Incident response | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Cybersecurity researchers have shed light on a new version of a ransomware strain called HardBit that comes packaged with new obfuscation techniques to deter analysis efforts. "Unlike previous versions, HardBit Ransomware group enhanced the version 4.0 with passphrase protection," Cybereason researchers Kotaro Ogino and Koshi Oyama said in an analysis. "The passphrase needs to be provided during the runtime in order for the ransomware to be executed properly. Additional obfuscation hinders security researchers from analyzing the malware." HardBit, which first emerged in October 2022, is a financially motivated threat actor that, similar to other ransomware groups, operates with an aim to generate illicit revenues via double extortion tactics. What makes the threat group stand out is that it does not operate a data leak site, and instead pressurizes victims to pay up by threatening to conduct additional attacks in the future. Its primary mode of communication

A now-patched security flaw in Veeam Backup & Replication software is being exploited by a nascent ransomware operation known as EstateRansomware. Singapore-headquartered Group-IB, which discovered the threat actor in early April 2024, said the modus operandi involved the exploitation of CVE-2023-27532 (CVSS score: 7.5) to carry out the malicious activities. Initial access to the target environment is said to have been facilitated by means of a Fortinet FortiGate firewall SSL VPN appliance using a dormant account. "The threat actor pivoted laterally from the FortiGate Firewall through the SSL VPN service to access the failover server," security researcher Yeo Zi Wei said in an analysis published today. "Before the ransomware attack, there were VPN brute-force attempts noted in April 2024 using a dormant account identified as 'Acc1.' Several days later, a successful VPN login using 'Acc1' was traced back to the remote IP address 149.28.106[.]25

For years, securing a company's systems was synonymous with securing its "perimeter." There was what was safe "inside" and the unsafe outside world. We built sturdy firewalls and deployed sophisticated detection systems, confident that keeping the barbarians outside the walls kept our data and systems safe. The problem is that we no longer operate within the confines of physical on-prem installations and controlled networks. Data and applications now reside in distributed cloud environments and data centers, accessed by users and devices connecting from anywhere on the planet. The walls have crumbled, and the perimeter has dissolved, opening the door to a new battlefield: identity . Identity is at the center of what the industry has praised as the new gold standard of enterprise security: "zero trust." In this paradigm, explicit trust becomes mandatory for any interactions between systems, and no implicit trust shall subsist. Every access request, regardless of its origin,

Installers for three different software products developed by an Indian company named Conceptworld have been trojanized to distribute information-stealing malware. The installers correspond to Notezilla, RecentX, and Copywhiz, according to cybersecurity firm Rapid7, which discovered the supply chain compromise on June 18, 2024. The issue has since been remediated by Conceptworld as of June 24 within 12 hours of responsible disclosure. "The installers had been trojanized to execute information-stealing malware that has the capability to download and execute additional payloads," the company said , adding the malicious versions had a larger file size than their legitimate counterparts. Specifically, the malware is equipped to steal browser credentials and cryptocurrency wallet information, log clipboard contents and keystrokes, and download and execute additional payloads on infected Windows hosts. It also sets up persistence using a scheduled task to execute the main paylo

TeamViewer on Thursday disclosed it detected an "irregularity" in its internal corporate IT environment on June 26, 2024. "We immediately activated our response team and procedures, started investigations together with a team of globally renowned cyber security experts and implemented necessary remediation measures," the company said in a statement. It further noted that its corporate IT environment is completely cut off from the product environment and that there is no evidence to indicate that any customer data has been impacted as a result of the incident. It did not disclose any details as to who may have been behind the intrusion and how they were able to pull it off, but said an investigation is underway and that it would provide status updates as and when new information becomes available. TeamViewer, based in Germany, is the maker of remote monitoring and management (RMM) software that allows managed service providers (MSPs) and IT departments to mana

Learn about critical threats that can impact your organization and the bad actors behind them from Cybersixgill's threat experts. Each story shines a light on underground activities, the threat actors involved, and why you should care, along with what you can do to mitigate risk.  Cybersecurity professionals are facing unprecedented challenges as they strive to manage increasing workloads amidst limited budgets, inadequate staffing, and growing attack surfaces. Research indicates that a majority of these professionals find their jobs more difficult than ever, and a significant number are contemplating leaving their current positions due to the stress and demands of the role. The value of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) in anticipating and mitigating potential attacks is widely recognized. However, security teams face several challenges in effectively utilizing CTI insights, which can turn a powerful cyber defense weapon into an additional burden that security professionals must cont

Created by John Tuckner and the team at automation and AI-powered workflow platform  Tines , the  SOC Automation Capability Matrix (SOC ACM)  is a set of techniques designed to help security operations teams understand their automation capabilities and respond more effectively to incidents.  A customizable, vendor-agnostic tool featuring lists of automation opportunities, it's been shared and recommended by members of the security community since its launch in January 2023, notably by Airbnb engineer Allyn Stott in his BSides and Black Hat talk,  How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Build a Modern Detection & Response Program .   The SOC ACM has been compared to the MITRE ATT&CK and RE&CT frameworks, with one user saying, "it could be a standard for classification of SOAR automations, a bit like the RE&CT framework, but with more automation focus." It's been used by organizations in Fintech, Cloud Security, and beyond, as a basis for assessing and optimizing

