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Russ Roberts (https://www.hawaiicybersecurityjournal.net).

Brazilian Feds Dismantle Grandoreiro Banking Trojan, Arresting Top Operatives

Jan 30, 2024 Cyber Crime / Malware

A Brazilian law enforcement operation has led to the arrest of several Brazilian operators in charge of the  Grandoreiro  malware. The Federal Police of Brazil  said  it served five temporary arrest warrants and 13 search and seizure warrants in the states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Pará, Goiás, and Mato Grosso. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET, which provided additional assistance in the effort, said it uncovered a design flaw in Grandoreiro's network protocol that helped it to identify the victimology patterns. Grandoreiro  is one of the many Latin American banking trojans such as Javali, Melcoz, Casabeniero, Mekotio, and Vadokrist, primarily targeting countries like Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. It's known to be active since 2017. In late October 2023, Proofpoint  revealed  details of a phishing campaign that distributed an updated version of the malware to targets in Mexico and Spain. The banking trojan has capabilities to both steal data through keyloggers

URGENT: Upgrade GitLab - Critical Workspace Creation Flaw Allows File Overwrite

Jan 30, 2024 DevSecOps / Vulnerability

GitLab once again released fixes to address a critical security flaw in its Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE) that could be exploited to write arbitrary files while creating a  workspace . Tracked as  CVE-2024-0402 , the vulnerability has a CVSS score of 9.9 out of a maximum of 10. "An issue has been discovered in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 16.0 prior to 16.5.8, 16.6 prior to 16.6.6, 16.7 prior to 16.7.4, and 16.8 prior to 16.8.1 which allows an authenticated user to write files to arbitrary locations on the GitLab server while creating a workspace," GitLab  said  in an advisory released on January 25, 2024. The company also noted patches for the bug have been backported to 16.5.8, 16.6.6, 16.7.4, and 16.8.1. Also resolved by GitLab are four medium-severity flaws that could lead to a regular expression denial-of-service (ReDoS), HTML injection, and the disclosure of a user's public email address via the tags RSS feed. The latest updat

493 Companies Share Their SaaS Security Battles – Get Insights in this Webinar

Jan 29, 2024SaaS Security / Webinar

In today's digital world, security risks are more prevalent than ever, especially when it comes to Software as a Service (SaaS) applications. Did you know that an alarming 97% of companies face serious risks from unsecured SaaS applications? Moreover, about 20% of these organizations are struggling with internal data threats. These statistics aren't just numbers; they're a wake-up call. We're excited to invite you to a not-to-be-missed webinar, " Critical SaaS Security Do's and Don'ts: Insights from 493 Companies ," with Ran Senderovitz , the Chief Operating Officer of Wing Security. Ran isn't just going to talk about the problems; he's going to dive deep into the realities of SaaS security, backed by extensive research and data analysis from almost 500 companies using SaaS. Here's What This Webinar Offers: Insights Across Data, SaaS Applications, Users, and AI: Explore a comprehensive analysis of the statistics about SaaS security, di

China-Linked Hackers Target Myanmar's Top Ministries with Backdoor Blitz

Jan 30, 2024 Malware / Cyber Espionage

The China-based threat actor known as  Mustang Panda  is suspected to have targeted Myanmar's Ministry of Defence and Foreign Affairs as part of twin campaigns designed to deploy backdoors and remote access trojans. The findings come from CSIRT-CTI, which said the activities took place in November 2023 and January 2024 after artifacts in connection with the attacks were uploaded to the VirusTotal platform. "The most prominent of these TTPs are the use of legitimate software including a binary developed by engineering firm Bernecker & Rainer (B&R) and a component of the Windows 10 upgrade assistant to sideload malicious dynamic-link libraries (DLLs)," CSIRT-CTI  said . Mustang Panda, active since at least 2012, is also recognized by the cybersecurity community under the names BASIN, Bronze President, Camaro Dragon, Earth Preta, HoneyMyte, RedDelta, Red Lich, Stately Taurus, and TEMP.Hex. In recent months, the adversary has been attributed to attacks targeting

