PY#RATION: New Python-based RAT Uses WebSocket for C2 and Data Exfiltration
An operation responding to a Black Basta ransomware compromise has revealed the use of a new PlugX malware variant that can automatically infect any attached removable USB media devices. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 shared the findings with Infosecurity earlier today, adding that the new PlugX variant is "wormable" and can infect USB devices in
by Paul Ducklin BREACHES, PATCHES, LEAKS AND TWEAKS Latest epidode – listen now. Click-and-drag on the soundwaves below to skip to any point. You can also listen directly on Soundcloud. With Doug Aamoth and Paul Ducklin Intro and outro music by Edith Mudge. You can listen to us on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify,
Sandworm continues to conduct attacks against carefully chosen targets in the war-torn country ESET researchers have uncovered a new wiper attack in Ukraine that they attribute to the Sandworm APT group. Dubbed SwiftSlicer, the destructive malware was spotted on the network of a targeted organization on January 25th. It was deployed through Group Policy, which suggests
Jan 29, 2023Ravie LakshmananCyber Threat / Malware The threat actors associated with the Gootkit malware have made "notable changes" to their toolset, adding new components and obfuscations to their infection chains. Google-owned Mandiant is monitoring the activity cluster under the moniker UNC2565, noting that the usage of the malware is "exclusive to this group." Gootkit,
Researchers have found three separate vulnerabilities in OpenEMR, an open-source software for electronic health records and medical practice management. Clean code experts at Sonar published an advisory Wednesday about the discovered flaws by security researcher Dennis Brinkrolf. "During our security research of popular web applications, we discovered several code vulnerabilities in OpenEMR," Brinkrolf wrote. "A combination of
by Naked Security writer Six months ago, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) infiltrated the Hive ransomware gang and started "stealing back" the decryption keys for victims whose files had been scrambled. As you are almost certainly, and sadly, aware, ransomware attacks these days typically involve two
Data Privacy Week is a reminder to protect your data – all year round. Here are three privacy-boosting habits you can start today. Every action we take on the internet generates data that is shared with online services and other parties. It stands to reason, then, that we need to assert control over how much
Jan 28, 2023Ravie LakshmananServer Security / DNS The Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) has released patches to address multiple security vulnerabilities in the Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) 9 Domain Name System (DNS) software suite that could lead to a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. "A remote attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to potentially cause denial-of-service conditions and
Global law enforcers celebrated this week after revealing a coordinated operation to disrupt the Hive ransomware variant. The ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) outfit has targeted more than 1500 victims in over 80 countries since June 2021, making an estimated $100m in the process, according to the Department of Justice (DoJ). Victims included hospitals, schools, financial firms and critical infrastructure
by Paul Ducklin The Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands [Dutch: Openbaar Ministerie] has just released information about an unnamed suspect arrested back in December 2022 for allegedly stealing and selling personal data about tens of millions of people. The victims are said to live in countries as far apart as Austria, China, Columbia, the
The data trail you leave behind whenever you're online is bigger – and more revealing – than you may think "The lampposts are listening to me; I am sure that the adverts I see online are from a conversation I had walking down the street." Yes, someone I know claims this is happening to them.
In what's a case of hacking the hackers, the darknet infrastructure associated with the Hive ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation has been seized as part of a coordinated law enforcement effort involving 13 countries. "Law enforcement identified the decryption keys and shared them with many of the victims, helping them regain access to their data without paying
The volume of publicly reported data breaches and leaks remained at a near-record level in 2022, although consumers and businesses are being let down by the paucity of information provided by breached companies, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). The non-profit's 2022 Data Breach Report is compiled from company announcements, mainstream news media,
by Paul Ducklin Over the years, we've written and spoken on Naked Security many times about the thorny problem of DNS hijacking. DNS, as you probably know, is short for domain name system, and you'll often hear it described as the internet's "telephone directory" or "gazetteer". If you're not familiar with the word gazeteer, it
Looking for an alternative to Twitter and thinking about joining the folks flocking to Mastodon? Here's how the two platforms compare to each other. From restructuring their workforces to facing big fines, big tech companies have been on a roller coaster ride recently – but certainly none quite as much as Twitter. Indeed, Twitter has
