Cybersecurity News & Trends

This week, SonicWall emerged with excellent “in the news” quotes and citations. Note the articles about “AI-Powered Ransomware.” Industry news produced findings about Bluetooth vulnerabilities that could shake the consumer markets from automotive to home security. The Justice Department says that it will no longer prosecute “good faith researchers” who hack software and devices to find vulnerabilities. The US government is also reportedly remanding government agencies slow to fix bugs that hackers are currently exploiting. The Costa Rican government reports that Russian hacking cartels are attacking their agencies and infrastructure. Finally, leave it to the Bank of Zambia to come up with a creative way to troll hackers. Stay safe and remember that cybersecurity is everyone’s business.

SonicWall News

Ruling Voice on Ransomware – SonicWall Takes its Place at NCSC Cyber Conference

FinTech Herald, SonicWall in the News: SonicWall, global leader in cybersecurity solutions and publisher of the world’s most quoted ransomware threat intelligence, is set to take centre stage at the UK Government’s flagship cybersecurity event, CYBERUK 2022, taking place on 10–11 May in the ICC Wales in Newport.

Providers Experienced 121% Spike in Malware Attacks In 2021

DotMed Healthcare Business News, Threat Report Mention/Immanuel Chavoya Quote: The HHS breach report highlights all reported cases of a breach in the health sector under investigation, of which there are currently 151 for 2022. What’s more alarming is that at the time of this report, there appears to be a staggering 8 million individuals affected for the year of 2022,” Immanuel Chavoya, threat detection and response strategist for SonicWall, told HCB News.

Ransomware is already out of control. AI-powered ransomware could be ‘terrifying.’

Protocol, SonicWall in the News: Currently, ransomware attacks are often very tailored to the individual target, making the attacks more difficult to scale, Driver said. Even still, the number of ransomware attacks doubled year-over-year in 2021, SonicWall has reported — and ransomware has been getting more successful as well. The percentage of affected organizations that agreed to pay a ransom shot up to 58% in 2021, from 34% the year before, Proofpoint has reported.

Finalists: Security Executive of the Year

SC Magazine, SonicWall in the News: Bill Conner has been named a finalist In the Best Security Executive of the Year by SC Magazine. Executives recognized in this category are the veterans and perennial influencers in the cybersecurity development community, with a history of leadership in companies that have their pulse on the needs of users and have a proven track record in delivery of products and services that meet the requirements of businesses large and small.

Russia-Based Conti Made $77 Million From Ransomware In 21 Months

CryptoSaurus, SonicWall in the News: In 2021 alone, ransomware attacks nearly doubled to 623 million cases globally, according to US cyber security company SonicWall. This is an increase of 105% year-on-year, and various analyzes and experts have highlighted that hackers linked to Russia are responsible for the majority.

AI + ransomware = “terrifying”

Protocol, SonicWall in the News: The number of ransomware attacks doubled year-over-year in 2021, SonicWall has reported — and ransomware has been getting more successful as well.

Industry News

Vulnerabilities Found in Bluetooth Low Energy Devices

TechRepublic: A critical flaw found in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) receivers may grant cybercriminals entry to anything from personal devices, such as phones or laptops, to even cars and houses. The new findings from cybersecurity company NCC Group detail how BLE uses proximity to authenticate the user near the device. Researchers were able to fake the authentication, which could affect everyone, from the average consumer to organizations seeking to lock the doors to their premises.

This issue is believed to be something that the industry can’t easily patch since it is more than a simple error in Bluetooth specification. Moreover, the flaw could be an exploit that could affect millions of people. According to NCC Group experts cited in the article, BLE-based proximity authentication was not originally designed to be used by critical systems such as locking mechanisms in smart locks.

To quote NCC Group’s findings, “by forwarding data from the baseband at the link layer, the hack gets past known relay attack protections, including encrypted BLE communications, because it circumvents upper layers of the Bluetooth stack and the need to decrypt.”

According to the cybersecurity company, these Bluetooth systems are used to lock items such as vehicles or residences that are using Bluetooth proximity authentication mechanisms that hackers can easily break with cheap off-the-shelf hardware. As a proof of concept, it was found by Khan that a link-layer relay attack conclusively defeats existing applications of BLE-based proximity authentication. According to the report, the following device categories are vulnerable:

• Cars with automotive keyless entry
• Laptops with Bluetooth proximity unlock feature
• Mobile phones
• Residential smart locks
• Building access control systems
• Asset and medical patient tracking

One of the specified vehicles affected by this exploit is the Tesla Models 3 and Y.

Justice Dept. Says ‘Good Faith Researchers’ No Longer Face Hacking Charges

Washington Post: On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department stated that it would not use its country’s anti-hacking law to prosecute cybersecurity researchers trying to find security flaws. This is a move that both protects and validates a practice still vilified by many officials and companies.

Top Justice officials issued a five-page policy statement to federal prosecutors. They said that local U.S. Attorneys should not be charged when “good faith” researchers exceed “authorized” access. This vague phrase is from the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, interpreted as covering routine practices such as automated downloading of Web content.

TechCrunch also reported that the DoJ stated that “good-faith research” includes anyone who conducts their activity “in a manner designed to avoid harm to individuals and the public.” It also concludes that such information “primarily promotes the security or safety the class of devices or machines to which the computer belongs, as well as those who use such machines, devices, or services.”

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (or CFAA) was enacted into law in 1986 and predate the modern internet and current cyber threats. Federal law defines computer hacking, specifically “unauthorized” access to a computer system. However, the CFAA has been criticized over its vague and outdated language, which fails to distinguish between malicious actors who (for example) extort companies and good-faith researchers who work to uncover vulnerabilities before people are exploited by them.

US Officials Order Government Agencies to Fix Serious Software Bugs

CNN: US cybersecurity officials on Wednesday ordered all federal civilian agencies to fix flaws in widely used software that officials said foreign government-linked hackers are likely moving to exploit.

“These vulnerabilities pose an unacceptable risk to federal network security,” US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly said.

The “emergency directive” from CISA gives agencies five days to either update the vulnerable software or remove it from their networks. However, the directive does not apply to the Pentagon computer networks, not under CISA’s jurisdiction. The vulnerabilities are in a type of software made by VMware, a California-based technology giant whose products are widely used by the US government.

VMware, on April 6, issued a fix for the software flaws, which could allow hackers to access computer files and burrow further into a network remotely. Within two days of the fix’s release, hackers had figured out a way to break into computers using the vulnerabilities, according to CISA. Then, on Wednesday, VMWare released software updates for newly discovered vulnerabilities that CISA has ordered agencies to address.

