Curated cybersecurity news and trends from the industry’s leading bloggers and news outlets, for you from SonicWall.

Spring is in the air, and SonicWall’s media presence is blooming. InformationWeek quoted our threat detection and response strategist, Immanuel Chavoya, on healthcare. MotorTrader cited data from the 2023 Cyber Threat Report.

In industry news, FCW dives into details on the federal governments new program for cybersecurity employees. Data Breach Today has the story on the FBI’s arrest of BreachForum’s notorious administrator. Bleeping Computer breaks down the zero-day attack on General Byte’s Bitcoin ATMs. Hacker News provides insight on bot-based DDoS attacks exploiting vulnerable servers and routers.

Remember to keep your passwords close and your eyes peeled — cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.

SonicWall News

DC Health Link Breach Exposes Private Information of Lawmakers

InformationWeek, SonicWall News: The healthcare industry is a popular target for breaches. Care providers and insurance companies safeguard valuable data. “Threat actors believe that healthcare providers and related organizations have no option but to pay the ransom, as restoring operations can mean the difference between life and death,” Immanuel Chavoya, threat detection and response strategist at cybersecurity company SonicWall, points out.

Ferrari in Italy targeted in cyber attack

MotorTrader, SonicWall News: In the UK, dealer groups Pendragon and Arnold have been targeted for cyber crime. According to the cyber security 2023 SonicWall Threat Report the UK is the 2nd most attacked country in the world, after the US. It said ransomware attacks last year doubled.

Covert Cyberattacks on The Rise as Attackers Shift Tactics for Maximum Impact

HelpNetSecurity, SonicWall News: 2022 was the second-highest year on record for global ransomware attempts, as well as an 87% increase in IoT malware and a record number of cryptojacking attacks (139.3 million), according to SonicWall.

2023 Could Be the Biggest Ever Year for Cybercrime

TechRadarPro, SonicWall News: 2023 could very well be the biggest year ever for cybercriminals, new figures have claimed. According to SonicWall’s latest figures, cybercrime is on the rise across the board, but trends are slowly shifting which is something IT security teams should keep in mind. More precisely, hackers are opting for a “slow and low” approach, keeping stealthy while trying to achieve financially-motivated goals.

Spikes In IoT Malware, Cryptojacking Offset Decline in Ransomware In 2022

MSSP Alert, SonicWall News: SonicWall researchers recorded the second-highest year on record for global ransomware attempts but it was an 87% increase in Internet of Things (IoT) malware and a record number of cryptojacking attacks (139.3 million) that signaled a shift in the overall threat landscape in 2022, the company said in a new report.

Cybercrime Spiked In 2022 — And This Year Could Be Worse

Digital Trends, SonicWall News: Last year saw a massive spike in cybercrime, with some types of malicious digital activity rising by as much as 87%. It doesn’t bode well — but there were a couple of relative bright spots. That information comes from a new report published by cybersecurity firm SonicWall. It makes for interesting reading, especially since one of the biggest rises came from an unusual source — and one of the most feared types of malware saw a hefty drop.

Ransomware Attacks Plunged 48 Percent in US Last Year: SonicWall

CRN, SonicWall News: In a major reversal from prior years, the volume of ransomware attacks globally dropped by 21 percent in 2022, year-over-year, with a 48-percent decline in the U.S., SonicWall said in a new report Tuesday. It’s encouraging that we’re seeing a decrease” in ransomware attacks, SonicWall CEO Bob VanKirk said in an interview with CRN. At the same time, “the number of attacks still is staggering,” VanKirk said.

Ransomware Threat Surges as Brits Suffer Millions of Attacks In 2022

Evening Standard, SonicWall News: The scale of the threat posed to companies and consumers by cyberattacks was laid bare today in a new report which reveals global ransomware attempts hit their second highest year on record in 2022.

Cyber intrusion attempts and malware attacks climbed 19% and 2% respectively, according to the Global Cyberattack Trends report by SonicWall, while crypto-theft attacks jumped 43% to reach a record high. The volume of ransomware attacks was especially severe in the UK, climbing a staggering 112% in 2022, the report found, despite a 21% decrease in attacks worldwide.

