Cybersecurity News & Trends

It was another busy week with several news outlets quoting the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. Other stories mention SonicWall corp, its products and services and one recognized CRN Channel awards for three women from SonicWall’s field marketing team. In global cybersecurity news, Krebs’ ongoing coverage of hackers using fake Emergency Data Requests (EDRs) escalated into a DEA investigation. The Republic of Korea just became the first Asian country to join NATO’s cybersecurity group, much to the chagrin of the People’s Republic of China. India’s new CERT-IN breach reporting requirements are bumping against growing resistance from businesses and organizations. In California, a data provider for the State Bar accidentally released private and potentially damaging information about some of its member attorneys. MyNurse patient data tracking service is closing its doors after a severe data breach. Log4Shell exploits are resurfacing with new threats to the tranquility of enterprise data lakes and potentially devastating AI poisoning. And 157-year-old Lincoln College is closing its doors – apparently succumbing to the COVID pandemic and a catastrophic cyberattack.

SonicWall News

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.

WannaCry’s Ghost Is Still Wreaking Havoc Five Years On

ITPro (UK), SonicWall in the News: In an article about the 5th anniversary of WannaCry: SonicWall is one such company still tracking WannaCry, although other firms tell IT Pro they have decided to stop monitoring the strain, given the worst of it is over. We may not have seen the same level of destruction as sustained five years ago, but detections remain high.

Most Brazilian Companies Don’t Pay to Get Data Back After Ransomware Attacks

ZDNet, Threat Report Mention: With over 33 million intrusion attempts in 2021, Brazil is only behind the US, Germany and the UK in terms of ransomware attacks, according to a cyber threats report released by SonicWall earlier this year. In 2020, Brazil ranked ninth in the same ranking, with 3,8 million ransomware attacks.

New Report Paints Boston As Burgeoning Cybersecurity Hub

Bostinno/Boston Business Journal, Threat Report Mention: The world saw a 105% surge in ransomware cyberattacks last year, according to the most recent SonicWall cyber threat report.

The Rising Risk of Ransomware Attacks on Organizations and How to Mitigate it

Security Review, Threat Report Mention: According to the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, “ransomware volume increased 105% year over year and is up 232% since 2019.” With the risk of ransomware attacks continuing to rise, it’s crucial to shield your organization from these attacks to avoid unwanted financial fallout.

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

SonicWall Blog, SonicWall in the News: SonicWall is thrilled to share that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named three global channel team members on CRN’s 2022 Women of the Channel List. SonicWall’s Sr. Director, Global Field Marketing Nicola Scheibe; Sr. Channel Account Manager Terra Paisley; and Sales Manager Misty Warhola were included on the annual list, which honors the incredible accomplishments of female leaders in the IT channel.

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.

Industry News

DEA Investigating a Breach of Law Enforcement Data Portal

Krebs on Security: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says it is investigating reports hackers gained unauthorized access of an agency portal that taps into 16 federal law enforcement databases. KrebsOnSecurity claims that it discovered that the alleged compromise was tied to an online harassment and cybercrime community that routinely impersonates government officials and police officers to obtain personal information. Krebs has been following this topic closely, as reported in previous posts of Cybersecurity News & Trends.

KrebsOnSecurity shared information regarding the allegedly hijacked account to the DEA, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (which houses both agencies). However, the DEA refused to provide details on the validity of the claims.

The Republic of Korea is the First Asian Country to Join NATO’s Cyber Research Center

Numerous news agencies are covering a fresh story about the Republic of Korea joining the NATO cybersecurity group known as the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence. (CCDCOE). According to The Korea Times, the state intelligence agency of Korea announced Monday that there was a flag-raising ceremony in Estonia to commemorate Korea’s participation. The CCDCOE operations are based in Tallinn (Estonia), Canada, Luxembourg, and Luxembourg. The group was created in 2008 by NATO members in response to crippling cyberattacks in Estonia committed by Russian cyber gangs. CCDCOE now boasts 32 nation members, including 27 NATO members that sponsor it, plus five contributors, including Korea, according to ZDNet.

The South China Morning Post reports that although the cybersecurity group operates independently from NATO, Chinese military analysts claim that Beijing is concerned by the development. The People’s Republic of China sees the move as an expansion of the NATO defense alliance and a threat to Chinese security interests.

Russia used the military alliance’s eastern expansion to justify its invasion of Ukraine. Government leaders in Beijing consider Moscow’s claim as a legitimate security concern. Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based military analyst, said that China views NATO as overbearing and that Korea’s decision to join the center is “definitely not in China’s best interests.”

Industry Rebuffs India’s Data Security Breach Reporting Requirements

The Register: Opposition to India’s new rules for reporting computer security breaches grows. The rules were introduced in late March by the government-run CERT-In. This team has responsibility for incident management.

CERT-In requires Indian organizations to report more than 20 types of cybersecurity incidents within six hours of discovering them. In addition, it ranks ransomware attacks, detections of malicious network probes, and hijacking social media accounts all on the same level.

Other requirements include the retention and capture of VPN users’ personal data and IP addresses. The government gave Indian organizations only 60 days to ramp for compliance. The organizations say that these requirements are difficult to meet because they affect large entities such as data center operators and that some incidents happen daily.

California State Bar: 1,300 Attorneys Identified in Massive Data Breach

OC Register: California’s State Bar has begun notifying thousands of attorneys whose names were found in 322,525 confidential records of proceedings for member discipline. The breach occurred in February. According to the State Bar, it will reach out to 1,300 respondents, witnesses, and complainants whose names are contained in 1,034 supposedly confidential records. The State Bar will also contact those named in records but were not published.