The agency did not identify the hackers or what systems they had targeted.

Russian Hacking Cartel Attack Costa Rican Government Agencies

New York Times: A Russian hacking cartel carried out an extraordinary cyberattack against the government of Costa Rica, crippling tax collection and export systems for more than a month so far and forcing the country to declare a state of emergency.

The ransomware gang Conti, based in Russia, claimed credit for the attack, which began on April 12, and threatened to leak the stolen information unless it was paid $20 million. Experts who track Conti’s movements said the group had recently begun to shift its focus from the United States and Europe to Central and South American countries, perhaps to retaliate against nations that have supported Ukraine.

Some experts also believe Conti feared a crackdown by the United States and sought fresh targets, regardless of politics. According to estimates from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the group is responsible for more than 1,000 ransomware attacks worldwide that have led to earnings of more than $150 million.

The BBC also reports that the Costa Rican Treasury told civil servants that the hack had affected automatic payment services. It warned that they would not be paid on time and would need to apply for their salaries by email or on paper by hand.

The ministry said: “Due to the temporary downturn of the institutional systems, the service of issuing certificates regarding the amounts of salaries owed to the civil servants of the Central Administration is suspended.

“All applications received via email or in the windows of the National Accountancy will be attended to once systems are restored.”

According to the government, the attacks also affected its foreign trade by hitting its tax and customs systems.

‘Security researchers’ make $800k in prize money for Hacking Windows 11

PCGamer: Contestants in a hacking contest have netted over $800K in prize money after finding exploits in Windows 11, Microsoft Teams, and other enterprise software on the first day. During this 15th annual Pwn2Own Vancouver hacking competition, the teams discovered 16 zero-day bugs on multiple products like Firefox, Oracle Virtualbox, Windows 11, and other popular enterprise software.

Pwn2Own Vancouver 2022 is a three-day-long hacking competition sponsored by Microsoft, Zoom, and other big tech companies. Teams of hackers or ‘security researchers’ attempt to find zero-day vulnerabilities in their software for prize money.

Think of it like bug bounties except with more money and kudos. A zero-day is a software exploit or vulnerability that an attacker could discover. The software makers aren’t already aware; there’s no patch, and the attack will likely succeed. Known bugs or exploits are not valid for rewards.

National Bank of Zambia Hit by Ransomware Then Trolls Hackers

Bleeping Computer: Leave it to the executives at the Bank of Zambia to leave us grinning. After suffering a ransomware attack by the Hive operation, the Bank of Zambia made it clear to the hackers that they were not going to pay – by posting a picture of male genitalia and telling the hackers to s… (and here, you’ll have to fill in the colorful language they used).

Last week, the Bank of Zambia, the country’s central bank, disclosed that recent technical outages resulted from a cyberattack. While the Bank of Zambia did not disclose the details of the cyberattack, BleepingComputer learned that the attack was conducted by the Hive ransomware operation, which claimed to have encrypted the bank’s Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.

Today, Bloomberg reported that the Bank’s Technical Director, Greg Nsofu, said they had protected the bank’s core systems, so it was unnecessary to engage with the threat actors.

In Case You Missed It

What is Cryptojacking, and how does it affect your Cybersecurity? – Ray Wyman

Why Healthcare Must Do More (and Do Better) to Ensure Patient Safety – Ken Dang

SonicWall Recognizes Partners, Distributors for Outstanding Performance in 2021 – Terry Greer-King

Cybersecurity in the Fifth Industrial Revolution – Ray Wyman

Anti-Ransomware Day: What Can We Do to Prevent the Next WannaCry? – Amber Wolff

CRN Recognizes Three SonicWall Employees on 2022 Women of the Channel List – Bret Fitzgerald

Enjoy the Speed and Safety of TLS 1.3 Support – Amber Wolff

Four Cybersecurity Actions to Lock it All Down – Ray Wyman

Understanding the MITRE ATT&CK Framework and Evaluations – Part 2 – Suroop Chandran

Five Times Flawless: SonicWall Earns Its Fifth Perfect Score from ICSA Labs – Amber Wolff

NSv Virtual Firewall: Tested and Certified in AWS Public Cloud – Ajay Uggirala

How SonicWall’s Supply-Chain Strategies Are Slicing Wait Times – Amber Wolff

SonicWall SMA 1000 Series Earns Best-Of Enterprise VPNs Award from Expert Insights – Bret Fitzgerald

World Backup Day: Because Real Life Can Have Save Points Too – Amber Wolff

CRN Honors SonicWall With 5-Star Rating in 2022 Partner Program Guide – Bret Fitzgerald

Cyberattacks on Government Skyrocketed in 2021 – Amber Wolff

Meeting the Cybersecurity Needs of the Hybrid Workforce – Ray Wyman

Third-Party ICSA Testing – Perfect Score Number 4 – Kayvon Sadeghi

Ransomware is Everywhere – Amber Wolff

Shields Up: Preparing for Cyberattacks During Ukraine Crisis – Aria Eslambolchizadeh

Cybersecurity News & Trends

More hot news for SonicWall with lots of coverage for the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report and the astounding five consecutive perfect results in third-party certification tests (100% detection and zero false positives). In global cybersecurity news, security experts recently gained significant data that is already illuminating the inner workings of ransomware gangs based in Russia and elsewhere. Just in time too with the return of Emotet, “the most dangerous malware in the world.” Krebs dropped a report about Russia using “tech-savvy” prisoners for the benefit of Russian corporations. And finally, a stunning story about Chinese hackers who have (so far) stolen “trillions” in intellectual property from 30 multinational companies.

SonicWall News

Providers Experienced 121% Spike in Malware Attacks In 2021

DotMed, Threat Report Mention/Immanuel Chavoya Quote: The HHS breach report highlights all reported cases of a breach in the health sector under investigation, of which there are currently 151 for 2022. What’s more alarming is that at the time of this report, there appears to be a staggering 8 million “individuals affected” for the year of 2022,” Immanuel Chavoya, threat detection and response strategist for SonicWall, told HCB News.

How To Be Proactive in The Face of Growing Cyber Threats

Security Magazine, SonicWall Threat Report Mention: SonicWall reported that in 2020, the number of malware variants detected grew by 62%. Identity, email, endpoint security and antivirus are all important, but they are not enough.

