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Anonymous threatens to Hack Obama's State of the Union broadcast

Anonymous threatens to Hack Obama's State of the Union broadcast

Feb 13, 2013
The hacktivist group Anonymous says it's planning to block all live streams of President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, in an operation entitled " Operation SOTU ". " We reject the State of the Union. We reject the authority of the President to sign arbitrary orders and bring irresponsible and damaging controls to the Internet, " the statement reads. " The President of the United States of America, and the Joint Session of Congress will face an Army tonight. " Anonymous group is upset with a pending Internet security bill. According to Anonymous and other Internet freedom activists, if the CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Information Act) is passed it will infringe on online privacy and freedom. A Twitter account associated with Anonymous also hinted by tweeting ," ADVANCED WARNING: This year's State of the Union Address WILL be cancelled if internet regulation is passed by executive order #opLastResort " &qu
Distributed Red Team Operations with Cobalt Strike

Distributed Red Team Operations with Cobalt Strike

Feb 12, 2013
What if you could easily host malicious websites, send phishing emails, and manage compromised hosts across diverse internet addresses? This week's Cobalt Strike adds the ability to manage multiple attack servers at once. Here's how it works: When you connect to two or more servers, Cobalt Strike will show a switch bar with buttons for each server at the bottom of your window. Click a button to make that server active. It's a lot like using tabs to switch between pages in a web browser. To make use of multiple servers, designate a role for each one. Assign names to each server's button to easily remember its role. Dumbly connecting to multiple servers isn't very exciting. The fun comes when you seamlessly use Cobalt Strike features between servers. For example: Designate one server for phishing and another for reconnaissance. Go to the reconnaissance server, setup the system profiler website. Use the phishing tool to deliver the reconnaissance website through
Network Threats: A Step-by-Step Attack Demonstration

Network Threats: A Step-by-Step Attack Demonstration

Apr 25, 2024Endpoint Security / Cyber Security
Follow this real-life network attack simulation, covering 6 steps from Initial Access to Data Exfiltration. See how attackers remain undetected with the simplest tools and why you need multiple choke points in your defense strategy. Surprisingly, most network attacks are not exceptionally sophisticated, technologically advanced, or reliant on zero-day tools that exploit edge-case vulnerabilities. Instead, they often use commonly available tools and exploit multiple vulnerability points. By simulating a real-world network attack, security teams can test their detection systems, ensure they have multiple choke points in place, and demonstrate the value of networking security to leadership. In this article, we demonstrate a real-life attack that could easily occur in many systems. The attack simulation was developed based on the MITRE ATT&CK framework, Atomic Red Team,  Cato Networks ' experience in the field, and public threat intel. In the end, we explain why a holistic secur
The Top Six Ways You Will Benefit From Event Log Monitoring

The Top Six Ways You Will Benefit From Event Log Monitoring

Feb 12, 2013
Systems on your network log data 24/7/365. Simply allowing logs to take up disk space, reviewing them only after something has happened and deleting logs when you run low on disk space are all the strategies of an admin doomed to always being in firefighting mode, reacting to bad things when they happen. Proactive log management can help an admin get into a proactive mode You know that event log monitoring is important, since all your systems and key applications log data. But since no two systems log to the same place, or in the same format, it's almost impossible to get ahead of the logging and actually pay attention to what is being logged. That's where event log monitoring comes into play; here's why: Aggregate your logs in a central location:  With logs spread across dozens or even hundreds of systems, there's no way you can manage them where they are. Event log monitoring applications can gather up all your logs in a central location, making them easy to analyze, store, and m
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SaaS Security Buyers Guide

websiteAppOmniSaaS Security / Threat Detection
This guide captures the definitive criteria for choosing the right SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) vendor.
Defence develop Software that can track people on Social media

Defence develop Software that can track people on Social media

Feb 12, 2013
A multinational security firm ' Raytheon ' has secretly developed software called ' RIOT ', capable of tracking people's movements and predicting future Behavior by mining data from social networking websites. The multi billion dollar company, didn't want its concept video revealed, but the Guardian posted it anyway. Raytheon has not yet sold RIOT to any clients but has been shared with the US government as part of a joint research project to develop a Big Data system capable of surveilling large parts of the population. The software can also pull metadata from pictures taken to pinpoint a user's location when the picture was taken. From this and other location data taken from applications i.e Foursquare, the software can predict future movements of users. The video shows how Riot works on a sample Raytheon staff member, tracking his regular visits to Washington Nationals Park and a local gym. RIOT creates unique profiles from publicly available data, inclu
First week at MEGA Bounty Program, paid out thousands of dollars for seven Bugs