Public records aggregator Judyrecords published the documents. They remained online between October 2021 and February 2022. Southern California News Group first reported the breach. According to the report, the breach was not the result of malicious hacking but rather a security flaw in the State Bar’s Odyssey Portal that Texas-based Tyler Technologies operates. As a result, the confidential records were unintentionally swept up and published by Judyrecords. The portal vulnerability was fixed, and access to the public records of the State Bar Court was restored while the records search function was still disabled on Judyrecords. The website administrator stated in a note that the portal glitch enabled users to access court cases in various jurisdictions in California, Georgia, Kansas and Texas.

MyNurse Shuts Down After Data Breach Exposes Health Records

TechCrunch: MyNurse stated in a data breach notice that it had decided to close its business because of a “data security incident” but didn’t give a reason. The company stated that it began notifying patients affected on April 29, more than seven weeks after the breach was discovered. MyNurse is a startup in healthcare that offers remote monitoring and chronic care management. It reported a data breach that exposed the personal health information of its users.

Salusive Health was the startup that launched the service. The company later filed a data breach notification with the California attorney general’s office stating that it discovered a breach in early March. An unauthorized individual had accessed its protected health data. Patients’ financial, demographic and health information were all accessed. This included names, dates of birth, phone numbers, and dates of birth, including medical histories, diagnosis, treatments, prescriptions and information about health insurance and policies.

Log4Shell Exploit Resurfaces, Threatens Enterprise Data Lakes, AI Poisoning

Dark reading: Enterprise data pools are growing as more organizations embrace AI and machine learning. However, this makes them vulnerable to exploitations of the Java Log4Shell vulnerability. With a view to privacy, organizations are focused on ingesting data points that they can use to train an AI or algorithm. However, too many times, the operators neglect the security of data lakes.

Research has shown that triggering the log4Shell bug is relatively easy once the code is ingested into a target database or repository via a pipeline. Furthermore, such a strategy bypasses traditional safeguards such as application firewalls, sandboxing and other traditional scanning services.

Like the original attacks on the Java Log4j library exploiting a single string, it is only necessary to extract the text. However, researchers say that an attacker could embed the string in a malicious big data file payload to create a shell within the data lake and launch a data poisoning attack. The difficulty of detection is even more significant because the big-data file containing the poison payload can often be encrypted or compressed.

Lincoln College Shuts Down After 157 Years. Blames COVID-19, and Cyberattack

NPR: Lincoln College was not destroyed by the 1918 influenza pandemic. The Great Depression and World War II didn’t help the school, yet it survived. The school was able to withstand a major fire, other economic hardships and many serious threats. Unfortunately, the college will close for good this spring due to two modern blights: the COVID-19 pandemic and a cyberattack.

This is a remarkable turnaround for the small, private school in Illinois that has hosted thousands of first-generation college students and received federal recognition as a predominantly Black institution.

Lincoln College saw record enrollments in fall 2019, filling all its dormitories. The pandemic struck as it did around the globe, disrupting campus life and making it difficult for the school to raise funds and recruit new students. The school had to set aside cash reserves for new technology and safety precautions. In December 2021, ransomware attacked the school, stopping admissions and preventing access to all data.

CBS News reported the fall enrollment had dropped sharply to just a fraction of what was required to sustain operations by the time that the school gained access to its computer systems nearly four months later. In March, the school announced its decision to close. Former and current students felt betrayed by the school, which had provided them with opportunity and refuge from uncertain situations.

In Case You Missed It

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

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

Cybersecurity News & Trends

This week, SonicWall is on a winning streak with another strong showing in general news and industry press. There were continued mentions of the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, new product reviews, and partner news. In industry news, the Tenet healthcare network suffered a cyberattack that disrupted operations at two hospitals in Palm Beach, FL. While cyberattacks rage in Ukraine, US Intel warns of fresh attacks on US targets by state-sponsored cyber gangs from China, Russia, and North Korea. Krebs is following a developing situation where hackers are using fake Emergency Data Requests (EDRs) to gain fraudulent law enforcement actions that can compromise companies and agencies. Meanwhile, JPMorgan is getting sued for a hack, the US State Department antes $10M for information about Russian hackers, the malware loader Bumblebee is loose, and experts examine predictive analytics for cybersecurity.

SonicWall News

Cyberwar Zone: Biden, Experts Warn Business Attacks are Coming

Virginia Business, 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.

SonicWall Virtual Firewall Tested and Certified in AWS Public Cloud – Ideal for Distributed Networks

Markets Insider, News: SonicWall today announced a new report by The Tolly Group, which detailed the testing and analysis of the performance of the SonicWall NSv 470 virtual firewall. Using Keysight’s CyPerf cloud-native testing solution to provide the test infrastructure for standardized, repeatable performance tests, Tolly benchmarked the throughput and connection performance of the virtual firewall in Amazon Web Services (AWS).

For Over 30 Years, Jeff Dann Has Had the People, Process, And Technology To Ensure Their Customers Are Protected

MSP Success, Threat Report Mention: SonicWall reports there were 304.7 million ransomware attacks, 51.1 million crypto-jacking attacks, and 32.2 million IoT malware attacks in 2021. The report states that attackers targeted web applications with financial and personal information for a big payday.