A Cybersecurity Stock with Monster Tailwinds

Guru Focus, SonicWall Threat Report Mention: With the rising price of cryptocurrency, this has caused these types of attacks to increase in popularity from 66,000 cases in 2020 to 436,000 in the UK alone, according to data from SonicWall.

Negate The Quantum Cyber Threat to Safely Unlock the Potential of Quantum Computers

Inside Quantum Technology News, SonicWall Threat Report Mention: Ransomware, encrypted threats and cryptojacking are just a few attack methods found to have significantly increased in number over the past year, according to SonicWall’s 2022 Cyber Threat Report.

Ransomware Hits 2 Colleges at Semester’s End. What Can Others Do?

Higher Ed Dive, SonicWall in the News: Ransomware attacks doubled worldwide and in North America last year, according to a recent report from SonicWall, a cybersecurity firm. And software company Emsisoft said at least 26 U.S. colleges and universities were hit with ransomware last year.

Cyberattacks Growing in Frequency, Severity, and Complexity

Triple I Blog, SonicWall in the News: In 2021, there were 623.3 million cyberattacks globally, with U.S. cyberattacks rising by 98 percent, according to cybersecurity firm SonicWall. Almost every threat increased in 2021, particularly ransomware, encrypted threats, Internet of Things (IoT) malware, and cryptojacking, in which a criminal uses a victim’s computing power to generate cryptocurrency.

Cyber Prevention or Mitigation… Why Can’t It Be Both?

IDG Connect, SonicWall in the News: As it stands, ransomware remains the biggest threat to organisations. According to SonicWall, the past year witnessed 623.3 million ransomware attacks across the world, a 105% increase compared to the previous year.

SonicWall Capture ATP Once Again Receives the Highest Score in the ICSA Labs Test

InfoPointSecurity (Deut), SonicWall in the News: SonicWall has received an astonishing five consecutive perfect results in the test against some of the most unknown and rigorous threats – unprecedented performance among the tested providers, said Bill Conner, President and CEO of SonicWall.

Cyberwar Zone: Biden, Experts Warn Business Attacks are Coming

Virginia Business, SonicWall in the News: “But many cybercrimes go unreported, and private sector numbers paint a far worse picture. Cybersecurity firm SonicWall reports that its researchers recorded 623.3 million ransomware attacks worldwide in 2021 — a 105% increase from 2020.”

Cyberwar Zone: Biden, Experts Warn Business Attacks are Coming

Virginia Business, SonicWall in the News: But many cybercrimes go unreported, and private sector numbers paint a far worse picture. Cybersecurity firm SonicWall reports that its researchers recorded 623.3 million ransomware attacks worldwide in 2021 — a 105% increase from 2020.

What Should You Do If Your Brand is the Target of a Data Breach?

TFL, Threat Report Mention: The same is true in the U.S., with ransomware attacks, alone, rising by almost 100 percent in 2021 according to SonicWall’s 2022 Cyber Threat Report.

Industry News

Experts Analyze Conti and Hive Ransomware Gangs’ Chats with Their Victims

Hacker News: A four-month analysis of chat logs that spans more than 40 conversations between Conti and Hive ransomware operators and victims is giving cybersecurity analysts new insights into the inner workings of negotiations. One exchange claims that the Conti Team significantly decreased ransom demand from $50 million to $1million, a 98% drop. This suggests a willingness to settle with a lower amount.

The report explains that both Hive and Conti are quick to lower ransom demand, routinely offering substantial decreases multiple times during negotiations. It shows that ransomware victims have at least some negotiating power, contrary to popular belief.

Conti and Hive are among the most prevalent ransomware strains in the threat landscape, cumulatively accounting for 29.1% of attacks detected during the three months between October and December 2021.

Conti Ransomware Source Code Leaked on Twitter Out Of Revenge

Bleeping Computer: After the much of the people behind the Conti Ransomware operation supported Russia in the invasion of Ukraine, a Ukrainian researcher called ‘ContiLeaks’ decided to leak source code and data belonging to the ransomware group as his revenge. The leaked source code was a modified version of the Conti ransomware operations, according to the report.

The researcher also published nearly 170,000 chat messages between Conti ransomware gang members last month. These conversations, spanning 2021 and part of 2022, illuminates the operational processes, their activities, how members are involved, and even some insight into organizational structure and the distribution of money.

The researcher leaked the Conti ransomware source code on September 15, 2020. Although the code was quite old, it enabled researchers and law enforcement to understand the malware’s workings better. He then leaked Conti version 3 with a last mod date of January 25, 2021.

Washington Post also noted that thanks to the leaks, authorities now have a better picture of cybercriminals’ personalities, quirks, and habits that have run rampant over U.S. institutions. It also shows how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has split some criminal gangs.

Emotet is Back From ‘Spring Break’ With New Nasty Tricks

Threat Report: Emotet malware attacks are back after a 10-month “spring break” – with criminals behind the attack rested, tanned and ready to launch a new campaign strategy. According to recent research, that new approach includes more targeted phishing attacks, unlike the previous spray-and-pray campaigns.

According to a Tuesday report, Proofpoint analysts linked this activity to the threat actor known as TA542, which since 2014 has leveraged the Emotet malware with great success.

Emotet, once dubbed “the most dangerous malware,” is being leveraged in its most recent campaign to deliver ransomware. For years, those behind distributing the malware have been in law enforcement’s crosshairs. In January 2021, authorities in Canada, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States worked together to take down hundreds of botnet servers supporting Emotet as part of “Operation LadyBird.”

Bleeping Computer also reported that the Japan CERT had released a new version of their EmoCheck utility to detect new 64-bit versions of the Emotet malware that began infecting users this month. The new 64-bit loader and stealer versions make existing detections less useful. Furthermore, the EmoCheck tool could no longer detect the new 64-bit Emotet versions with this switch. Last week, JPCERT released EmoCheck 2.2 to support the new 64-bit versions and can now catch them, which is safely downloadable from Japan CERT’s GitHub repository.

Russia to Rent Tech-Savvy Prisoners to Corporate IT?

Krebs on Security: Faced with a brain drain of smart people fleeing the country following its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation is floating a new strategy to address a worsening shortage of qualified information technology experts: Forcing tech-savvy people within the nation’s prison population to perform low-cost IT work for domestic companies.

Multiple Russian news outlets published stories on April 27 saying the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service had announced a plan to recruit IT specialists from Russian prisons to work remotely for domestic and commercial companies.

