The National Security Agency (NSA) has joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US Cyber Command's Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), and international allies in releasing new information regarding People's Republic of China (PRC)-linked cyber actors who have compromised Internet-connected devices to build a botnet and perform malicious activities. According to NSA Cybersecurity Director Dave Luber, the botnet involves thousands of US devices with victims in various sectors.

Microsoft has revealed that a financially motivated threat actor has been targeting US healthcare with "INC" ransomware. The company's threat intelligence team tracks the activity as "Vanilla Tempest," formerly named "DEV-0832." This article continues to discuss findings regarding the new INC ransomware being used against the healthcare sector in the US. 

THN reports "Microsoft Warns of New INC Ransomware Targeting US Healthcare Sector"

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The Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) Operational Cybersecurity Alignment (FOCAL) plan from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) aims to align the federal enterprise against cyber threats. CISA points out that federal agencies have built their own cyber defense capabilities, but there is no cohesive or consistent baseline security posture across the federal enterprise, so risk management varies widely. CISA's FOCAL plan outlines proven practices and collective cybersecurity goals. This article continues to discuss the FOCAL plan.

Researchers found new activity conducted by "TeamTNT" dating back to 2023, even though the group was believed to have disappeared in 2022. TeamTNT carried out numerous cryptojacking attacks, using victims' Information Technology (IT) resources to mine cryptocurrency illegally. According to Group-IB, the threat actor emerged in 2019 with its "homebrewed" malware involving an advanced toolkit of shell scripts and malicious binaries. The group's cryptojacking campaigns would target vulnerable public instances of "Redis," "Kubernetes" and "Docker" to steal credentials and install backdoors.

Fake human verification pages are tricking Windows users into installing malware. Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 found seven fake CAPTCHA-style human verification pages in late August 2024. After clicking a button on these pages, victims are instructed to paste a PowerShell script into a Run window. According to Unit 42 threat hunter Paul Michaud II, this copy/paste PowerShell script retrieves and runs a Windows EXE for the "Lumma Stealer" malware. This article continues to discuss findings regarding malware delivery through fake human verification pages.

A new phishing campaign is using GitHub repositories to spread the "Lumma Stealer" password-stealing malware to those who frequent or receive email notifications from an open source project repository. It involves a malicious GitHub user opening a new "issue" on an open source repository, claiming that the project has a "security vulnerability," and encouraging others to visit a counterfeit "GitHub Scanner" domain. The domain is actually not associated with GitHub and lures users into installing Windows malware.

According to SpyCloud's "2024 Malware and Ransomware Defense Report," ransomware attacks often use data stolen through previous infostealer infections, emphasizing the need to remediate all malware infections thoroughly. Based on a survey of over 500 security professionals, almost a third of ransomware attacks were preceded by an infostealer attack in the past three months. In addition to credentials, infostealer malware can steal session cookies to sidestep Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and hijack accounts.

Researchers at the University of Missouri are developing a Virtual Reality (VR) platform named "USucceed" to help teach cybersecurity to people with autism, dyslexia, attention deficit disorders, and other neurodevelopmental differences. Noah Glaser, an assistant professor and director of the Information Experience Laboratory in Mizzou's College of Education and Human Development, explained that the platform serves two critical functions, the first of which aims to meet the growing demand for a skilled cybersecurity workforce.

Cybersecurity researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) seek to identify "abnormal" and "illogical" control system commands suggesting the presence of insider threats or malicious attackers. They are doing so by gaining further insight into what are considered "normal" operations within electric power systems. Understanding normal operations and detecting suspicious activities will rely on using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand what the complex grid systems usually do and to identify actions that logically should not happen.