The Industry Takes Stock of Cyberattacks In Hawaii

Pacific Inno, News: Each year, the SonicWall Cyber Threat Report uncovers insights extracted from global cyberthreat data collected and analyzed by expert researchers. SonicWall calls its report “the world’s most quoted ransomware threat intelligence,” and it is an annual snapshot of the threat landscape, helping business and government leaders make informed decisions about cybersecurity.

Learn how NLP Can Help to Understand the Cyber-Exposure And The Silent Cyber

Intelligent Insurer, Threat Report Mention: Corporate IT teams handled 623 million ransomware attacks in 2021, up 105% year on year, according to security vendor SonicWall. The firm reports an 1,885 percent increase in attacks on government targets, healthcare (755 percent), education (152 percent) and retail (21 percent).

Cyber Threats to Media Companies Are on The Rise

E&P, Threat Report Mention: Reporter Amiah Taylor explained ransomware research by SonicWall, an internet cybersecurity company, and its 2022 Cyber Threat Report, which offers some alarming statistics about ransomware attacks, in particular governments worldwide saw a 1,885% increase in ransomware attacks, and the health care industry faced a 755% increase in those attacks in 2021.

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.

Industry News

Tenet Says, ‘Cybersecurity Incident’ Disrupted Hospital Operations

Healthcare Dive: Tenet is one of the largest US for-profit health systems. It reported that it suffered a cybersecurity incident last week, which disrupted some acute care operations. According to the statement issued Tuesday by the Texas-based operator, most critical functions have been restored, and affected facilities are beginning normal operations. Tenet did not disclose the nature or extent of the incident or the affected facilities. It also didn’t say whether hackers accessed any patient data.

SC Media and CBSNews affiliate WEPC offered additional details on the incident, reporting that the attack forced caregivers to chart patient care using paper because the network’s phone and computer systems were down. As a result, the company’s “acute care operations” at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach and St. Mary’s Medical Center were temporarily interrupted.

Cyberattacks Rage in Ukraine, Support Military Operations

Threat Post: At most, five advanced persistent threats (APTs) are believed to be behind attacks tied to ground campaigns that aim to harm Ukraine’s digital infrastructure. Five state-sponsored APT groups are behind the attacks on Ukraine that started in February. The groups used the cyberattacks against Ukraine strategically to support the ground campaign. Microsoft published research on Wednesday that revealed that Russia had state-sponsored the APTs in the campaign.

Separate reports this week shed light on cyberattacks against Ukrainian digital assets carried out by APTs linked to Russia. Microsoft researchers have found that six distinct Russia-aligned threat agents carried out 237 cyber operations, resulting in threats to civilian welfare. They also attempted to launch dozens of cyber espionage attempts against Ukrainian targets.

US Intel, Google Warn of Cyberattacks from China, Russia, North Korea

Newsweek: In the past month, intelligence agencies, President Joe Biden and large companies such as Google all issued the same warning — sounding alarms about the growing threat of cyberattacks coming from foreign governments. Christopher Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, stated that the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party are the biggest threats to the country’s counterintelligence. He said they target our innovation, trade secrets, and intellectual property at a scale never before seen in history. According to Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), Iran, North Korea and Russia are the top cyberattacks on the US.

Fighting Fake EDRs with ‘Credit Ratings’ for Police

Krebs On Security: The Krebs security team recently examined how cybercriminals used hacked email accounts of police departments worldwide to obtain warrantless Emergency Data Requests from technology providers and social media companies. Many security experts called it an insurmountable problem. Matt Donahue is a former FBI agent who recently left the agency to start a startup to help tech companies screen out fraudulent law enforcement data requests. This includes assigning credit ratings or trustworthiness to law enforcement agencies worldwide.

Manufacturer Sues JPMorgan After Cybercriminals Stole $272m

Computer Weekly: Essilor Manufacturing sued JP Morgan, alleging that the bank failed to report suspicious activity, leading cybercriminals to steal $272 million. According to reports, Ray-Ban sunglasses’ French manufacturer claimed that the bank failed to notify them of suspicious activity in New York. As a result, the manufacturer claimed an increase in money transactions and money sent to offshore companies in high-risk countries in papers filed in Manhattan federal court.

State Dept Offering $10 Million For Information on Russian Cybercriminals

The Hill: The State Department has announced it is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on a group of Russian cybercriminals. The department released a press release on Tuesday stating that its Rewards for Justice program (RFJ) is looking for information about six people who are allegedly involved in a criminal conspiracy involving malicious hacking activities that affect the critical infrastructure of the United States. According to the State Department, these individuals were part of a criminal conspiracy that infected computers with destructive malware in June 2017. The malware was called NotPetya.

Cybercriminals Using New Malware Loader’ Bumblebee’ in the Wild

Hacker News: The cybercriminals who were previously seen delivering IcedID and BazaLoader as part of their malware campaigns may have switched to a new loader called Bumblebee, which is currently actively being deployed. Researchers report that Bumblebee may be the new multifunctional tool of choice for spreading malware based on cybercriminals’ timing and early proliferation of the loader. The new loader was distributed in March 2022. There are overlaps between malicious activity and Conti ransomware deployments.

Predictive Analytics could be the Future of Cybersecurity

Analytics Insight: While it might not be possible to prevent every data breach, it is possible to minimize the risk. Even the most skilled cyber professionals admit that it is impossible to control all data breaches. It is impossible to stop determined hackers from getting into systems. This is not because they are too sophisticated; even the most experienced security professionals fall prey to human error. Nevertheless, it is possible to minimize the risk, which is good news. Organizational leaders must accept this fact as soon as possible. It is best to assume that data breaches will happen and set up cyber defenses to reduce the damage. A crisis checklist can help prepare for the worst.

