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The threat actor behind the SolarWinds supply chain attack has been linked to yet another "highly targeted" post-exploitation malware that could be used to maintain persistent access to compromised environments. Dubbed  MagicWeb  by Microsoft's threat intelligence teams, the development reiterates Nobelium's commitment to developing and maintaining purpose-built capabilities. Nobelium is the tech giant's moniker for a cluster of activities that came to light with the  sophisticated attack targeting SolarWinds  in December 2020, and which overlaps with the Russian nation-state hacking group widely known as  APT29 , Cozy Bear, or The Dukes. "Nobelium remains highly active, executing multiple campaigns in parallel targeting government organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and think tanks across the US, Europe, and Central Asia," Microsoft  said . MagicWeb, which shares similarities with another t...

In recent months, the House of Representatives has been hard at work drafting various spending bills for the 2023 fiscal year. While these bills provide funding for a vast array of government programs and agencies, there was one thing that really stands out. Collectively, the bills that are making their way through the house  allocate a staggering $15.6 billion to cybersecurity spending . As you could probably guess, the lion's share of this spending ($11.2 billion) is being allocated to the Department of Defense. It is worth noting, however, that nearly $3 billion is going to the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Although it may be tempting to think of these cybersecurity budget allocations as just another example of excessive government spending, it's worth considering what a $15.6 billion cash infusion will mean for the IT security industry. It's equally important to consider why the US government finds it necessary to ramp up its cybersecurity...

The North Korean nation-state group Kimusky has been linked to a new set of malicious activities directed against political and diplomatic entities located in its southern counterpart since early 2022. Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky codenamed the cluster  GoldDragon , with the infection chains leading to the deployment of Windows malware designed to file lists, user keystrokes, and stored web browser login credentials. Included among the potential victims are South Korean university professors, think tank researchers, and government officials.  Kimsuky , also known as Black Banshee, Thallium, and Velvet Chollima, is the name given to a prolific North Korean advanced persistent threat (APT) group that targets entities globally, but with a primary focus on South Korea, to gain intelligence on various topics of interest to the regime. Known to be operating since 2012, the group has a history of employing social engineering tactics, spear-phishing, and watering hole at...

While phishing and ransomware dominate headlines, another critical risk quietly persists across most enterprises: exposed Git repositories leaking sensitive data. A risk that silently creates shadow access into core systems Git is the backbone of modern software development, hosting millions of repositories and serving thousands of organizations worldwide. Yet, amid the daily hustle of shipping code, developers may inadvertently leave behind API keys, tokens, or passwords in configuration files and code files, effectively handing attackers the keys to the kingdom. This isn't just about poor hygiene; it's a systemic and growing supply chain risk. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, so do compliance requirements. Security frameworks like NIS2, SOC2, and ISO 27001 now demand proof that software delivery pipelines are hardened and third-party risk is controlled. The message is clear: securing your Git repositories is no longer optional, it's essential. Below, we look at the ris...

The Python Package Index, PyPI, on Wednesday sounded the alarm about an ongoing phishing campaign that aims to steal developer credentials and inject malicious updates to legitimate packages. "This is the first known phishing attack against PyPI," the maintainers of the official third-party software repository  said  in a series of tweets. The social engineering attack entails sending security-themed messages that create a false sense of urgency by informing recipients that Google is implementing a mandatory validation process on all packages and that they need to click on a link to complete the validation before September, or risk getting their PyPI modules removed. Should an unsuspecting developer fall for the scheme, users are directed to a lookalike landing page that mimics PyPI's login page and is hosted on Google Sites, from where the entered credentials are captured and abused to unauthorizedly access the accounts and compromise the packages to include malware...

Threat actors have begun to use the Tox peer-to-peer instant messaging service as a command-and-control method, marking a shift from its earlier role as a contact method for ransomware negotiations. The findings from Uptycs, which analyzed an Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) artifact (" 72client ") that functions as a bot and can run scripts on the compromised host using the Tox protocol. Tox is a  serverless protocol  for online communications that offers end-to-end encryption (E2EE) protections by making use of the Networking and Cryptography library ( NaCl , pronounced "salt") for encryption and authentication. "The binary found in the wild is a stripped but dynamic executable, making decompilation easier," researchers Siddharth Sharma and Nischay Hedge  said . "The entire binary appears to be written in C, and has only  statically linked  the c-toxcore library." It's worth noting that c-toxcore is a  reference implementation  of...

A security researcher who has a long line of work demonstrating novel data exfiltration methods from air-gapped systems has come up with yet another technique that involves sending Morse code signals via LEDs on network interface cards ( NICs ). The approach, codenamed  ETHERLED , comes from Dr. Mordechai Guri , the head of R&D in the Cyber Security Research Center in the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, who recently outlined  GAIROSCOPE , a method for transmitting data ultrasonically to smartphone gyroscopes. "Malware installed on the device could programmatically control the status LED by blinking or alternating its colors, using documented methods or undocumented firmware commands," Dr. Guri said. "Information can be encoded via simple encoding such as Morse code and modulated over these optical signals. An attacker can intercept and decode these signals from tens to hundreds of meters away." A network interface card, also known as a netwo...

From ransomware to breaches, from noncompliance penalties to reputational damage – cyberthreats pose an existential risk to any business. But for SMEs and SMBs, the danger is compounded. These companies realize they  need  an in-house Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) – someone who can assess risks and vulnerabilities, create and execute a comprehensive cybersecurity plan, ensure compliance and safeguard business continuity. Yet unlike large enterprises, most don't have the budget to bring a full-time experienced CISO on board. To bridge this gap, managed service providers (MSPs), managed security service providers (MSSPs), and consulting firms offer virtual CISO (vCISO), or 'CISO-as-a-service' services. The model is simple: instead of hiring a full-time CISO, SMEs and SMBs pay a subscription or a retainer to gain access to expert cyber assistance in the form of a virtual CISO. Staffed by seasoned veteran executives, vCISOs offer C-level assistance in devising and...