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a new evasive malware loader named SquidLoader that spreads via phishing campaigns targeting Chinese organizations. AT&T LevelBlue Labs, which first observed the malware in late April 2024, said it incorporates features that are designed to thwart static and dynamic analysis and ultimately evade detection. Attack chains leverage phishing emails that come with attachments that masquerade as Microsoft Word documents, but, in reality, are binaries that pave the way for the execution of the malware, which is then used to fetch second-stage shellcode payloads from a remote server, including Cobalt Strike. "These loaders feature heavy evasion and decoy mechanisms which help them remain undetected while also hindering analysis," security researcher Fernando Dominguez said . "The shellcode that is delivered is also loaded in the same loader process, likely to avoid writing the payload to disk and thus risk being detected."

A suspected China-nexus cyber espionage actor has been attributed as behind a prolonged attack against an unnamed organization located in East Asia for a period of about three years, with the adversary establishing persistence using legacy F5 BIG-IP appliances and using it as an internal command-and-control (C&C) for defense evasion purposes. Cybersecurity company Sygnia, which responded to the intrusion in late 2023, is tracking the activity under the name Velvet Ant , characterizing it as possessing robust capabilities to swiftly pivot and adapt their tactics to counter repeated eradication efforts. "Velvet Ant is a sophisticated and innovative threat actor," the Israeli company said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. "They collected sensitive information over a long period of time, focusing on customer and financial information." The attack chains involve the use of a known backdoor called PlugX (aka Korplug), a modular remote access tr

Recent supply chain cyber-attacks are prompting cyber security regulations in the financial sector to tighten compliance requirements, and other industries are expected to follow. Many companies still don't have efficient methods to manage related time-sensitive SaaS security and compliance tasks. Free SaaS risk assessment tools are an easy and practical way to bring visibility and initial control to SaaS sprawl and Shadow AI. These tools now offer incremental upgrades , helping security professionals meet their company budget or maturity level.  Regulatory pressure, SaaS and AI proliferation, and increased risk of breaches or data leaks through 3rd party apps, make SaaS security one of the hottest areas for practitioners to learn and adopt. New regulations will require robust third-party SaaS risk lifecycle management that begins with SaaS service discovery and third-party risk management (TPRM) and ends with the requirement from CISOs to report incidents in their supply chain

Cybersecurity researchers have warned of an ongoing cryptojacking campaign targeting misconfigured Kubernetes clusters to mine Dero cryptocurrency. Cloud security firm Wiz, which shed light on the activity, said it's an updated variant of a financially motivated operation that was first documented by CrowdStrike in March 2023. "In this incident, the threat actor abused anonymous access to an Internet-facing cluster to launch malicious container images hosted at Docker Hub, some of which have more than 10,000 pulls," Wiz researchers Avigayil Mechtinger, Shay Berkovich, and Gili Tikochinski said . "These docker images contain a UPX-packed DERO miner named 'pause.'" Initial access is accomplished by targeting externally accessible Kubernetes API servers with anonymous authentication enabled to deliver the miner payloads. Unlike the 2023 version that deployed a Kubernetes DaemonSet named "proxy-api," the latest flavor makes use of seemingly b

Managed service providers (MSPs) are on the front lines of soaring demand for cybersecurity services as cyberattacks increase in volume and sophistication. Cynet has emerged as the security vendor of choice for MSPs to capitalize on existing relationships with SMB clients and profitably expand their client base. By unifying a full suite of cybersecurity capabilities in a simple, cost-effective solution, Cynet's All-in-One Cybersecurity Platform empowers MSPs to provide a full breach protection service with a single tool, backed by 24/7 expert support, for rapid profit. All-in-One Advantages for MSPs Traditionally, MSPs have cobbled together security solutions from variety of vendors, leading to a complex and expensive tech stack. Cynet solved this challenge with an All-in-One Platform that includes Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Managed Detection and Response (MDR), Security Information and Event Ma

Staying Sharp: Cybersecurity CPEs Explained Perhaps even more so than in other professional domains, cybersecurity professionals constantly face new threats. To ensure you stay on top of your game, many certification programs require earning Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. CPEs are essentially units of measurement used to quantify the time and effort professionals spend on maintaining and enhancing skills and knowledge in the field of cybersecurity, and they act as points that demonstrate a commitment to staying current. CPEs are best understood in terms of other professions: just like medical, legal and even CPA certifications require continuing education to stay up-to-date on advancements and industry changes, cybersecurity professionals need CPEs to stay informed about the latest hacking tactics and defense strategies. CPE credits are crucial for maintaining certifications issued by various cybersecurity credentialing organizations, such as (ISC)², ISACA, and C