In Case You Missed It

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

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

SonicWall continues to generate a steady flow of hits from various industry and trade publications and bloggers. In general cybersecurity news, some folks in the cyber security community are uncomfortable with a loophole found in the Cybersecurity Act of 2022. Another news item raises more concern for a rapidly developing threat for US energy companies. Meanwhile, the feds shut down a hacker’s marketplace; a UK government office apologized for an email breach; more malware grief for Microsoft windows and the hacker group NB65 claims they used Russian malware tools to hack the Russian space agency.

SonicWall News

Ransomware Response: 5 steps to Protect Your Business

Security Boulevard: 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.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict: The Time for Cyber Security Is Now

Seeking Alpha: “According to security provider SonicWall, ransomware attacks climbed an unprecedented 105% year-over-year in 2021 to a total of 623.3M attacks. Encrypted threats increased 167% year-over-year to 10.1 million, almost as many as 2018, 2019, and 2020 combined.”

Panasonic Canadian Operations Suffer Data Breach

Security Magazine: According to SonicWall’s 2022 Cyber Threat Report, governments worldwide saw a 1,885% increase in ransomware attacks, and the health care industry faced a 755% increase in those attacks in 2021.

Clumio Protect releases turnkey ransomware protection solution for Amazon DynamoDB

VentureBeat: The announcement comes as ransomware attacks are on the rise, with SonicWall researchers recording 623.2 million ransomware attempts in 2021, an increase of 105% from the year before.

Cyber Threats And Ransomware Attacks Surge As The Government And Private Industry Try To Keep Up

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

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN: Which solution is best?

IDG Connect: In a review of SonicWall Netextender, the author says that SonicWall “enforces granular access policies and extends network access through native clients. It also enhances firewall encryption and security by redirecting all client traffic through VPN.”

Rise of RaaS

Professional Security Magazine: In fact, the number of ransomware attacks has been so frequent that SonicWall’s 2022 Cyber Threat Report revealed governments worldwide saw an 1,885 per cent increase in 2021.

Industry News

Cybersecurity Act of 2022: A Step in the Right Direction with a Significant Loophole

Dark Reading: Recently, the Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act 2022 passed without any partisan debate, such are the cyberthreats facing the United States and the rest of the world. Most cybersecurity communities were pleased to see Congress quickly act on this critical issue. However, some were alarmed by a loophole in the legislation that may hinder a basic tenet of the bill to share cyber security information across all platforms to increase cybersecurity. This loophole includes a complete exclusion of DNS services from reporting requirements and other obligations required of all other companies and entities. This article explains what appears to be an astonishing and deliberate omission in detail. MeriTalk posted a related story. The CISA will roll out a new protected Domain Name System technology (DNS) in 2022 under the Trusted Internet Connections program. Although the new DNS technology will strengthen protections, there are no provisions to share WHOIS or other DNS operations or make cyber security incidents easier to report and track.

US Warns Energy Firms of A Rapidly Advancing Hacking Threat

EnergyWire/E&E News: US intelligence services and the Department of Energy reported that “custom-made malware” was discovered targeting electricity and natural gas infrastructure systems. The FBI and CISA issued a joint alert urging energy companies to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses against a possible attack that could gain “full system access.” This news comes after the Ukrainian government announced Tuesday that it had stopped an attack by the “Sandworm,” an elite Russian hacking group, to disrupt industrial control systems (ICS) that run high-voltage substations. It is possible that the attack would have caused temporary power outages to 2 million people if it had been successful (MIT Technology Review). ARS Technica reports that the FBI and CISA have discovered a “Swiss Army Knife” that can hack industrial control systems. The hack tool, dubbed “Pipedream”, is a versatile malware toolkit designed explicitly for refineries and power grids. This report follows a CISA “shields-up” alert regarding cybersecurity awareness that Forbes reported in February.

Feds Shut Down RaidForums Hacking Marketplace

ThreatPost: US law enforcement shut down the largest cybercriminal online forum in the world and announced federal charges against 21-year-old Portuguese citizen Diogo Santos Coelho on six criminal counts, including conspiracy, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Security professionals pointed out that hackers will still be able to buy and sell data stolen from cyber-attacks. However, this takedown is unlikely to cause a lasting disruption. Tuesday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that it had seized three domains to shut down RaidForums, an English-language online marketplace used by cybercriminals to purchase and sell databases taken from companies through ransomware or other cyber-attacks. According to a Tuesday press release, the domains that federal agents seized after they obtained judicial authorization were “raidforums.com,” “Rf.ws” and “Raid.lol”.

Home Office’s Visa Service Apologizes for Email Address Data Breach

The Guardian: The UK’s Home Office’s Visa Service has apologized for a data breach that saw the email addresses of over 170 people accidentally copied into an email sent last week. On 7 April 2022, a message was sent to more than 170 addresses about the need to change the location of a visa appointment with the UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service. Private contractor Sopra Steria manages the UKVCAS on behalf of the Home Office. Some email addresses looked like personal Gmail accounts, while others were associated with lawyers from various firms.