Russians sentenced to forced labor will serve out their time at one of many correctional centers across dozens of Russian regions, usually at the center that is closest to their hometown. Alexander Khabarov, deputy head of Russia’s penitentiary service, said his agency had received proposals from businesspeople in different regions to involve IT specialists serving sentences in correctional centers to work remotely for commercial companies.

Khabarov told Russian media outlets that under the proposal, people with IT skills at these facilities would labor only in IT-related roles but would not be limited to working with companies in their own region.

The 10 Largest Data Breaches Ever Reported in Healthcare

Beckers Hospital Review: Data breaches in healthcare can cause widespread damage, including the loss of medical records, financial losses for the organization, identity theft and fraud, lawsuits, and a loss of patient trust. Now the industry is more at risk of severe cyberattacks than ever before. The report goes on to list the biggest data breaches ever reported. The story was also reported by Pulse Headlines.

Chinese Hackers Took Trillions in Intellectual Property From About 30 Multinational Companies

CBS News: A yearslong malicious cyber operation spearheaded by the notorious Chinese state group, APT 41, has siphoned off estimated trillions of dollars in intellectual property theft from approximately 30 multinational companies within the manufacturing, energy and pharmaceutical sectors.

The story was chiefly compiled by cybersecurity firm, Cybereason, and reveals a malicious campaign — dubbed Operation CuckooBees — exfiltrating hundreds of gigabytes of intellectual property and sensitive data, including blueprints, diagrams, formulas, and manufacturing-related proprietary data from multiple intrusions, spanning technology and manufacturing companies in North America, Europe, and Asia.

The report explains that the intellectual property stolen includes blueprint diagrams of fighter jets, helicopters, missiles, and drugs around diabetes, obesity, and depression. But, the worst part, the campaign reportedly has not yet been stopped.

In a related story reported by The Hacker News, the China-based threat actor known as Mustang Panda has been observed refining and retooling its tactics and malware to strike entities located in Asia, the European Union, Russia, and the U.S. The group has targeted a wide range of organizations since at least 2012, with the actor primarily relying on email-based social engineering to gain initial access to drop PlugX, a backdoor predominantly deployed for long-term access.

In Case You Missed It

Enjoy the Speed and Safety of TLS 1.3 Support – Amber Wolff

Four Cybersecurity Actions to Lock it All Down – Ray Wyman

Understanding the MITRE ATT&CK Framework and Evaluations – Part 2 – Suroop Chandran

Five Times Flawless: SonicWall Earns Its Fifth Perfect Score from ICSA Labs – Amber Wolff

NSv Virtual Firewall: Tested and Certified in AWS Public Cloud – Ajay Uggirala

How SonicWall’s Supply-Chain Strategies Are Slicing Wait Times – Amber Wolff

SonicWall SMA 1000 Series Earns Best-Of Enterprise VPNs Award from Expert Insights – Bret Fitzgerald

World Backup Day: Because Real Life Can Have Save Points Too – Amber Wolff

CRN Honors SonicWall With 5-Star Rating in 2022 Partner Program Guide – Bret Fitzgerald

Cyberattacks on Government Skyrocketed in 2021 – Amber Wolff

Meeting the Cybersecurity Needs of the Hybrid Workforce – Ray Wyman

Third-Party ICSA Testing – Perfect Score Number 4 – Kayvon Sadeghi

Ransomware is Everywhere – Amber Wolff

Shields Up: Preparing for Cyberattacks During Ukraine Crisis – Aria Eslambolchizadeh

Capture Client 3.7: Rapid Threat Hunting with Deep Visibility and Storylines – Suroop Chandran

2021 Threat Intelligence Shows Attacks Rising Across the Board – Amber Wolff

Break Free with SonicWall Boundless 2022 – Terri O’Leary

SonicWall’s Bob VanKirk, HoJin Kim & David Bankemper Earn 2022 CRN Channel Chief Recognition – Bret Fitzgerald

Cybersecurity News & Trends

This week, SonicWall generated an excellent balance of press ink for the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, product mentions, Bill Conner, and two articles that feature the company and its products. Very well done! In industry news, we see that Microsoft is taking the hacks of its MSO line of products very seriously and showing some success. Hackers claim to have hacked several Russian institutions with a “barrage” of cyberattacks. Meanwhile, hackers “DeFi” cryptocurrency security measures with new attacks. And among the top state-sponsored cyber hackers, North Korea earns recognition as the truly weirdest.

SonicWall News

How To Choose the Best VPN For Security and Privacy

CSO Magazine, Product Mention: For example, SonicWall’s Mobile Connect supports Ping, Okta and OneLogin identity providers.

Privacy Coin Monero’s Use in Ransomware Fuels Growing Security Concerns

PYMNTS.com, Threat Report Mention: That comes as ransomware is exploding, with attacks up 105% last year, according to the 2022 Cyber Threat Report released in February by cybersecurity company SonicWall.

Ransomware Is on the Way and Backups Are Your Best Defense

The New Stack, SonicWall Threat Report Mentioned: You may ask, “Is ransomware really that bad?” It is. Last year, network security vendor SonicWall called 2021 The Year Of Ransomware thanks to an average of 1,748 ransomware attempts per customer by the end of September. Altogether SonicWall reported spotting a crazy 495 million ransomware attempts by the end of September.

Work to Secure Hawaii’s Digital Future

Honolulu Daily Advertiser, SonicWall Threat Report Mentioned: SonicWall’s 2022 Cyber Threat Report revealed that Hawaii is one of the top 10 riskiest states for malware.

The Funky Pigeon Pauses All Orders After ‘Security Incident’

The Register, SonicWall’s Bill Conner Quoted: Another example of how relentless cybercriminals are in their search for profit. Holding victim organizations’ business hostage uniquely impacts retailers and other organizations that provide daily, direct services to their customers. Such attacks directly affect the victim’s revenue generation and thus provide additional leverage to the attackers.

Ransomware Prevention for State & Local Governments

Tech Register, 2022 Threat Report Mention: According to the 2022 Cyber Threat Report from SonicWall, two industries saw large spikes in malware in 2021: healthcare (121 percent) and government (94 percent). In North America, ransomware rose 104 percent in 2021, according to the report, just under the 105 percent average increase worldwide.

Today’s Firewall is More Important in a Multi-Perimeter World; New Cornerstone for Enterprise Security

SME Channels, SonicWall feature: With increasing numbers of devices and remote workers, enterprises are facing even more daunting challenges in protecting the business. Many enterprises, educational institutions, and government agencies have deployed several stand-alone appliances and disjointed defenses, which include traditional firewalls.