First week at MEGA Bounty Program, paid out thousands of dollars for seven Bugs

Feb 11, 2013
One week after launching a Bug bounty program by the Kim Dotcom 's new file-storage and sharing service MEGA claims to have fixed seven vulnerabilities. Although Mega hasn't shared how much money and to whom it paid out in the first week. But as promised, it is clear that MEGA paid out thousands of dollars in bug bounties during the first week of its security program. We found bug hunter yesterday (tweeted)- Mr.  Frans Rosén received 1000 Euros in the bug fixing challenge. This tweet was also Re-tweeted by Kim Dotcom later, that confirmed Frans's class III bugs reward. Congratulations @ fransrosen for XSS in #MEGA . Handsome EUR 1000 in Bug Bounty Program twitter.com/fransrosen/sta… — The Hacker News™ (@TheHackersNews) February 10, 2013 In a blog post, Mega explained how it classifies vulnerabilities and their impacts. Vulnerabilities were classified into VI classes, with I being the lowest risk and VI being the highest. Seven qualified bug details are as shown b
Firefox OS for smartphones, incredible platform for Developers

Firefox OS for smartphones, incredible platform for Developers

Feb 11, 2013
Mozilla's Firefox OS, the mobile operating system from the company that makes the Firefox browser build entirely on open web standards and having ability to beat Android or iOS.  Firefox OS is Mozilla's ambitious attempt to build an operating system that brings more openness to the walled gardens of Apple's iOS and Google's Android. New Operating Systems for Smartphones Its a new mobile operating system built entirely using open web standards and with codename  Boot to Gecko , means a Linux distro that automatically loads Gecko or in more simple words apps for Firefox OS are basically just websites written in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. The Web is the Platform, which means not only taking down barriers, but also a lighter system that makes your apps run smoothly and an optimal battery life. Firefox OS written with basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Mozilla has also added some extra hooks to Firefox OS that allow developers to access a phone's hardware via HTML
Gmail warning Myanmar Journalists about State-sponsored attacks

Gmail warning Myanmar Journalists about State-sponsored attacks

Feb 10, 2013
Several Myanmar journalists have recently received warnings from Google that their Gmail accounts may have been targets of state-sponsored attacks. After they login to their Gmail accounts, warning message," We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer " was displayed on top as shown. Google had begun the policy of notifying users of suspicious activity in June. " We are constantly on the lookout for malicious activity on our systems, in particular attempts by third parties to log into users' accounts unauthorized. " Google said in a blog post . " If you see this warning it does not necessarily mean that your account has been hijacked. It just means that we believe you may be a target, of phishing or malware for example, and that you should take immediate steps to secure your account ." The Voice Weekly Journal's editor Aung Soe, Aye Aye Win, a Myanmar correspondent for the Associated Press, and Myat Thura, a Mya
CISPA Returns back, Forget privacy reforms

CISPA Returns back, Forget privacy reforms

Feb 10, 2013
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection act (CISPA) will be reintroduced by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) before the US House next week . CISPA would've allowed any company to give away all the data its collected on you if asked by the government and The bill that plan to introduce next week will be identical to the version of CISPA that passed the House last spring. May be the recent reports of cyber espionage against The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal,  along with attacks on the Federal Reserve 's Web site and on several U.S. banks have brought the issue back to the fore. " This is clearly not a theoretical threat - the recent spike in advanced cyber attacks against the banks and newspapers makes that crystal clear, " Rogers said in a statement. If implemented, An independent Intelligence Community Inspector General would review the government's use of any i
Rodpicom Botnet spreading via Skype and MSN Messenger

Rodpicom Botnet spreading via Skype and MSN Messenger

Feb 10, 2013
Malwares are getting updated during the age of social networking. FortiGuard Labs researchers have discovered a new malware called ' Rodpicom Botnet ' that spreads via messaging applications such as Skype and MSN Messenger. Dubbed W32/Rodpicom.A - Rodpicom Botnet sends a message to the victim with a link to a malicious site that leads to downloadable content. When the user clicks the link, the attack downloads another strain of malware, known as Dorkbot . Once the target machine is infected, it checks to see if the victim is using any messaging applications such as Skype or MSN Messenger.  It is revealed that, the malware employs new stealth tactics, including an exception handling technique that generates its own error to dodge analysis and relies on an anti-emulator that attacks the heuristic-scanning capabilities in antivirus software and enables its code to jump around several hundred times. The malware is enough smart to checks the language of the installed operating
Microsoft's Patch Tuesday fully loaded with patch for 57 security flaws