Investigation Into A Computer Breach Involves City Officials And Employees

Fox News (Cleveland): An investigation is ongoing into a computer security breach in the City of Cleveland. Multiple sources claimed it occurred on Saturday. A message was sent to officials and employees of the city, stating that it had been reported. The message said, “We have identified an account compromised on our network trying to harvest log-in passwords.”

Advisory: Hackers Are Using a Simple Trick To Hide Their Windows Malware

ZDNet: Microsoft exposed Tarrask as malware likely to have been created by a state-sponsored hacking organization in China. The program targets Windows computers and makes invisible software updates. The malware was attributed to Hafnium by the Windows maker, the same hacking group that the US and UK blamed for the Exchange Server hacks last year. Tarrask malware causes Windows to run unscheduled tasks and can be installed on Windows machines and remain there undetected after a reboot. The malware uses the Windows Task Scheduler, which admins can use to automate tasks like software updates for browsers or other apps. However, in this instance, the attackers are the ones using it.

Anonymous-Affiliated Hacking Group Used Russia’s Own Ransomware Against Russian Space Agency

Daily Mail (UK): Last month, Anonymous-affiliated Network Battalion 65 claimed it had stolen files from Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. It claimed it also had taken down Roscosmos satellites. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Agency, denied that it had lost control over its systems and called out the group’s claims as a scam. However, according to a wide swath of cybersecurity experts, Russia-watchers, and verified by several news outlets, the ransomware ‘Conti’ was indeed used by the NB65 group in a successful hack of Roscosmos. This draws us to the last bit of irony: Conti originates from a Russian cyber-crime organization of the same name.

In Case You Missed It

• 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

Not only did we pick up more news hits for the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, SonicWall saw global reports on the fantastic record-breaking year for its channel partners. Industry news in cybersecurity and hacking didn’t take a pause last week. First, the health care equipment manufacturer Philips discovered a vulnerability in products that use an e-alert system. We’ll wait to see if that item gets more airplay next week. Second, Crypto hackers stole more than $600 million from Axie Infinity’s Ronin gaming network – and this is a new record haul. Finally, we found an excellent overview and summary of the “Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act” legislation this month. And in other news, Chinese hackers target VMware with Deep Panda, and hackers are abusing fake emergency subpoenas to force companies to give up important information.

SonicWall News

Apple Forced to Issue Emergency Fixes for Two Zero-Days

IT Wire: Apple issued emergency fixes for two zero-day vulnerabilities that were being exploited in the wild and affected iPhones, iPads, and Macs. In the same report, over the past 12 months, SonicWall threat researchers have diligently tracked the meteoric rise in cyberattacks and trends and activity across all threat vectors.

Cyber Security Risks and Companies’ Readiness

Financial Times: Research from cyber security company SonicWall supports a more positive outlook [that major business recognizes the risks]. “From mid-2020 to 2021, the number of CEOs who said cyber security risks were the biggest threat to short-term growth nearly doubled,” said SonicWall chief executive Bill Conner in its recent cyber threat report.

Cyber Heroes Prepare for Battle

RED/MSU Denver: The bad guys – cybercriminals, in this case – appear to be winning. Ransomware attacks have risen 62% worldwide since 2019 and by nearly 160% in North America, according to a 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. Last year’s attack on Colonial Pipeline was among those which crippled energy infrastructure that delivers about 45% of fuel for the East Coast. As for the good guys: There aren’t enough of them.

World Backup Day: Building a Tiered Backup Strategy for Ransomware Recovery

ToolBox: In 2021, SonicWall recorded an alarming 623.3 million ransomware attacks globally, averaging 2,170 attempts per customer. With each attack aimed at exploiting weaknesses in IT networks and endpoint devices to inject ransomware, organizations can’t afford to lower their guard for a moment.

Can The Financial Sector Manage Hybrid Working Security?

Finance Monthly: Ransomware is not the only threat, of course. Today, a wide range of attack methods need to be considered and resisted. For example, SonicWall’s Cyber Threat Report recently recorded 56.9 million IoT attacks, 5.6 billion malware attacks, and 4.8 trillion intrusion attempts.

Digital Rights Management Market is Growing at A Rate Of 17% With The Rise In Security Concerns

Globe Newswire (TBRC Business Research): according to the 2021 Cyber Threat Report by SonicWall, there has been a 62% increase in ransomware since 2019. This number is still rising as cybersecurity attacks become more complex and challenging to detect. Digital rights management is also used by healthcare organizations and financial services firms to ensure compliance with data privacy and protection standards such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act or GLBA). Hence, the rise in security concerns is expected to create avenues for the digital rights management market growth.

Mitigating Security Risks Posed by Hybrid Working

TechRadar Pro: A wide range of attack methods need to be considered and resisted. SonicWall’s Cyber Threat Report recently recorded 56.9 million IoT attacks, 5.6 billion malware attacks, and 4.8 trillion intrusion attempts.

SonicWall Posts Record-Breaking Year as Channel Partners Thrive with Unparallel Product Demand

Yahoo Finance (Cision Press Release): Today, SonicWall announced that 2021 was its best year. Propelled by delivering high-demand products, including the evolution of its Generation 7 next-generation firewalls and a laser focus on its customers, SonicWall showed record levels of sales and profitability in 2021.

SonicWall Creció Un 20% En Iberia, Ayudado Por Sus Más De 900 Partners

IT User (Spain): La compañía cuenta a nivel global con más de 17.000 partners activos, que han aumentado su cuota de mercado en franjas de precios y segmentos de mercado clave. SonicWall ha aumentado un 33% su cartera de nuevos clientes y un 45% las ventas en nuevos clientes, y ha registrado un aumento del 10% en los ingresos recurrentes anuales de los partners.