Manage and Secure Access to SonicWall NSv with JumpCloud

Security Boulevard, Blog Featuring SonicWall NSv: SonicWall firewalls are widely used by managed service providers (MSPs) to provide affordable and effective perimeter security. The NSv is a next-generation firewall that runs in the cloud, or as a virtualized device in your data center, thereby reducing the costs of buying an appliance. JumpCloud reduces the management overhead for your IT department.

Ransomware Response: 5 Steps to Protect Your Business

Security Boulevard, SonicWall Cyber Threat Report Mention: Last year was the most costly and dangerous year on record for businesses dealing with ransomware attacks. That’s according to network security experts, SonicWall, who by Q3 2021 were reporting an almost 150% year-on-year increase in ransomware attacks worldwide.

Industry News

Microsoft Is on the Hunt for Cyber Criminals

Tech-Co: In a story also reported by Microsoft and Hacker News, big moves against hackers have at least disrupted their activities for now. Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit obtained a court order by the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia to allow us to take control of 65 domains the ZLoader Gang used to control, grow and communicate with their botnet. These domains have been directed to a Microsoft sinkhole, where they are no longer available for criminal botnet operators. In addition, Zloader embeds a domain generation algorithm in the malware. This allows Zloader to create additional domains that can be used as a backup or fallback communication channel. The court order also allows Microsoft to control 319 other DGA domains.

During the group’s investigation, they discovered that Denis Malikov, from Simferopol, Crimea, was one of the criminals responsible for creating a component in the ZLoader botnet used to distribute ransomware. The group notes that the legal action was the culmination of months of investigations that began before the conflict in the region.

Microsoft claimed that the operation was carried out in partnership with ESET and Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 and Avast.

WIRED Magazine cautions that while actions like these are heartening, this is no time to be complacent. According to SonicWall’s 2022 Cyber Threat Report, ATTACKS in the United States and all over the globe reached a fever pitch by 2021. Private companies and governments have made the most comprehensive promises to stop such attacks and eliminate the cybercriminal community. These efforts have been highlighted by a flurry of activity over the past weeks. Nevertheless, cybercrime remains at an all-time high, and researchers warn that there is no one solution.

Hackers Claim to Target Russian Institutions in Barrage of Cyberattacks and Leaks

New York Times: Hackers claim that they have hacked into Russian institutions dozens of times in the last two months. This includes the Kremlin’s internet censor and one of its primary intelligence services. In an extraordinary hack-and-leak campaign, they also leaked internal documents and emails to the public.

The leaked information includes names of Russian soldiers that operated in Bucha, where there was a massacre of civilians and agents of FSB (a principal Russian intelligence agency), along with other identifying information such as dates of birth and passport numbers.

Many of the data are difficult to verify by nature. The FSB is an intelligence agency. The FSB is an intelligence agency and would not confirm the identity of its officers. Even the organizations that distributed the data warned that files taken from Russian institutions might contain malware, manipulated, or faked information, and other tripwires.

Researchers say that some data could also be recycled from prior leaks and presented new to boost hackers’ credibility artificially. The data could also be propaganda, which is not unusual for Russia and Ukraine’s ongoing cyberconflict.

Hackers’ DeFi’ Threat Risk Expectations with New Attack Vectors In Crypto

SC Media: In recent years, Decentralized finance platforms (DeFi) have seen much popularity. They have attracted much attention from the bad guys, too.

According to research by Chainalysis, cryptocurrency transfers from illegal digital wallets have risen nearly 2,000% to the DeFi platform between 2020 and 2021. Although malfeasance is decreasing, cryptocurrency and DeFi networks are booming. Chainalysis found that 2021 was the third year in a row where cryptocurrency exchanges didn’t process more than half their transactions for bad actors. Chainalysis also discovered $8.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency transferred from illegal wallets to services between 2021 and 2021.

This is a growing problem for crypto finance as a whole. Nearly $3.2 Billion has been stolen by DeFi systems. $1.3 Billion was taken during the first quarter. Two years ago, DeFi was responsible for less than 30% of all digital data stolen. According to Chainalysis research, hackers took 97% of the cryptocurrency stolen this year from DeFi platforms.

Among Top Hacking Nations, North Korea’s The Weirdest

Washington Post: North Korea is a standout among the global pantheon of government-backed hackers. Not only does it have a lot of activity, and the weirdness also makes it stand out in the hacker world. Hackers are more likely than others to steal cryptocurrency. Most of the money is used to finance the nation’s nuclear program and other government operations.

The Lazarus Group, Pyongyang’s most prominent hacking gang, has recently been in the news for its brazen theft of more than $600 million in cryptocurrency via the Axie Infinity video game. This is just the latest in a series of significant cryptocurrency thefts.

But things get more bizarre, especially when contrasted by other state hacks that usually target US and Euro government offices. For example, North Korea’s 2014 hack of a movie theater — Sony Pictures Entertainment — was to settle a dispute over a negative portrayal of its dictator Kim Jong Un.

Reuters reported further that the UN monitors of North Korean sanctions enforcement reported that cybercrime was vital for Pyongyang’s ability to finance banned weapons programs. UN body stated that cyber activity was essential for North Korea to evade UN sanctions and raise money for its missile and nuclear programs. However, the biannual reports of the experts’ panel did not reflect this because member states were reluctant to report breaches.

In Case You Missed It

NSv Virtual Firewall: Tested and Certified in AWS Public Cloud – Ajay Uggirala

How SonicWall’s Supply-Chain Strategies Are Slicing Wait Times – Amber Wolff

SonicWall SMA 1000 Series Earns Best-Of Enterprise VPNs Award from Expert Insights – Bret Fitzgerald

World Backup Day: Because Real Life Can Have Save Points Too – Amber Wolff

CRN Honors SonicWall With 5-Star Rating in 2022 Partner Program Guide – Bret Fitzgerald

Cyberattacks on Government Skyrocketed in 2021 – Amber Wolff

Meeting the Cybersecurity Needs of the Hybrid Workforce – Ray Wyman

Third-Party ICSA Testing – Perfect Score Number 4 – Kayvon Sadeghi

Ransomware is Everywhere – Amber Wolff

Shields Up: Preparing for Cyberattacks During Ukraine Crisis – Aria Eslambolchizadeh

Capture Client 3.7: Rapid Threat Hunting with Deep Visibility and Storylines – Suroop Chandran

