The sale and purchase of unauthorized access to compromised enterprise networks has become a linchpin for cybercriminal operations, particularly in facilitating ransomware attacks.
Underground forums are sharing guidelines on breaching networks and selling the access they obtain, leaving the exploitation to other malicious actors. On underground criminal forums, these transactions allow actors with complementary skills to collaborate, amplifying the impact and reach of cyberattacks. The market for such access has grown notably, especially as ransomware operators increasingly employ double-extortion tactics.
Read more…
Source: Rapid7
Related:
- CISA and FBI Publish Joint Advisory on QakBot Infrastructure
August 30, 2023
Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), Identification and Disruption of QakBot Infrastructure, to help organizations detect and protect against newly identified QakBot-related activity and malware. QakBot—also known as Qbot, Quackbot, Pinkslipbot, and TA570—is responsible for thousands of malware infections globally. Originally used ...
- Exploring the Inner Workings of DuckTail
August 30, 2023
In their persistent quest to decode DuckTail’s maneuvers, Zscaler ThreatLabz began an intelligence collection operation in May 2023. Through an intensive three-month period of monitoring, Zscaler researchers obtained critical details about DuckTail’s operational framework. This expedition granted them unprecedented visibility into DuckTail’s end-to-end operations, spanning the entire kill chain from reconnaissance to post-compromise. Zscaler team yielded valuable ...
- For the win? Offensive research contests on criminal forums
August 29, 2023
If you’re a security researcher who wants to share your innovations and insights with the wider community (and gain some peer recognition into the bargain), you’ve got a few options: present at conferences; write papers, blogs etc. The legitimate side of the house is awash with opportunities. But what if you’re a threat actor, whose research ...
- CISA Releases IOCs Associated with Malicious Barracuda Activity
August 29, 2023
CISA has released additional indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with exploitation of CVE-2023-2868. CVE-2023-2868 is a remote command injection vulnerability affecting Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) Appliance, versions 5.1.3.001-9.2.0.006. Malicious threat actors exploited this vulnerability as a zero day as early as October 2022 to gain access to ESG appliances. Read more… Source: U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure ...
- Deconstructing ransomware, cybercriminals and their modus operandi
August 29, 2023
The problem of ransomware is a seemingly age-old problem that is not going away, at least not any time soon. Governments and law enforcement are banding together to try to battle this issue with financial sanctions and takedowns of the groups behind ransomware attacks but they’re like the mythical beast Hydra – take the head ...
- Leaseweb trying to restore service following cyberattack
August 28, 2023
Cloud provider Leaseweb was forced to take some of its critical systems down to mitigate the effects of an ongoing cyberattack. One of the world’s largest cloud and hosting providers, Leasweb contacted its customers to alert them it spotted “unusual” activity in some parts of its infrastructure. To minimize the potential damages and oust the unauthorized ...