El Canal Ayuda a SonicWall a Cosechar en 2021 El Mejor Resultado De Su Historia

Dealer World (Spain): De histórico se puede calificar el año 2021 para SonicWall, que se ha traducido en los mejores resultados en la historia de la compañía. Resultados que se han visto impulsados por la venta de productos de alta demanda, incluida la evolución de sus firewalls de próxima generación, Generation 7, y un enfoque 100% dirigido al cliente, SonicWall logró niveles récord de ventas y rentabilidad en 2021; y especialmente por el trabajo de su Canal.

SonicWall Hace Frente a Las Ciberamenazas e Incrementa Las Oportunidades De Los Canales

Reseller 15 Años (Mexico): Basado en el Informe de Ciberamenazas 2022 de SonicWall, el fabricante líder en Inteligencia de Amenazas de ransomware, compartió el trabajo que está realizando junto con sus socios para enfrentar el aumento de casi todas las amenazas monitoreadas, ciberataques y ataques digitales maliciosos, donde se incluye el ransomware, las amenazas cifradas, el malware IoT y cryptojacking.

SonicWall Live-Webinar: Meet the Cybersecurity Requirements of Hybrid Working Models

InfoPoint Security (Germany): Join the SonicWall MINDHUNTER series and learn from security expert Stephan Kaiser what business and security challenges this fast-growing and dynamic IT landscape poses for your IT managers.

SonicWall Reports Record Year for Products and Channel Engagement

Channel Life (Australia): SonicWall has reported its best year on record, attributing its new range of products, customer focus and successful channel engagement. Despite challenging economic conditions, the company posted strong financial results, strengthening its pipeline growth. They reported a 33% increase in new customer growth and a 45% increase in recent customer sales.

Industry News

Philips Issues Cybersecurity Warning Over e-Alert MRI Monitoring System

Fierce BioTech: Philips is currently facing a possible hacking risk following discovering a vulnerability in its eAlert MRI monitoring systems. This could be a significant event due to the high use of Philips medical instruments in the U.S. The e-Alert system has sensors that monitor MRI machines and issues alarms when specific parameters are exceeded. These include temperature and humidity in the technical and exam rooms and the status of the machine’s power supply. They also monitor the chiller, cryo-compressor, and helium levels. In addition, magnet placement is also observed.

Hackers Steal Over $600 Million From Video Game Axie Infinity’s Ronin network

CNN: A new crypto-hack has taken out a gaming-oriented blockchain network that supports Axie Infinity. In one of the most significant crypto hacks, hackers stole approximately $625 million in Ethereum and USDC, two currencies. According to a company blog post, attackers stole private keys used to verify transactions on the network. Malicious actors used these keys to create fake withdrawals. The malicious actors were able to forge fake withdrawals. According to the blog post, the network promised to “ensure that no users’ funds were lost.” The company stated that most of the stolen funds are still in the crypto wallet of the hacker.

Three Cybersecurity Fundamentals Businesses Get Wrong

Forbes: What do all businesses, regardless of industry and size, have in common? They are at risk from cybersecurity attacks like ransomware and customer data breaches. These attacks can cause financial ruin for businesses and force them to close. Hiscox, an insurance company, found that cyberattacks had affected one in six companies. At the same time, when businesses spend a lot of money to protect themselves from these types of attacks, they often do it without a plan. Written by a cybersecurity professional who claims to have worked with many financial institutions, this article is well worth reading. It has the perspective of a cybersecurity professional and offers essential insights that many businesses are dealing with today.

An Overview of the Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act

J.D. Supra: President Joe Biden signed the Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act on March 15, 2022. This overview gives us a concise understanding of the act’s provisions and how they may affect business. For instance, the reviewer notes that the act focuses on the need for rapid disclosures and solid protections for private-sector workers in the cybersecurity field. This legislation establishes a cyber incident and ransomware response protocol for businesses that operate in many core sectors of the U.S. economic system. These industries include communications, financial services, chemical, communication, energy, food & agricultural, government facilities and healthcare, transportation and waste management. The law is not only targeted at organizations that are critical infrastructure but will also have wide-reaching consequences for all businesses.

Local Cybersecurity Gaining Traction

S.C. Media: StateScoop reports on local cybersecurity information sharing and resource sharing. Federal support via the $1 billion cybersecurity grant program has led to increased cyber collaboration among local governments, according to Michael Makstman, San Francisco Chief Information Security Officer, and Greg McCarthy, Boston CISO. As a result, they co-founded The Coalition of City CISOs.

Chinese Hackers Target VMware Horizon Servers with Log4Shell to Deploy Rootkit

Hacker News: Deep Panda, a persistent Chinese threat, has been observed exploiting Log4Shell vulnerability on VMware Horizon servers. This was to install a backdoor and a novel rootkit onto infected machines to steal sensitive data. Deep Panda is also known as Shell Crew, KungFu Kattens and Bronze Firestone. Recent attacks “targeting technology providers for command and control infrastructure building,” according to Secureworks.