Top Security Posture Vulnerabilities Revealed

Jan 30, 2024 Security Assessment / Patch Management

Each New Year introduces a new set of challenges and opportunities for strengthening our cybersecurity posture. It's the nature of the field – the speed at which malicious actors carry out advanced persistent threats brings a constant, evolving battle for cyber resilience. The excitement in cybersecurity lies in this continuous adaptation and learning, always staying one step ahead of potential threats. As practitioners in an industry that operates around-the-clock, this hypervigilance becomes second nature. We are always in a constant state of readiness, anticipating the next move, adapting strategies, and counteracting threats. However, it remains just as crucial to have our fingers on the pulse of the most common vulnerabilities impacting security postures  right now . Why? Knowing these weak points is not just about defense; it's about ensuring robust, uninterrupted business continuity in an environment where risks are always around the corner. The Importance of Regularl

Italian Data Protection Watchdog Accuses ChatGPT of Privacy Violations

Jan 30, 2024 Generative AI / Data Privacy

Italy's data protection authority (DPA) has notified ChatGPT-maker OpenAI of supposedly violating privacy laws in the region. "The available evidence pointed to the existence of breaches of the provisions contained in the E.U. GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation]," the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (aka the Garante)  said  in a statement on Monday. It also said it will "take account of the work in progress within the ad-hoc  task force  set up by the European Data Protection Framework (EDPB) in its final determination on the case." The development comes nearly 10 months after the watchdog imposed a  temporary ban  on ChatGPT in the country, weeks after which OpenAI  announced  a number of privacy controls, including an  opt-out form  to remove one's personal data from being processed by the large language model (LLM). Access to the tool was subsequently reinstated in late April 2023. The Italian DPA said the latest findings, which h

New ZLoader Malware Variant Surfaces with 64-bit Windows Compatibility

Jan 30, 2024 Malware / Cyber Threat

Threat hunters have identified a new campaign that delivers the  ZLoader  malware, resurfacing nearly two years after the botnet's infrastructure was dismantled in April 2022. A new variant of the malware is said to have been in development since September 2023, Zscaler ThreatLabz said in an analysis published this month. "The new version of Zloader made significant changes to the loader module, which added RSA encryption, updated the domain generation algorithm, and is now compiled for 64-bit Windows operating systems for the first time," researchers Santiago Vicente and Ismael Garcia Perez  said . ZLoader, also known by the names Terdot, DELoader, or Silent Night, is an offshoot of the Zeus banking trojan that first surfaced in 2015, before pivoting to functioning as a loader for next-stage payloads, including ransomware. Typically distributed via phishing emails and malicious search engine ads, ZLoader suffered a huge blow after a group of companies led by Micros

The Unknown Risks of The Software Supply Chain: A Deep-Dive

Jan 24, 2024Vulnerability / Software Security

In a world where more & more organizations are adopting open-source components as foundational blocks in their application's infrastructure, it's difficult to consider traditional SCAs as complete protection mechanisms against open-source threats. Using open-source libraries saves tons of coding and debugging time, and by that - shortens the time to deliver our applications. But, as codebases become increasingly composed of open-source software, it's time to respect the entire attack surface - including attacks on the supply chain itself - when choosing an  SCA platform  to depend upon. The Impact of One Dependency When a company adds an open-source library, they are probably adding not just the library they intended to, but also many other libraries as well. This is due to the way open-source libraries are built: just like every other application on the planet, they aim for a speed of delivery and development and, as such, rely on code other people built - i.e., ot

