News – June 2023


  • Cadet Blizzard emerges as a novel and distinct Russian threat actor

    June 14, 2023

    As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its second year and Microsoft continues to collaborate with global partners in response, the exposure of destructive cyber capabilities and information operations provide greater clarity into the tools and techniques used by Russian state-sponsored threat actors. Throughout the conflict, Russian threat actors have deployed a variety of destructive capabilities ...

  • CISA and Partners Release Joint Advisory on Understanding Ransomware Threat Actors: LockBit

    June 14, 2023

    Today, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and international partners released Understanding Ransomware Threat Actors: LockBit, a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to help organizations understand and defend against threat actors using LockBit, the most globally used and prolific Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) in 2022 and 2023. This guide is ...

  • Cyber insurance premiums surge by 50% as ransomware attacks increase

    June 14, 2023

    US cyber insurance premiums surged 50% in 2022 as increased ransomware attacks and online commerce drove demand for coverage. Premiums collected from policies written by insurers reached $7.2 billion in 2022 and tripled in the past three years, ratings firm AM Best said in a study released this week. “Systematic risk is an ongoing concern,” Fred ...

  • Australia’s privacy monitor hit by cyber attack

    June 14, 2023

    Australia’s peak privacy body that monitors potential breaches has fallen victim to a cyber attack. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has confirmed data belonging to law firm HWL Ebsworth has been stolen by Russian criminal ransomware hackers. Read more… Source: MSN News  

  • “.Zip” top-level domains draw potential for information leaks

    June 13, 2023

    As a result of Google’s announced sale of new TLDs that are also popular file extension formats, there is an increased risk with the deployment of the “.zip” domain that threat actors will develop new vectors for compromising victims. In early May 2023, Google released eight new TLDs, marketing the “.zip” domain as a way ...

  • New bill would give CISA greater cyber outreach responsibilities

    June 13, 2023

    Lawmakers have introduced a new bipartisan bill that aims to equip the most frequent targets of ransomware attacks and underserved communities across the country with critical access to cybersecurity training, education and resources. The Cybersecurity Awareness Act would require the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to launch a new public-private campaign promoting cybersecurity best practices — ...

  • VMware ESXi Zero-Day Used by Chinese Espionage Actor to Perform Privileged Guest Operations on Compromised Hypervisors

    June 13, 2023

    As Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions improve malware detection efficacy on Windows and Linux systems, certain state-sponsored threat actors have shifted to developing and deploying malware on systems that do not generally support EDR such as network appliances, SAN arrays, and VMware ESXi hosts. In late 2022, Mandiant published details surrounding a novel malware system deployed ...

  • Two Prudential companies in Malaysia affected by MOVEit data-theft attack

    June 13, 2023

    Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd (PAMB) and Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd (PruBSN) have confirmed that they have been affected by the global MOVEit data-theft attack, “where a zero-day vulnerability was exploited.” The two insurance companies said that as soon as they became aware of the breach, “we took action to isolate the affected server while the incident ...

  • MOVEit Vulnerabilities: What You Need to Know

    June 12, 2023

    Extortion actors have been actively exploiting a recently patched vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer, a file-transfer application that is widely used to transmit information between organizations. The nature of the software affected means that attackers can exploit unpatched systems to mount a supply chain attack against multiple organizations. While the original vulnerability (CVE-2023-34362) was patched on May ...

  • The Role of the SEC in Enforcing InfoSec Legislation

    June 12, 2023

    Founded 85 years ago at the height of the Great Depression, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a clear mission: to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. Put simply, the SEC aims to protect US investors by maintaining a fair market. The SEC doesn’t work directly with investors, however. ...