Hackers Abusing Power of Subpoena Via Fake “Emergency Data Requests”

Krebs on Security: Criminal hackers have discovered a terrifying new “method” to steal sensitive customer data from Internet service providers and phone companies. This involves hacking into email accounts linked to government agencies and police departments, then sending unauthorized requests for subscriber information while claiming that the requested information cannot wait for a court order as it is an urgent matter of life or death. The Verge reported that Apple and Meta gave user data to hackers, who feigned emergency request orders usually sent by law enforcement. Both companies gave out user data to hackers in the middle of the massive surge in hacks SonicWall reported last year.

Suppose federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies want to know who owns a particular account at a social networking firm or which Internet addresses that account has used previously? In that case, they must submit a court-ordered warrant. This notification forges that entire legal process. Most of these bad actors who make these fake requests are teenagers. According to Bloomberg, cybersecurity researchers believe the teen mastermind behind Lapsus$ hacking organization may have inspired the group to take this type of action. Another group called the Recursion Team might be responsible for last year’s string of similar attacks. While the group has since disbanded, they have some members who joined Lapsus$ under different names. Bloomberg was informed by officials involved in the investigation that hackers had accessed accounts in several countries and targeted numerous companies over a few months beginning in January 2021.

In Case You Missed It

• 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

More business and trade journals mentioned the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report this week. One mention found its way into Silicon Republic’s report on Ubisoft’s company-wide password reset after the hack last week. Industry news this entire week was focused on the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. We found numerous reports on activist attempts to break through Russia’s “digital iron curtain,” with cybersecurity experts pleading for caution as the “cyber war” escalates. Today’s headlines include Russia facing an “unprecedented” wave of cyberattacks, a nine-year-old Microsoft flaw is back, hackers getting around multi-factor authentication, and the hybrid cyber war unfolds.

SonicWall News

Ubisoft Issues Company-Wide Password Reset After Hack

Silicon Republic: As previously reported, Gaming giant Ubisoft confirmed a “cybersecurity incident” where the ransomware group Lapsus$ claims to have disrupted games, systems and services. The company further confirmed that it initiated a company-wide password reset. As part of this report, Silicon Republic also cited SonicWall’s latest cyberthreat report, highlighting the variety of threats that increased to unprecedented levels in 2021, with ransomware attacks up 105pc and encrypted threats increasing 167pc.

Putting Brakes on Cybersecurity Threats: Practical Strategies to Mitigate Cybersecurity Risk

National Law Review: Ransomware attacks frequently made headlines in 2021 and substantially impacted many US companies. In the first six months of last year alone, ransomware attacks on US companies were up 148% from 2020 (footnote: “SonicWall 2022 Cyber Threat Report”).

What are the biggest ransomware trends facing US businesses?

Insurance Business Magazine: The US alone accounted for more than two-thirds (67.6%) of all ransomware attacks worldwide last year as the nation logged almost 421.5 million hits – a 98% rise year-on-year, according to a new report by cybersecurity firm SonicWall.

SonicWall Cyber Threat Report Highlights That Ransomware Attacks Doubled In 2021

Continuity Central: SonicWall has released its 2022 Cyber Threat Report. This details a sustained surge in ransomware with 623.3 million attacks globally. Nearly all monitored threats, cyber attacks and malicious digital assaults rose in 2021, including ransomware, encrypted threats, IoT malware, and cryptojacking. SonicWall researchers diligently tracked the dramatic rise in ransomware, recording an astounding 318.6 million more ransomware attacks than 2020, a 105 percent increase. Ransomware volume has risen 232 percent since 2019. Following global trends, all industries faced significant increases in ransomware volume, including government (+1,885 percent), healthcare (755 percent), education (152 percent) and retail (21 percent).

Why Ransomware Attacks Steer Clear of the Cloud – 1

Martech Series: The most recent edition of SonicWall’s annual threat report states that the volume of ransomware attacks in 2021 has risen 231.7% since 2019.

Why Ransomware Attacks Steer Clear of the Cloud – 2

Yahoo Finance: Ransomware made news headlines worldwide earlier this month after a successful attack against one of Toyota Motor Corp.’s parts suppliers forced the automaker to shut down 14 factories in Japan for a day, halting their combined output of around 13,000 vehicles. That attack was the latest example of ransomware’s threat to all industries. The most recent edition of SonicWall’s annual threat report states that the volume of ransomware attacks in 2021 has risen 231.7% since 2019.

Cybersecurity Tool Positions Company in Trillion-Dollar Market

Digital Journal: Sonic Wall’s 2022 Cyber Threat Report shows that every category of cyberattack increased in volume throughout 2021. The number of encrypted threats spiked by 167% (10.4 million attacks), ransomware rose by 105% to 623.3 million attacks, cryptojacking rose by 19% (97.1 million attacks), intrusion attempts by 11% (a whopping 5.3 trillion) and IoT malware rose by 6% to 60.1 million attacks.

How to Become a Cybersecurity Pro: A Cheat Sheet

WOLL (Germany): Encrypted threats skyrocketed in 2021 by 229% (00.4 million attacks), ransomware up 103% to 623.3 million attacks, cryptojacking up 22% (33.1 million attacks), intrusion attempts up 10% (a whopping 5.3 trillion), and IoT malware increased 6% to 30.1 million attacks according to SonicWall’s Cyber ​​Threat Report.

