidiary Cloudmark coined the emerging malware "TangleBot." "The malware has been given the moniker TangleBot because of its many levels of obfuscation and control over a myriad of entangled device functions, including contacts, SMS and phone capabilities, call logs, internet access, and camera and microphone," the researchers  said . Besides capabilities to obtain sensitive information, the malware is engineered to control device interaction with banking or financial apps using overlay screens and plunder account credentials from financial activities initiated on the phones. The attacks themselves originate from SMS messages that claim ...

If you invite guest users into your Entra ID tenant, you may be opening yourself up to a surprising risk.  A gap in access control in Microsoft Entra's subscription handling is allowing guest users to create and transfer subscriptions into the tenant they are invited into, while maintaining full ownership of them.  All the guest user needs are the permissions to create subscriptions in their home tenant, and an invitation as a guest user into an external tenant. Once inside, the guest user can create subscriptions in their home tenant, transfer them into the external tenant, and retain full ownership rights. This stealthy privilege escalation tactic allows a guest user to gain a privileged foothold in an environment where they should only have limited access. Many organizations treat guest accounts as low-risk based on their temporary, limited access, but this behavior, which works as designed, opens the door to known attack paths and lateral movement within the resource t...

More than one terabyte of data containing 5.5 million files has been left exposed, leaking personal information of over 100,000 customers of a Colombian real estate firm, according to cybersecurity company WizCase. The breach was discovered by Ata Hakçıl and his team in a database owned by Coninsa Ramon H, a company that specializes in architecture, engineering, construction, and real estate services. "There was no need for a password or login credentials to see this information, and the data was not encrypted," the researchers  said  in an exclusive report shared with The Hacker News. The data exposure is the result of a misconfigured Amazon Web Services (AWS) Simple Storage Service (S3) bucket, causing sensitive information such as clients' names, photos, and addresses to be disclosed. The details stored in the bucket range from invoices and income documents to quotes and account statements dating between 2014 and 2021. The complete list of information contained in...

Microsoft has opened the lid on a large-scale phishing-as-a-service (PHaaS) operation that's involved in selling phishing kits and email templates as well as providing hosting and automated services at a low cost, thus enabling cyber actors to purchase phishing campaigns and deploy them with minimal efforts. "With over 100 available phishing templates that mimic known brands and services, the BulletProofLink operation is responsible for many of the phishing campaigns that impact enterprises today," Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team  said  in a Tuesday report. "BulletProofLink (also referred to as BulletProftLink or Anthrax by its operators in various websites, ads, and other promotional materials) is used by multiple attacker groups in either one-off or monthly subscription-based business models, creating a steady revenue stream for its operators." The tech giant said it uncovered the operation during its investigation of a credential phishing...

As many as 11 security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in Nagios network management systems, some of which could be chained to achieve pre-authenticated remote code execution with the highest privileges, as well as lead to credential theft and phishing attacks.  Industrial cybersecurity firm Claroty, which discovered the flaws, said flaws in tools such as Nagios make them an attractive target owing to their "oversight of core servers, devices, and other critical components in the enterprise network." The issues have since been fixed in updates released in August with Nagios XI 5.8.5 or above, Nagios XI Switch Wizard 2.5.7 or above, Nagios XI Docker Wizard 1.13 or above, and Nagios XI WatchGuard 1.4.8 or above. " SolarWinds  and  Kaseya  were likely targeted not only because of their large and influential customer bases, but also because of their respective technologies' access to enterprise networks, whether it was managing IT, operational technology (OT), or ...

One of the determining factors of how much damage a cyber-attack cause is how fast organizations can respond to it. Time to response is critical for security teams, and it is a major hurdle for leaner teams. To help improve this metric and enhance organizations' ability to respond to attacks quickly, many endpoint detection and response (EDR) and extended detection and response (XDR) vendors have started including some form of automation in their platforms to reduce the need for manual intervention. XDR provider Cynet claims that they go beyond existing solutions when it comes to security automation. More than automating individual components, the Cynet 360 platform ( see a live demo here ) offers automation across every phase of incident response – from detection through remediation. The company uses a variety of tools and techniques to keep organizations safe and quickly respond to any emerging threat. How Cynet removes the guesswork from Incident Response  Cynet fully auto...