"NSA and Partners Issue Additional Guidance for Secure By Design Software"

"NSA and Partners Issue Additional Guidance for Secure By Design Software"

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the FBI, and international partners have released a Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI) to provide guidance for technology manufacturers to ensure that their products are secure by design. The joint CSI supplements the April 2023 report "Shifting the Balance of Cybersecurity Risk: Principles and Approaches for Secure by Design Software" with additional guidance.

Submitted by Gregory Rigby on

"Microsoft Defender Thwarted Akira Ransomware Attack on an Industrial Engineering Firm"

"Microsoft Defender Thwarted Akira Ransomware Attack on an Industrial Engineering Firm"

Microsoft announced that its Microsoft Defender for Endpoint solution helped thwart a large-scale hacking campaign conducted by Akira ransomware operators, which Microsoft tracks as Storm-1567. The attack occurred in early June 2023 and was aimed at an industrial engineering organization. According to the company, its cyber defense solution can automatically block human-operated attacks such as ransomware without the need for additional capabilities.

Submitted by Gregory Rigby on

"US Gov Expects Widespread Exploitation of Atlassian Confluence Vulnerability"

"US Gov Expects Widespread Exploitation of Atlassian Confluence Vulnerability"

US cybersecurity agency CISA, the FBI, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) have warned organizations of potential widespread exploitation of a recent zero-day vulnerability in the Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server.  Tracked as CVE-2023-22515 (CVSS score of 9.8), the bug has been exploited by a nation-state threat actor since September 14, roughly two weeks before Atlassian released patches for it.

Submitted by Adam Ekwall on

"Healthcare Workers Stop Active Hacker in Cybertruck"

"Healthcare Workers Stop Active Hacker in Cybertruck"

Researchers at the University of Twente looked at whether a simulation of a cyberattack in an escape room could contribute to a greater awareness of cybersecurity. Healthcare facility employees participated in the study. The escape room was found to increase cybersecurity awareness among healthcare employees. For example, participants reported being more alert regarding phishing, installing software updates, and using strong passwords. Acute Zorg Euregio (AZE), a regional network of organizations involved in acute care, arranged the escape room.

Submitted by Gregory Rigby on

"Cars Are a 'Privacy Nightmare on Wheels'. Here's How They Get Away With Collecting and Sharing Your Data"

"Cars Are a 'Privacy Nightmare on Wheels'. Here's How They Get Away With Collecting and Sharing Your Data"

According to research by the Mozilla Foundation, cars with Internet-connected features are quickly turning into data-harvesting machines that threaten privacy. Researchers analyzed the privacy policies of 25 car brands and discovered that they collect various types of customer data, such as facial expressions, how people drive, and more. They also discovered terms that enabled the disclosure of this information to third parties. They concluded that cars were "the official worst category of products for privacy" they had ever evaluated.

Submitted by Gregory Rigby on

"BLOODALCHEMY Provides Backdoor to Southeast Asian Nations' Secrets"

"BLOODALCHEMY Provides Backdoor to Southeast Asian Nations' Secrets"

Researchers discovered a backdoor being used in attacks against governments and organizations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The backdoor, dubbed "BLOODALCHEMY" by Elastic Security Labs researchers, targets x86 systems and is part of the REF5961 intrusion set recently adopted by a China-linked group. The tooling of REF5961 has been observed in a different espionage-focused attack against the Mongolian government. BLOODALCHEMY is the new backdoor used by the operators of REF5961.

Submitted by Gregory Rigby on

"Survey Sees Shift to Passwordless Authentication Accelerating"

"Survey Sees Shift to Passwordless Authentication Accelerating"

The Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance and LastPass surveyed 1,005 Information Technology (IT) decision-makers, finding that 89 percent expect their organizations to use passwords for less than 25 percent of logins within five years. The survey discovered that 95 percent already offer passwordless access at their organization. Ninety-two percent plan to more widely adopt passwordless technologies. According to Mike Kosak, senior principal intelligence analyst at LastPass, there are multiple reasons for eliminating passwords.

Submitted by Gregory Rigby on

SecretCon 2023

"The Minnesota Hacker, Cybersecurity, & Privacy Conference you’ve been looking for! Network with twin city security and privacy professionals. Grab a 2023 ticket before they disappear!" 

"Inadequate IoT Protection Can Be a Costly Mistake"

"Inadequate IoT Protection Can Be a Costly Mistake"

Keyfactor reports that 97 percent of organizations are having difficulties securing their Internet of Things (IoT) and connected products. A survey conducted by Keyfactor also revealed that 98 percent of organizations faced certificate outages in the past 12 months, which cost more than $2.25 million on average. According to the report, 89 percent of organizations operating and using IoT and connected products were victims of cyberattacks, costing an average of $250,000.

Submitted by Gregory Rigby on

"Healthcare Organizations a Prime Target for NoEscape Ransomware, HHS Warns"

"Healthcare Organizations a Prime Target for NoEscape Ransomware, HHS Warns"

According to a warning from the US Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3), NoEscape, a triple-extortion ransomware threat group believed to have stemmed from the now defunct Russian-speaking gang Avaddon, is targeting the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) sector. Since its discovery in May of this year, NoEscape, a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) group, has targeted various industries.

Submitted by Gregory Rigby on
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