Experts Spot Half a Million Novel Malware Variants in 2022

InfoSecurity, SonicWall News: Global malware detections increased 2% year-on-year (YoY) in 2022 to hit 5.5 billion, with never-before-seen variants surging 5%, according to SonicWall. The security vendor captured threat intelligence from its global SonicWall Capture Threat network, including one million security sensors, in order to compile its 2023 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report.

Ransomware Threat Surges as Brits Suffer Millions of Attacks In 2022

MSN, SonicWall News: Bob Vankirk, CEO of SonicWall, said: “The past year reinforced the need for cybersecurity in every industry and every facet of business, as threat actors targeted anything and everything, from education to retail to finance. While organizations face an increasing number of real-world obstacles with macroeconomic pressures and continued geopolitical strife, threat actors are shifting attack strategies at an alarming rate.”

State-Sponsored Hackers Are Diversifying Tactics, Targeting Small Businesses

IT Pro, SonicWall News: State-sponsored threat actors are increasingly shifting their focus towards SMBs and smaller enterprises, according to new research. While large enterprises, public services, and critical national infrastructure have traditionally been key targets for state-sponsored threat actors, SonicWall’s 2023 Cyber Threat Report predicted that groups will ‘diversify’ their tactics in 2023 to target SMBs and a “broader set of victims.”

Cybersecurity Predictions for 2023 – Things You Should Know

Utah Pulse, SonicWall News: SonicWall reports a 328% YoY increase in healthcare ransomware attacks in 2022, and healthcare and education are expected to be among the most targeted sectors in 2023. The expanding IoT footprint in these sectors is predicted to make them more vulnerable to digital attacks, increasing the risk to critical infrastructure.

Industry News

FBI Tracks Down, Arrests BreachForum’s Administrator

FBI agents tracked down the apparent administrator of an underground hacker forum this past week. They arrested the man at his home in Peekskill, New York. Federal agents identified him as Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, a 2021 graduate of Peekskill High School. His name on the forum was “Pompompurin.” Beyond being a hub for cybercriminal tools, BreachForums also allows users to advertise searching for members and for targets. According to Data Breach Today, a federal agent disclosed that Fitzpatrick admitted to him that he was the administrator of the criminal forum during the arrest. This will not be the end of BreachForums, as another user – named “Baphomet” – has now taken control and vows that he will not be caught.

Bitcoin ATM Loses $1.5 Million In Zero-day Attack

A popular Bitcoin ATM manufacturer, General Bytes, revealed that threat actors stole $1.5 million worth of cryptocurrency from the company and its customers using a zero-day exploit. The exploit is being tracked as BATM-4780, and it was found in the companies BATM management platform. Bleeping Computer states that General Bytes is now shutting down its cloud services due to the difficulties they’ve faced in securing it. The company has audited its security systems numerous times since 2021 but still failed to identify the zero-day vulnerability that led to this attack. On Twitter, the company urged customers to ensure their servers are running the latest updates to better protect them.

Federal Government Implementing New Program to Address Cybersecurity Skills Gap

The Office of Personnel Management provided an update regarding the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program. The program will give high-performing government cybersecurity employees the option to temporarily work at different agencies to help address the growing cybersecurity skills gap. Participating employees will need signed permission from their current agency to initiate the transfer. According to FCW, those wishing to take on one of these assignments will need to have scored a minimum of “fully successful” on their most recent performance review. These temporary details will last anywhere from six months to a full year. This new program won’t begin until 2027 due to existing laws unless congress intervenes.

Naruto-themed Bot Exploiting Router and Server Vulnerabilities

A GoLang-based bot named HinataBot is wreaking havoc by exploiting security flaws in routers and servers to stage DDoS attacks. The bot is named after a character from the hit anime series “Naruto.” The bot is using vulnerable Hadoop YARN servers and Realtek SDK devices to set up the attacks. The threat actors have been active since December 2022 and have been using their custom HinataBot since January 2023. The bot is apparently still in active development because new functions and analysis-resistance features have been documented as recently as this month. According to Hacker News, DDoS attacks are expected to continue to rise due to new malware strains that can target IoT devices and more.