Microsoft's Patch Tuesday fully loaded with patch for 57 security flaws

Feb 09, 2013
Microsoft next updates are fully loaded with 57 different security vulnerabilities through 12 separate updates. It will roll out fixes as it always does on Patch Tuesday, the second Tuesday of every month. Anyone who uses Windows as their primary operating system will be quite familiar with Patch Tuesday. According to Microsoft's advisory , The 12 security update including two for Internet Explorer (IE), that will patch a near-record 57 vulnerabilities in the browser, Windows, Office and the enterprise-critical Exchange Server email software. Part of this update will be security patches for every single version of Internet Explorer. Apparently, this is to address a security hole that leaves users open to being exploited through drive-by attacks. Out of the 12 updates, five are considered " critical, " and others are labeled " important, ". As always, the critical patches will automatically install for any Windows users with automatic updates enabled. Two of the
Impossible Google Search Queries

Impossible Google Search Queries

Feb 09, 2013
Anonymous user asked a question on Quora that, How and Why Google is showing p*rn results in when one type  equation -4^(1/4) into Google search query ? This is really a very strange bug on Google. Just after that  Jeremy Hoffman , Google software engineer replied him, " Hi, I'm a Google search engineer. Anon User and Anon User did some excellent analysis. As a web search query, [-4^(1/4)] is interpreted like [-4 "1 4"], as in "Find me pages which contain a 1 next to a 4, but which do not contain a 4." This should return zero results, because it is impossible to satisfy both requirements. " The bug was apparently uncovered via when user tried to use Google for solving mathematical equations, but the search engine misinterpret his queries. Because it was a combination of impossible questions Google brings back p*rn sites results, any Logic ? Some similar example Queries are: -s "s 2″ -3 "1 3″ -title "title 4″ -4 "1 4″ How -s
Security firm Bit9 hacked, Stolen Digital Certs Used To Sign Malware

Security firm Bit9 hacked, Stolen Digital Certs Used To Sign Malware

Feb 09, 2013
Bit9 disclosed Friday that hackers had stolen digital code signing certificates from its network and have utilized it to sign malware. Bit9, a company that provides software and network security services to the U.S. government and at least 30 Fortune 100 firms. " As a result, a malicious third party was able to illegally gain temporary access to one of our digital code-signing certificates that they then used to illegitimately sign malware ," Bit9 Chief Executive Patrick Morley said in a blog post . The attackers then sent signed malware to at least three of Bit9's customers, although Bit9 isn't saying which customers were affected or to what extent. " Since we discovered this issue, we have been working closely with all of our customers to ensure they are no longer vulnerable to malware associated with the affected certificate ." and company said it has resolved the issue. It is not the first time that hackers have breached a security firm as part of a
Hacker Exposes former US President Bush Family Photos and Emails

Hacker Exposes former US President Bush Family Photos and Emails

Feb 08, 2013
The hacker, known as Guccifer , targeted several e-mail accounts and exposed personal photos and sensitive correspondence from members of the former US President Bush family, including both former U.S. presidents. Hacked Emails includes the AOL account of his daughter Dorothy Bush Koch; family friends Willard Hemingway and Jim Nantz; former First Lady Barbara Bush's brother; and George H W Bush's sister-in-law. Some of the e-mails contain catty comments about another former president, Bill Clinton. The photos and e-mails were uploaded yesterday to an online account that appears to have been hacked for the purpose of hosting the material including confidential October 2012 list of home addresses, cell phone numbers, and e-mails for dozens of Bush family members, including both former presidents, their siblings, and their children. The hacker also intercepted photos that George W. Bush e-mailed two months ago to his sister showing paintings that he was working on
Flaw in Intel Ethernet controller exposes to 'packet of death' attack

Flaw in Intel Ethernet controller exposes to 'packet of death' attack

Feb 08, 2013
The hardware qualification is a very important issue, recent vulnerabilities discovered in network appliances of various manufacturer have alerted security community once again on the necessity to validate the hardware especially for large consume product. The last news is related to a vulnerability related to the Intel's 82574L Ethernet controller that expose equipment to risk of "packet of death." Attack. Star2Star 's chief technology officer Kristian Kielhofner identified the cause of the problems after customers experienced random crashes. Researchers at Star2Star after the analysis of lot traffic identified the cause of the problem in the format of a packet managed by a particular VoIP manufacturer. But as yet it is unclear how widespread the problem is or how other Intel hardware is affected. Kielhofner, wrote : " The system and Ethernet interfaces would appear fine," "and then after a random amount of traffic the interface woul
Hacker charged for funding terrorist groups

Hacker charged for funding terrorist groups

Feb 07, 2013
A hacker 'Cahya Fitrianta' sentenced to eight years in prison by the West Jakarta District Court judges for hacking into many economic websites to steal money and funding that money to terrorist groups. He is also ordered to pay a Rp 500 million ($51,000) fine. He is charged with breaking into many sites, for running online fraud of billions of dollars and fund that money to terrorist training in Poso, Central Sulawesi. Cahya was arrested in May last year in a Bandung hotel. The defendant, along with another man, Rizki Gunawan. Police in May arrested Rizki, accusing him of hacking a marketing firm's website to steal money in order to fund militant training. They both accused of channeling money to terrorism suspect Umar Patek , who was sentenced this year to 20 years for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing. " Aside from engaging in a vicious conspiracy, the defendant was also found guilty of laundering money, which he obtained from hacking the www.speedline.co
Syrian Electronic Army Hijack Sky News's Twitter & Facebook Accounts