Jan 26, 2023Ravie LakshmananThreat Detection / Endpoint Security Cybersecurity researchers have unearthed a new Python-based attack campaign that leverages a Python-based remote access trojan (RAT) to gain control over compromised systems since at least August 2022. "This malware is unique in its utilization of WebSockets to avoid detection and for both command-and-control (C2) communication and
A leading US gaming company is primed to respond to any new cheats that may emerge for its titles following a ransomware compromise last week. California-based Riot Games said yesterday that it had received a ransom demand, which it would not pay. However, the data taken by its extorters may create problems for the firm in
by Paul Ducklin GoTo is a well-known brand that owns a range of products, including technologies for teleconferencing and webinars, remote access, and password management. If you've ever used GoTo Webinar (online meetings and seminars), GoToMyPC (connect and control someone else's computer for management and support), or LastPass (a password manangement service), you've used a
Gaming can help your children build and sharpen a range of life skills that will stand them in good stead in the future Videogames are now so popular that the number of players worldwide topped 3 billion last year! The boom goes far beyond gaming consoles and the most recognized gaming platforms, such as PlayStation,
Jan 25, 2023Ravie LakshmananData Breach / Remote Work Tool LastPass-owner GoTo (formerly LogMeIn) on Tuesday disclosed that unidentified threat actors were able to steal encrypted backups of some customers' data along with an encryption key for some of those backups in a November 2022 incident. The breach, which targeted a third-party cloud storage service, impacted
The UK's data protection regulator has shared seven tips for SMBs, designed to save them time and money and boost customer confidence. The UK's SMB community numbers over 5.5 million firms – amounting to over 99% of all businesses in the country. Yet many don't have the in-house knowledge and resources to ensure they stay
Apple patches are out – old iPhones get an old zero-day fix at last!
by Paul Ducklin Last year, on the last day of August 2022, we wrote with mild astonishment, and perhaps even a tiny touch of excitement, about an unexpected but rather important update for iPhones stuck back on iOS 12. As we remarked at the time, we'd already decided that iOS 12 had slipped (or perhaps
Hybrid play: Leveling the playing field in online video gaming and beyond
Does VALORANT's approach to cheating signal a turning point in how we deal with the continued hacks afflicting our hybrid world of work and play? First social apps, now gaming? The growth of cloud-powered apps like Telegram and Teams has created mega communities out of their users. Many of these apps have opened the door
Jan 24, 2023Ravie LakshmananMobile Security / 0-Day Attack Apple has backported fixes for a recently disclosed critical security flaw affecting older devices, citing evidence of active exploitation. The issue, tracked as CVE-2022-42856, is a type confusion vulnerability in the WebKit browser engine that could result in arbitrary code execution when processing maliciously crafted web content.
A leading California-based gaming developer has admitted that a serious cyber-attack on its systems has halted all updates. Tencent-owned Riot Games, which produces popular titles like League of Legends and Valorant, explained briefly what happened in a series of tweets on Friday. "Earlier this week, systems in our development environment were compromised via a social
Jan 23, 2023Ravie LakshmananThreat Detection / Infosec The legitimate command-and-control (C2) framework known as Sliver is gaining more traction from threat actors as it emerges as an open source alternative to Cobalt Strike and Metasploit. The findings come from Cybereason, which detailed its inner workings in an exhaustive analysis last week. Sliver, developed by cybersecurity
"Workarounds" Helped Royal Mail Resume Shipping After Ransomware Attack
UK postal service Royal Mail announced on January 18, 2022, that it has resumed some "limited" international shipping following the ransomware attack that hit the company on January 11. These limited services include "International Standard and International Economy letters which do not require a customs declaration" and "International Business Standard (untracked) and International Business Economy
Gamaredon Group Launches Cyberattacks Against Ukraine Using Telegram
Jan 20, 2023Ravie LakshmananCyber War / Cyber Attack The Russian state-sponsored cyber espionage group known as Gamaredon has continued its digital onslaught against Ukraine, with recent attacks leveraging the popular messaging app Telegram to strike military and law enforcement sectors in the country. "The Gamaredon group's network infrastructure relies on multi-stage Telegram accounts for victim
WhatsApp Hit with €5.5m fine for GDPR Violations
WhatsApp has been hit with a €5.5m ($5.9m) fine for GDPR violations by Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC). In addition to the fine, WhatsApp Ireland has been directed to bring its data processing operations into compliance within six months. The case showcased significant disagreements between European data protection authorities about the extent of WhatsApp's liability.
T-Mobile admits to 37,000,000 customer records stolen by "bad actor"
by Paul Ducklin US mobile phone provider T-Mobile has just admitted to getting hacked, in a filing known as an 8-K that was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday, 2023-01-19. The 8-K form is described by the SEC itself as "the 'current report' companies must file […] to announce major events that