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As digital transformation takes hold and businesses become increasingly reliant on digital services, it has become more important than ever to secure applications and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). With that said, application security and API security are two critical components of a comprehensive security strategy. By utilizing these practices, organizations can protect themselves from malicious attacks and security threats, and most importantly, ensure their data remains secure. Interestingly enough, despite the clear advantages these disciplines provide, businesses are struggling to understand which security approach is best for their needs. So in this article, we'll discuss the differences between application and API security, best practices that you should consider, and ultimately make the case for why you need both.  What is Application Security Application security, better known as AppSec, is a critical aspect of any organization's cybersecurity strategy....

The threat actor known as Blind Eagle has been linked to a new campaign targeting various key industries in Colombia. The activity, which was detected by the BlackBerry Research and Intelligence Team on February 20, 2023, is also said to encompass Ecuador, Chile, and Spain, suggesting a slow expansion of the hacking group's victimology footprint. Targeted entities include health, financial, law enforcement, immigration, and an agency in charge of peace negotiation in Colombia, the Canadian cybersecurity company said. Blind Eagle, also known as  APT-C-36 , was  recently covered  by Check Point Research, detailing the adversary's advanced toolset comprising Meterpreter payloads that are delivered via spear-phishing emails. The latest set of attacks involves the group impersonating the Colombian government tax agency, the National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN), to phish its targets using lures that urge recipients to settle "outstanding obligations." Th...

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has  added  a high-severity flaw affecting the ZK Framework to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog based on evidence of active exploitation. Tracked as  CVE-2022-36537  (CVSS score: 7.5), the issue impacts ZK Framework versions 9.6.1, 9.6.0.1, 9.5.1.3, 9.0.1.2, and 8.6.4.1, and allows threat actors to retrieve sensitive information via specially crafted requests. "The ZK Framework is an open source Java framework," CISA  said . "This vulnerability can impact multiple products, including but not limited to ConnectWise R1Soft Server Backup Manager." The  vulnerability  was patched in May 2022 in versions 9.6.2, 9.6.0.2, 9.5.1.4, 9.0.1.3, and 8.6.4.2. As  demonstrated  by Huntress in a proof-of-concept (PoC) in October 2022, the vulnerability can be weaponized to bypass authentication, upload a backdoored JDBC database driver to gain code execution, and deploy r...

SaaS Adoption is Skyrocketing, Resilience Hasn't Kept Pace SaaS platforms have revolutionized how businesses operate. They simplify collaboration, accelerate deployment, and reduce the overhead of managing infrastructure. But with their rise comes a subtle, dangerous assumption: that the convenience of SaaS extends to resilience. It doesn't. These platforms weren't built with full-scale data protection in mind . Most follow a shared responsibility model — wherein the provider ensures uptime and application security, but the data inside is your responsibility. In a world of hybrid architectures, global teams, and relentless cyber threats, that responsibility is harder than ever to manage. Modern organizations are being stretched across: Hybrid and multi-cloud environments with decentralized data sprawl Complex integration layers between IaaS, SaaS, and legacy systems Expanding regulatory pressure with steeper penalties for noncompliance Escalating ransomware threats and inside...

LastPass, which in December 2022 disclosed a severe data breach that allowed threat actors to access encrypted password vaults, said it happened as a result of the same adversary launching a second attack on its systems. The company said one of its DevOps engineers had their personal home computer hacked and infected with a keylogger as part of a sustained cyber attack that exfiltrated sensitive data from its Amazon AWS cloud storage servers. "The threat actor leveraged information stolen during the first incident, information available from a third-party data breach, and a vulnerability in a third-party media software package to launch a coordinated second attack," the password management service  said . This intrusion targeted the company's infrastructure, resources, and the aforementioned employee from August 12, 2022, to October 26, 2022. The original incident, on the other hand, ended on August 12, 2022. The  August breach  saw the intruders accessing source cod...