Syrian Electronic Army Hijack Sky News's Twitter & Facebook Accounts

Feb 07, 2013
Syrian Electronic Army strike again! This time hacking group hijack Twitter accounts and a Facebook page of Sky News Arabia and also hack their Emails. The accounts affected were the channel's main twitter handle @skynewsarabia and the @skynewsarabia account used for cultural and entertainment news, as well as the Facebook page facebook/skynewsarabia . Sky News regained control of the hacked accounts some how later. During an Interview with hackers at Syrian Electronic Army, hackers said that they first target Sky News's Email panel which is using Outlook Web App. Below is the screenshot of hacked inbox: Then it was too easy for hackers to reset the password of Twitter accounts and Facebook pages attached to that mail using Password forget option. Hackers said, they attack because of the bias that the foreign media has against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and their support for the rebels in the Syrian conflict.
Bamital botnet servers seized by Microsoft and Symantec

Bamital botnet servers seized by Microsoft and Symantec

Feb 07, 2013
Microsoft teamed up with Symantec to take down a nasty malware affecting thousands upon thousands of PCs. Bamital botnet  hijacked people's search experiences and redirected victims to potentially dangerous sites that could leave them vulnerable to other online threats and steal their personal information. Experts from the organizations obtained a court order and shut down servers at a data center in New Jersey and convinced operators in Virginia to shut down a server they control in the Netherlands on Wednesday. The Bamital botnet threatened the US$12.7 billion online advertising industry by generating fraudulent clicks on Internet ads. Microsoft's research shows that Bamital hijacked more than 8 million computers over the past two years. Microsoft says that the botnet affected many major search engines and browsers including Bing, Yahoo, and Google offerings. Bamital's organizers also had the ability to take control of infected PCs, installing other types of com
Hackers deface Hostgator Indian domain

Hackers deface Hostgator Indian domain

Feb 07, 2013
Hacking group 'today hack and deface Hostgator Indian domain  Hostgator.in  , which handles the Indian Operations of Hostgator.com with locally available servers and localized currency billing as well as support. Rather than editing homepage or other pages of site, hacker just added new file at on ftp with defacement purpose. At the time of writing, the page has been removed by firm but we had taken a screenshot this morning as shown below: The defacement page ends with message," We Are Anonymous ". No doubt that group have nothing to do with Hacktivist group Anonymous, but may be they use this term just for fun. Mirror of hacker is also uploaded to  Legend-h .
Former military adviser urged Obama to pardon Gary McKinnon

Former military adviser urged Obama to pardon Gary McKinnon

Feb 06, 2013
John Arquilla, a professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and former military adviser has urged President Barack Obama to pardon the British computer hacker Gary McKinnon and to recruit master hackers to US Cyber Command. Gary McKinnon faced extradition for hacking into Pentagon and Nasa systems, and but they believe that he could encourage other hackers to become government cyber warriors. ' If the notion of trying to attract master hackers to our cause is ever to take hold, this might be just the right case in which President Obama should consider using his power to pardon, ' says Arquilla. China is widely thought to employ hackers, so the Pentagon aims to expand its cyber security personnel from 900 to 4,900 in the next few years and Hackers are frequently employed by security firms after serving sentences and Arquilla suggest Obama to do so. ' Today's masters of cyberspace are not unlike the German rocket scientists who, after World War II, were so ea
Chinese malware campaign 'Beebus' target US defense industries

Chinese malware campaign 'Beebus' target US defense industries

Feb 06, 2013
A Chinese malware campaign called ' Beebus ' specifically targeting the aerospace and defense industries has been uncovered by FireEye security researchers. Beebus is designed to steal information, and begins its infiltration, as so many attacks do, with spear-phishing emails. Operation Beebus very related to Operation Shady RAT and was first detected in April 2011. The attacks carried out by  spear phishing attack and drive-by downloads as a means of infecting end users. malicious Whitepapers or PDFs were mailed to targets and by using known flaws, malware was able install Trojan backdoors on vulnerable systems. The malware communicates with a remote command and control (CnC) server. FireEye discovered the attacks on some of its customers in the aerospace and defence last March and the Vulnerability in the Windows OS known as DLL search order hijacking was used to drops a DLL called ntshrui.DLL in the C:\Windows directory.  It has modules to capture system information l
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