2021 Threat Intelligence Shows Attacks Rising Across the Board – Amber Wolff

Break Free with SonicWall Boundless 2022 – Terri O’Leary

SonicWall’s Bob VanKirk, HoJin Kim & David Bankemper Earn 2022 CRN Channel Chief Recognition – Bret Fitzgerald

Don’t Let Global Supply Chain Issues Impact Your Security – Kayvon Sadeghi

Unpacking the U.S. Cybersecurity Executive Order – Kayvon Sadeghi

Everything Old Is New Again: Remote Access Comes Full Circle – James Whewell

How SonicWall ZTNA protects against Log4j (Log4Shell) – Rishabh Parmar

SonicWall keeps up the pressure in global trade news with more ink for the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report and general mentions from online magazines that cater to cybersecurity vendors. In cybersecurity news, several topics received strong coverage: analysis of the vulnerabilities found in data centers and an inside perspective on the US-China cyberwar. In other news, a breakdown of three major SaaS attacks, Block (formerly Square) reports a massive breach of customer data, Russian-state media hacked by Anonymous, and the FBI says they stopped a Russian Botnet attack.

SonicWall News

Cyber Threats Surge as Government And Private Industry Try To Keep Up

NPR-Wisconsin Public Radio: According to the SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, ransomware attack volume increased 105% in the last year and has been up 232% since 2019. We hear from cybersecurity experts on what’s being done by the government and the private sector to push back against the flood of digital and online threats.

How can Healthcare Prepare for a “WannaCry 2”?

Healthcare Innovations: Governments worldwide saw a 1,885% increase in ransomware attacks in 2021, and the healthcare industry faced a 755% increase in those attacks, according to the SonicWall 2022 Cyber Threat Report. Of the victims, the United States came out on top. Most of these attacks have been found to have originated in Russia.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict: The Time for Cybersecurity Is Now

Seeking Alpha: Cybersecurity has always been a concern for individuals, corporations, and governments. However, the current conflict exacerbates the broader trend of attacks as they continue to increase in size, volume, and sophistication. This poses significant financial, reputational, and legal risks for the agencies targeted. For example, according to security provider SonicWall, ransomware attacks climbed an unprecedented 105% year-over-year in 2021 to 623.3M attacks. In addition, encrypted threats increased 167% year-over-year to 10.1 million, almost as many as 2018, 2019, and 2020 combined.

Buncombe County IT Requests Extra Funding to Bolster Cybersecurity

ABC 13 News (North Carolina): Buncombe County’s IT department wants to enhance its cyberdefense. County commissioners will consider a request from Buncombe County IT for $225,197 to augment and strengthen the county’s cybersecurity program. Governments worldwide saw a 1,885% increase in ransomware attacks, according to the 2022 Cyber Threat Report released by SonicWall, an internet cybersecurity company.

Mafia Moves: How to Combat Ransomware Extortion

Security Magazine (Event Announcement): Ransomware is big business, and no company is immune. In fact, ransomware attacks doubled last year, jumping 105% compared to 2020 (SonicWall). A ransomware attack can devastate a company by encrypting all its data and offering only one viable path to recovery: money. In this session, we will walk you through the anatomy of a ransomware attack, where you will learn step by step what to expect.

Ransomware Response: 5 Steps to Protect Your Business

Techspective: Last year was the most costly and dangerous year for businesses dealing with ransomware attacks. According to network security experts, by Q3 2021, SonicWall was reporting an almost 150% increase in ransomware attacks worldwide.

SonicWall: Security That Can be Licensed

CRN (Poland): SonicWall celebrated its 30th-anniversary last year. During this time, he developed solutions that make up an integrated security environment that has gained the recognition of industry experts and millions of satisfied customers worldwide.

SonicWall’s Next-Generation Wi-Fi Solution for Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises

BCN (Japan): With the promotion of workstyle reforms and the scourge of corona, even small and medium-sized enterprises are becoming more mobile within the company. However, the security measures of the introduced Wi-Fi products are vulnerable, and there are conspicuous dangerous cases where they are exposed to the risk of unauthorized access and malware from the outside. SonicWall Japan’s enterprise Wi-Fi solution has advanced security functions that provide real-time protection from known / unknown threats and management tasks that reduce person-hours at the time of introduction and significantly reduce the time and effort of the administrator.

Industry News

Physical Infrastructure Cybersecurity: A Growing Problem for Data Centers

Facility managers have more control over modern data center infrastructure management platforms (also known as ‘DCIM’) and other tools. As a result, managing data centers is now more efficient, scalable, faster and more effective than ever before. And, as it turns out, their physical infrastructure is now more vulnerable to cyberattacks than ever before. According to DataCenterKnowledge, research revealed that thousands of data center management systems were exposed to the Internet. Any attacker who has access to infrastructure management platforms may be able to manipulate cooling systems, which can cause servers to overheat and damage critical components. They could also upload malicious backup files or disrupt backup processes. In addition, The Hacker News reported that attackers can now remotely hack and disable uninterruptible power supply systems if they have dashboards accessible via the Internet. Dark Reading noted that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Department of Energy (DoE) distributed a joint alert last week that threat actors are hacking Internet-connected uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices typically via default username and password combinations.

Russian-Backed Hackers Spreading Disinformation on Facebook

The Hill: A new Facebook report found that government-affiliated hackers from Russia and Belarus attempted to use the social media platform for cyber espionage and disinformation campaigns targeting Ukrainians. The hackers attacked the Ukrainian telecom industry and defense and energy sectors. They also targeted tech platforms, journalists, activists, and tech platforms. Facebook claimed it had stopped a disinformation campaign associated with the Belarusian KGB. It posted that Ukrainian troops were surrendering and that leaders fled the country after Russia invaded. The tech company claimed it had disabled the account and ended the campaign the same day. In a related report, CNN reported that Ukrainian soldiers found their Facebook accounts targeted by hackers, some posing as journalists and independent news outlets online to push Russian talking points, running coordinated campaigns to get posts by critics of Russia removed from social media. And The Verge reported that hackers also planted false reports of a Ukrainian surrender into on-screen messages during live broadcast news. Though such statements are quickly disproved, experts have suggested that their purpose is to erode Ukrainians’ trust in media.