The RIG exploit kit (EK) touched an all-time high successful exploitation rate of nearly 30% in 2022, new findings reveal. "RIG EK is a financially-motivated program that has been active since 2014," Swiss cybersecurity company PRODAFT  said  in an exhaustive report shared with The Hacker News. "Although it has yet to substantially change its exploits in its more recent activity, the type and version of the malware they distribute constantly change. The frequency of updating samples ranges from weekly to daily updates." Exploit kits are programs used to distribute malware to large numbers of victims by taking advantage of known security flaws in commonly-used software such as web browsers. The fact that  RIG EK  runs as a service model means threat actors can financially compensate the RIG EK administrator for installing malware of their choice on victim machines. The RIG EK operators primarily employ malvertising to ensure a high infection rate and large-scale...

Spoiler Alert: Organizations with 10,000 SaaS users that use M365 and Google Workspace average over 4,371 additional connected apps. SaaS-to-SaaS (third-party) app installations are growing  nonstop  at organizations around the world. When an employee needs an additional app to increase their efficiency or productivity, they rarely think twice before installing. Most employees don't even realize that this SaaS-to-SaaS connectivity, which requires scopes like the ability to read, update, create, and delete content, increases their organization's attack surface in a significant way. Third-party app connections typically take place outside the view of the security team, are not vetted to understand the level of risk they pose. Adaptive Shield's latest report,  Uncovering the Risks & Realities of Third-Party Connected Apps , dives into the data on this topic. It reviews the average number of SaaS-to-SaaS apps organizations have, and the level of risk they present. Her...

A new ChromeLoader malware campaign has been observed being distributed via virtual hard disk (VHD) files, marking a deviation from the ISO optical disc image format. "These VHD files are being distributed with filenames that make them appear like either hacks or cracks for Nintendo and Steam games," AhnLab Security Emergency response Center (ASEC)  said  in a report last week. ChromeLoader  (aka Choziosi Loader or ChromeBack) originally surfaced in January 2022 as a browser-hijacking credential stealer but has since evolved into a more potent,  multifaceted   threat  capable of stealing sensitive data, deploying ransomware, and even dropping  decompression bombs . The primary goal of the malware is to  compromise  web browsers like Google Chrome, and modify the browser settings to intercept and direct traffic to dubious advertising websites. What's more, ChromeLoader has emerged as a conduit to  carry out click fraud  by lever...

Government entities in Asia-Pacific and North America are being targeted by an unknown threat actor with an off-the-shelf malware downloader known as PureCrypter to deliver an array of information stealers and ransomware. "The PureCrypter campaign uses the domain of a compromised non-profit organization as a command-and-control (C2) to deliver a secondary payload," Menlo Security researcher Abhay Yadav  said . The different types of malware propagated using PureCrypter include  RedLine Stealer ,  Agent Tesla ,  Eternity ,  Blackmoon  (aka  KRBanker ), and  Philadelphia  ransomware. First documented in June 2022, PureCrypter is  advertised  for sale by its author for $59 for one-month access (or $245 for a one-off lifetime purchase) and is capable of distributing a multitude of malware. In December 2022, PureCoder – the developer behind the program –  expanded  the slate of offerings to include a logger and informat...

The  PlugX  remote access trojan has been observed masquerading as an open source Windows debugger tool called x64dbg in an attempt to circumvent security protections and gain control of a target system. "This file is a legitimate open-source debugger tool for Windows that is generally used to examine kernel-mode and user-mode code, crash dumps, or CPU registers," Trend Micro researchers Buddy Tancio, Jed Valderama, and Catherine Loveria  said  in a report published last week. PlugX, also known as  Korplug , is a post-exploitation  modular implant , which, among other things, is known for its multiple functionalities such as data exfiltration and its ability to use the compromised machine for nefarious purposes. Although first documented a decade ago in 2012, early samples of the malware date as far as February 2008, according to a  Trend Micro report  at the time. Over the years, PlugX has been used by threat actors with a Chinese nexus as w...