Juniper Networks Releases Urgent Junos OS Updates for High-Severity Flaws

Jan 30, 2024 Vulnerability / Network Security

Juniper Networks has released out-of-band updates to  address high-severity flaws  in SRX Series and EX Series that could be exploited by a threat actor to take control of susceptible systems. The vulnerabilities, tracked as  CVE-2024-21619 and CVE-2024-21620 , are rooted in the J-Web component and impact all versions of Junos OS. Two other shortcomings, CVE-2023-36846 and CVE-2023-36851, were  previously disclosed  by the company in August 2023. CVE-2024-21619  (CVSS score: 5.3) - A missing authentication vulnerability that could lead to exposure of sensitive configuration information CVE-2024-21620  (CVSS score: 8.8) - A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that could lead to the execution of arbitrary commands with the target's permissions by means of a specially crafted request Cybersecurity firm watchTowr Labs has been  credited  with discovering and reporting the issues. The two vulnerabilities have been addressed in the following versions - CVE-2024-21619  - 20.

Researchers Uncover How Outlook Vulnerability Could Leak Your NTLM Passwords

Jan 29, 2024 Vulnerability / NTML Security

A now-patched security flaw in Microsoft Outlook could be exploited by threat actors to access NT LAN Manager (NTLM) v2 hashed passwords when opening a specially crafted file. The issue, tracked as CVE-2023-35636 (CVSS score: 6.5), was addressed by the tech giant as part of its  Patch Tuesday updates  for December 2023. "In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file," Microsoft  said  in an advisory released last month. "In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) containing a specially crafted file designed to exploit the vulnerability." Put differently, the adversary would have to convince users to click a link, either embedded in a phishing email or sent via an instant message, and then deceive them into opening the file in question. CVE-202

Riding the AI Waves: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence to Combat Cyber Threats

Jan 29, 2024

In nearly every segment of our lives, AI (artificial intelligence) now makes a significant impact: It can deliver better healthcare diagnoses and treatments; detect and reduce the risk of financial fraud; improve inventory management; and serve up the right recommendation for a streaming movie on Friday night. However, one can also make a strong case that some of AI's most significant impacts are in cybersecurity. AI's ability to learn, adapt, and predict rapidly evolving threats has made it an indispensable tool in protecting the world's businesses and governments. From basic applications like spam filtering to advanced predictive analytics and AI-assisted response, AI serves a critical role on the front lines, defending our digital assets from cyber criminals. The future for AI in cybersecurity is not all rainbows and roses, however. Today we can see the early signs of a significant shift, driven by the democratization of AI technology. While AI continues to empower organizations

Albabat, Kasseika, Kuiper: New Ransomware Gangs Rise with Rust and Golang

Jan 29, 2024 Ransomware / Malware

Cybersecurity researchers have detected in the wild yet another variant of the Phobos ransomware family known as  Faust . Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, which detailed the latest iteration of the ransomware, said it's being propagated by means of an infection that delivers a Microsoft Excel document (.XLAM) containing a VBA script. "The attackers utilized the Gitea service to store several files encoded in Base64, each carrying a malicious binary," security researcher Cara Lin  said  in a technical report published last week. "When these files are injected into a system's memory, they initiate a file encryption attack." Faust is the latest addition to several ransomware variants from the Phobos family, including Eking, Eight, Elbie, Devos, and 8Base. It's worth noting that Faust was  previously documented  by Cisco Talos in November 2023. The cybersecurity firm described the variant as active since 2022 and "does not target specific industries or re

NSA Admits Secretly Buying Your Internet Browsing Data without Warrants

Jan 29, 2024 Surveillance / Data Privacy

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has admitted to buying internet browsing records from data brokers to identify the websites and apps Americans use that would otherwise require a court order, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said last week. "The U.S. government should not be funding and legitimizing a shady industry whose flagrant violations of Americans' privacy are not just unethical, but illegal," Wyden  said  in a letter to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Avril Haines, in addition to urging the government to take steps to "ensure that U.S. intelligence agencies only purchase data on Americans that has been obtained in a lawful manner." Metadata about users' browsing habits can pose a serious privacy risk, as the information could be used to glean personal details about an individual based on the websites they frequent. This could include websites that offer resources related to mental health, assistance for survivors of sexual assault or do