Hacked: Inside the US-China Cyberwar

AlJazeera: The United States has a long history of cyberespionage. However, cyberespionage has also been a long-standing problem for the government and private businesses in the United States. The Chinese government has been enhancing its technological, economic and military capabilities to be a global leader in cyberwarfare since the late 90s. Experts claim that China is now welcoming its citizen hacker group as a resource to combat aggressive actions by US-based attackers. Once thought to be patriotic internet nerds, Chinese hackers emerge in the mainstream as China and the US fight in cyberspace. There are also many allegations that Chinese hackers are state-sponsored. In a separate report, Bloomberg says suspected state-sponsored Chinese hackers recently targeted India’s power generation sector as part of an apparent ongoing cyber-espionage campaign.

Breaking Down 3 SaaS App Cyber Attacks in 2022

The Hacker News: Three major tech companies, Okta and HubSpot, reported data breaches last week. The first two were performed by DEV-0537 (also known as LAPSUS$). This highly skilled group uses state-of-the-art attack vectors with great success. The identity of the HubSpot attackers was not revealed. This article is on our recommended reading list. It provides a solid forensic examination of the evidence behind the three breaches, based on publicly available information with best practices that could help reduce the chance of attacks for other companies bracing for more attacks.

Block Confirms Cash App Breach After Former Employee Accessed US Customer Data

TechCrunch: Block has confirmed a data breach involving a former employee who downloaded reports from Cash App that contained some US customer information. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, Block — formerly known as Square — said that the reports were accessed by the insider on December 10. Mashable reported separately that the company notified 8.2 million US customers of the data breach, noting that the compromised data included their customers’ full names and brokerage portfolio values.

Anonymous Affiliate NB65 Breached State-Run Russian Broadcaster

HackRead: NB65 (Network Battalion 65) is a hacker group linked with the Anonymous hacktivist collective. The group claims to have breached the servers of Russian state-run television and radio broadcaster called the “All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company” (VGTRK). The data leak reportedly contains 4,000 files and more than 900,000 emails from VGTRK.

FBI Says It Disrupted Russian Hackers

Reuters: The FBI says that its cyber defense unit wrested control of thousands of routers and firewall appliances away from Russian military hackers by hijacking the same infrastructure Moscow’s spies were using to communicate with the devices, US officials said on Wednesday. An unsealed redacted affidavit described the unusual operation as a pre-emptive move to stop Russian hackers from mobilizing the compromised devices into a “botnet” – a network of hacked computers that can bombard other servers with rogue traffic. FoxNews reports that the attack involved thousands of infected network hardware devices under the control of a threat actor known as Sandworm, which the US government previously attributed to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (the GRU). The Daily Mail (UK) added that the FBI stopped the attack by hijacking the same infrastructure Moscow’s spies used and stopping the botnet in its tracks. It’s important to note the unusual nature of this operation, a pre-emptive move to prevent some Russian hackers from mobilizing the compromised devices. ‘Botnet’ is a network of hacked computers that can bombard servers with traffic.

In Case You Missed It

• SonicWall SMA 1000 Series Earns Best-Of Enterprise VPNs Award from Expert Insights – Bret Fitzgerald
• World Backup Day: Because Real Life Can Have Save Points Too – Amber Wolff
• CRN Honors SonicWall With 5-Star Rating in 2022 Partner Program Guide – Bret Fitzgerald
• Cyberattacks on Government Skyrocketed in 2021 – Amber Wolff
• Meeting the Cybersecurity Needs of the Hybrid Workforce – Ray Wyman
• Third-Party ICSA Testing – Perfect Score Number 4 – Kayvon Sadeghi
• Ransomware is Everywhere – Amber Wolff
• Shields Up: Preparing for Cyberattacks During Ukraine Crisis – Aria Eslambolchizadeh
• Capture Client 3.7: Rapid Threat Hunting with Deep Visibility and Storylines – Suroop Chandran
• 2021 Threat Intelligence Shows Attacks Rising Across the Board – Amber Wolff
• Break Free with SonicWall Boundless 2022 – Terri O’Leary
• SonicWall’s Bob VanKirk, HoJin Kim & David Bankemper Earn 2022 CRN Channel Chief Recognition – Bret Fitzgerald
• Don’t Let Global Supply Chain Issues Impact Your Security – Kayvon Sadeghi
• Unpacking the U.S. Cybersecurity Executive Order – Kayvon Sadeghi
• Everything Old Is New Again: Remote Access Comes Full Circle – James Whewell
• How SonicWall ZTNA protects against Log4j (Log4Shell) – Rishabh Parmar

This week, we continue to pick up new mentions for the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, including an excellent product review for Capture Client by BizTech Magazine. Our own Debasish Mukherjee, Vice President of Regional Sales APAC, was interviewed by regional industry trade journal, Express Computer. Industry news remains largely focused on national reactions to the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, with President Biden issuing an ominous-sounding warning to businesses that evolving Russian cyber threats are “coming.” Some observers added to our collective fear that undersea cables used by nearly every country around the globe are vulnerable. Meanwhile, health data of almost 50 million Americans were compromised last year, HubSpot was breached, members of the gang that hacked Okta and Microsoft were arrested in the UK, and Nestlé denies Anonymous claims that it was hacked.

SonicWall News

Securing Information in A Boundless World Is Virtually Impossible

Express Computer: An exclusive interview with Debasish Mukherjee, Vice President, Regional Sales APAC, SonicWall Inc, shares the significance of new threats to cybersecurity and the impact on Indian companies while heavily citing the SonicWall Cyber Threat Report 2022.

Review: SonicWall Capture Client Makes Security Seamless

BizTech Magazine: A recent test of SonicWall’s advanced endpoint protection solution left us impressed with its ability to provide continuous behavioral monitoring, easy threat hunting, and a multilayered heuristic approach to determining potential network anomalies. It all combines to produce highly accurate determinations of active threats with very little noise or false positives.

Irish Charity Rehab Group Targeted by Cyberattack

Silicon Republic: SonicWall’s latest cyberthreat report highlighted the variety of cybersecurity threats that increased to unprecedented levels in 2021, with ransomware attacks up 105pc and encrypted threats increasing 167pc.

Ransomware Attacks Rose 105% In 2021

Staffing Industry Analysts: There were 623 million ransomware attacks globally in 2021, an increase of 105% from the previous year, according to a report released last month by SonicWall, a San Jose, California-based cybersecurity firm. Separately, staffing firms can take steps to reduce the chance of becoming victims of such attacks.

Investing In Thematics: Big Data

Benzinga: In 2020, ransomware attacks increased by 62% globally and 158% in North America compared to 2019, citing data from the 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. The story uses the data to conclude that malicious attacks have real consequences for business, infrastructure, and end-users beyond lost data and operational disruptions.