Industry News

Hackers Try to Break Through Putin’s Digital Iron Curtain

Here are summaries from the several outlets reporting on this item. The headline from CNN is a culmination of worry from many who work in cybersecurity. Hackers and activists are trying to break through Putin’s digital iron curtain after Russia shut down Twitter and Facebook in the country. According to a report from The Guardian, Ukraine’s cyber-response to the Russian invasion has been bolstered by hackers organizing on the Telegram messaging app under the IT Army of Ukraine banner. In the meantime, amateur hackers are being warned of joining Ukraine’s “IT army” amid fears that activists could break the law or launch attacks that spiral out of control. More than 300,000 people have signed up to the group, including members outside Ukraine. Western officials said they would “strongly discourage” joining the group and participating in hacking activity against Russia.”

Ukraine’s cyber-offensive has had particular success with distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, in which websites are rendered unreachable by being bombarded with traffic. Russian government websites, including the Kremlin and the Duma, have been targeted in this way and Russia Today, the state-media-owned news service.

Anonymous, a hacking collective, has also claimed credit for DDoS attacks. Speaking of the Anonymous hacking collective, the GTSC Homeland Security newsletter says that the group has recently vowed to accelerate the cyberwar they declared on Russia last week. The goal, they say, is to paralyze the Russian government “by any means necessary.”

Experts and some officials are trying to warn people off from participating in any group actions such as a “cyber war.” They remind would-be joiners that cyber-attacks from the US or the UK break several laws in those countries, such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in the US and the computer misuse act in the UK. “Whilst I totally understand the sentiment behind the actions of many in this IT army, two wrongs do not make a right. Not only might it be illegal but it runs the risk of playing into Putin’s hands by enabling him to talk about ‘attacks from the west’,” said Alan Woodward, a professor of cybersecurity at Surrey University.

And as reported by CNBC, cyberattacks worldwide are on the rise as hackers use the Russia-Ukraine war as a distraction. Incidents involving almost every kind of cybercrime have been on the rise since the war in Ukraine started. While many people look to nation-state actors as the primary drivers, threat actors take advantage of the distraction, ramping up their activities and extorting money from more and more victims.

Yet, celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger are applauding the effort, according to a story in The Mercury News. From the activist perspective, they are desperate to advance an information campaign to bring the truth to the Russian people about the war in Ukraine. “I love the Russian people. That is why I have to tell you the truth,” posted Schwarzenegger yesterday on Twitter.

Russian Government Websites Face ‘Unprecedented’ Wave of Hacking Attacks

Washington Post: Russian government websites and state-run media face an “unprecedented” wave of hacking attacks, the government said Thursday, prompting regulators to filter traffic coming abroad. The Ministry of Digital Development and Communications said the attacks were at least twice as powerful as any previous ones. It did not elaborate on what filtering measures had been implemented, but this has often meant barring Russian government websites to users abroad in the past. Wednesday evening, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry website was defaced by hackers, who altered its content. Notably, the hack replaced the department hotline with a number for Russian soldiers to call if they want to defect from the army — under the title “Come back from Ukraine alive.”

Ransomware Hackers Used AI Images, Microsoft Flaw in Campaign

Bloomberg: A group of ransomware hackers used various techniques to try breaching hundreds of companies last year, exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft Corp.’s Windows and using artificial intelligence technology to create fake LinkedIn profiles, Alphabet Inc.’s Google found.

In research published Thursday, the group, which Google refers to as Exotic Lily, is known as an initial access broker. Such groups specialize at breaking into corporate computer networks and then providing that access to other cybercriminal syndicates that deploy malware that locks computers and demands a ransom.

The findings help illuminate the ransomware-as-a-service model, a cybercriminal business strategy in which different hacking groups pool their resources to extort victims then split the proceeds. The Exotic Lily group sent over 5,000 malicious emails a day, Google observed, to as many as 650 organizations worldwide, often leveraging a flaw in MSHTML, a proprietary browser engine for Windows. Microsoft issued a security fix for the Windows vulnerability in late 2021. Google did not identify victims by name.

Hackers Are Dodging Multi-Factor Authentication

ZD Net: Russian state-sponsored hackers have used a clever technique to disable multi-factor authentication (MFA) and exploit a Windows 10 printer spooler flaw to compromise networks and high-value domain accounts. The goal? Accessing the victim’s cloud and email.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an alert about Russian state-sponsored activity that pre-dates recent warnings over cyber activity related to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. As early as May 2021, the hackers combined a default configuration issue in a Duo MFA setup at one organization with the critical Windows 10 PrintNightmare flaw CVE-2021-34481 to compromise it. Microsoft patched that elevation of privilege issue in August.

In one case, an organization allowed weak passwords, which were subsequently hacked using a typical password-guessing attack to gain the credentials for initial access. The attackers also used the fact that Duo MFA’s default configuration setting allows the enrollment of a new device for dormant accounts.

Hacktivists, Gangs, And Cyber Ops Locked in A Hybrid War

The Cyber Wire and other outlets note that cyber operations in this hybrid war have failed to develop into the catastrophes that seemed well within Russian capabilities. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and its FBI partners have continued to update the guidance they’ve issued on the wiper malware observed in sporadic use against Ukrainian targets. The Globe and Mail reports that Canadian authorities offer comparable advice to their country’s own businesses. Yet, in 2016 and 2017 attacks on sections of the Ukrainian power grid, Russia had shown the ability to mount large-scale and destructive operations against its neighbor. But so far, the cyber war has been limited to relatively confined wiper attacks (cyberattacks that wipe out digital device memory) and influence operations with disinformation. The Washington Post describes the relatively quiet cyber front, noting that the situation could change at any time.

In Case You Missed It

• 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
• A Record-Breaking Year for SonicWall’s Boundless Future – Ray Wyman