Mobile Traffic Dominates with Spike In Digital Fraud

IT Wire: The past year has seen a meteoric rise in ransomware incidents worldwide. Over the past 12 months, SonicWall threat researchers have diligently tracked the meteoric rise in cyberattacks and trends and activity across all threat vectors.

What Are the Biggest Ransomware Trends Facing US Businesses?

Insurance Business Magazine: SonicWall’s 2022 Cyber Threat Report described 2021 as “one of the worst years for ransomware ever recorded” as attack volume rose to a staggering 623.3 million. The number is equivalent to 2,170 ransomware attempts per customer and almost 20 attempts every second.

Big Data Cloud Computing and Cybersecurity

Seeking Alpha: In 2020, ransomware attacks increased by 62% globally and 158% in North America compared to 2019, according to the SonicWall Cyber Threat Report.

Microsoft And Okta Investigate Data Breach Claims

Silicon Republic: SonicWall’s latest cyberthreat report highlights the variety of threats that increased to unprecedented levels in 2021, with ransomware attacks up 105pc and encrypted threats increasing 167pc.

Industry News

“It’s coming”: President Biden warns of “evolving” Russian cyber threat to US

CBS News: Monday’s warning by President Biden culminated with “evolving intelligence” that suggests Russia has explored options for cyberattacks against US critical infrastructure. Biden addressed the Business Roundtable, a group of some of America’s largest corporations. He also said that “the magnitude of Russia’s cyber capability is quite consequential… and it’s coming.” Although there is no evidence of a specific threat to cybersecurity, Anne Neuberger, Biden’s deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, explained to reporters Monday that US officials had observed “preparatory works” linking to nation-state actors. This activity could indicate an increase in US companies scanning websites and searching for vulnerabilities.

Threat Looms of Russian Attack On Undersea Cables To Shut Down West’s Internet

France 24: The twin global crises of cyber warfare and war in Ukraine have revived fears of a digital catastrophe scenario in which Russia would take over the internet, destroying its undersea cables. Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, this possibility has been raised many times, even by military leaders. For example, according to Guardian newspaper, Admiral Tony Radakin of the British Armed Forces stated, in January 2022, that Moscow could “put at danger and potentially exploit the real world’s information system, which are undersea cables that run all around the globe.” The influential American think tank Atlantic Council shared Radakin’s theory and published an article about the possibility of the Kremlin cutting global internet cables.
Anyone looking to disrupt cybersecurity and global connectivity will find that there are more than 430 undersea Internet cables. These cables are often seen as the weakest link in the worldwide network. They “look like large garden hoses lying at sea,” according to Tobias Liebetrau, an expert in international relations at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Except for integrated surveillance systems, which can only send alerts if there’s danger nearby, the cables don’t have any special protection.

Russian Spies Indicted in Worldwide Hacks of Energy Industry, Including Kansas Nuclear Plant

Politico: The US Department of Justice claims that three Russian spies spent five years targeting 135 countries’ energy infrastructures to allow the Russian government remote control of power stations. Wired Magazine reported that the attacks spanned 2012 to 2014. According to an indictment in Kansas’s district court, the three FSB officers — Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov — conspired to conceal malware in software updates used to control power plant equipment. This tactic, along with others, allowed the accused agents to install malware on more than 17,000 devices worldwide. These attacks were disclosed previously in 2018.

HubSpot Data Breach Ripples Through Cryptocurrency Industry

Threat Post: A HubSpot rogue employee was fired for leaking information about cryptocurrency customers. More than 135,000 customers use HubSpot. Analysts suspect the breach could affect approximately 30 crypto-companies, including BlockFi, NYDIG, Swan Bitcoin, Circle, and Pantera Capital. The breach reminds us of the amount of data CRM systems can gobble up.

Health Data Breaches Swell In 2021 Amid Hacking Surge

Politico: According to analysis, nearly 50 million Americans saw their sensitive healthcare data compromised in 2021. This is a threefold increase over the previous three years. These cybersecurity incidents were reported by health care providers, insurers and state officials last year. According to the analysis, more than half of all states and Washington, DC had more than one in 10 residents affected by unauthorized access to their health data. Hacking was responsible for almost 75% of these breaches, up from 35% in 2016.

Alleged Microsoft, Okta Hackers Arrested In UK

The Hill: British authorities arrested seven individuals on Thursday suspected of hacking major tech companies, including Okta and Microsoft, also reported by Reuters. The individuals arrested are between the ages of 16 and 21 and are likely members of the hacking group. The Verge also reported that this group had taken responsibility for some major security breaches at tech companies, including Nvidia, Samsung, and Ubisoft. On Wednesday, reports surfaced indicating an Oxford-based teenager is the mastermind of the group. City of London Police did not say if this teenager was among those arrested

Nestlé Denies Anonymous Hacked It

Fortune Magazine: Nestlé has denied claims that hacker collective Anonymous published sensitive information it stole from the Swiss food giant as punishment for doing business in Russia. Responding to increasing consumer pressure, Nestlé said it is reducing its offering of consumer brands in Russia, including Kit Kat and Nesquik, as quickly as possible in response to Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

In Case You Missed It

• Meeting the Cybersecurity Needs of the Hybrid Workforce – Ray Wyman
• Third-Party ICSA Testing – Perfect Score Number 4 – Kayvon Sadeghi
• Ransomware is Everywhere – Amber Wolff
• Shields Up: Preparing for Cyberattacks During Ukraine Crisis – Aria Eslambolchizadeh
• Capture Client 3.7: Rapid Threat Hunting with Deep Visibility and Storylines – Suroop Chandran
• 2021 Threat Intelligence Shows Attacks Rising Across the Board – Amber Wolff
• Break Free with SonicWall Boundless 2022 – Terri O’Leary
• SonicWall’s Bob VanKirk, HoJin Kim & David Bankemper Earn 2022 CRN Channel Chief Recognition – Bret Fitzgerald
• Don’t Let Global Supply Chain Issues Impact Your Security – Kayvon Sadeghi
• Unpacking the U.S. Cybersecurity Executive Order – Kayvon Sadeghi
• Everything Old Is New Again: Remote Access Comes Full Circle – James Whewell
• How SonicWall ZTNA protects against Log4j (Log4Shell) – Rishabh Parmar
• 10 Tips for a Safe and Happy Holiday – Amber Wolff
• The Rise and Growth of Malware-as-a-Service – Ray Wyman