SonicWall Blog

U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy Represents Paradigm Shift in IT Security – Darryl Jenkins

SonicWall Data Shows Attacks on Schools Skyrocketing – Amber Wolff

Recognizing Outstanding Partner and Distributor Performance in 2022 – Bob VanKirk

Latest Threat Intelligence Reveals Rising Tide of Cryptojacking – Amber Wolff

Latest Threat Intelligence Tracks Shifting Cyber Frontlines in 2022 – Amber Wolff

New SMA Release Updates OpenSSL Library, Includes Key Security Features – Jai Balasubramaniyan

SonicWall Recognizes Bill Conner for Transition of Business, Impact on Cybersecurity Industry – Bret Fitzgerald

SonicWall’s Jason Carter and Matt Brennan Earn 2023 CRN Channel Chief Recognition – Bret Fitzgerald

Can You Catch All the Phish? Take Our New Phishing IQ Quiz and Find Out! – Ken Dang

Celebrating 2023 With Expanded “3 & Free” – Matt Brennan

The Art of Cyber War: Sun Tzu and Cybersecurity – Ray Wyman

Talking Boundless Cybersecurity at the Schoolscape IT 2022 Conference – Mohamed Abdallah

Curated cybersecurity news and trends from the industry’s leading bloggers and news outlets, for you from SonicWall.

Another week is in the books for 2023, and SonicWall is still going strong with the recently released 2023 Cyber Threat Report.

In industry news, Dark Reading has the scoop on an Iranian threat group targeting women’s rights protesters with spear-phishing attacks as well as a large school district falling victim to ransomware. Bleeping Computer provided details on a new cryptocurrency scam the FBI is warning about. Billions of IoT and enterprise devices are at risk due to new TPM vulnerabilities according to Hacker News, and TechCrunch reported on GitHub’s new two-factor authentication policy.

Remember to keep your passwords close and your eyes peeled — cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.

SonicWall News

Covert Cyberattacks on The Rise as Attackers Shift Tactics for Maximum Impact

HelpNetSecurity, SonicWall News: 2022 was the second-highest year on record for global ransomware attempts, as well as an 87% increase in IoT malware and a record number of cryptojacking attacks (139.3 million), according to SonicWall.

2023 Could Be the Biggest Ever Year for Cybercrime

TechRadarPro, SonicWall News: 2023 could very well be the biggest year ever for cybercriminals, new figures have claimed. According to SonicWall’s latest figures, cybercrime is on the rise across the board, but trends are slowly shifting which is something IT security teams should keep in mind. More precisely, hackers are opting for a “slow and low” approach, keeping stealthy while trying to achieve financially-motivated goals.

Spikes In IoT Malware, Cryptojacking Offset Decline in Ransomware In 2022

MSSP Alert, SonicWall News: SonicWall researchers recorded the second-highest year on record for global ransomware attempts but it was an 87% increase in Internet of Things (IoT) malware and a record number of cryptojacking attacks (139.3 million) that signaled a shift in the overall threat landscape in 2022, the company said in a new report.

Cybercrime Spiked In 2022 — And This Year Could Be Worse

Digital Trends, SonicWall News: Last year saw a massive spike in cybercrime, with some types of malicious digital activity rising by as much as 87%. It doesn’t bode well — but there were a couple of relative bright spots. That information comes from a new report published by cybersecurity firm SonicWall. It makes for interesting reading, especially since one of the biggest rises came from an unusual source — and one of the most feared types of malware saw a hefty drop.

Ransomware Attacks Plunged 48 Percent in US Last Year: SonicWall

CRN, SonicWall News: In a major reversal from prior years, the volume of ransomware attacks globally dropped by 21 percent in 2022, year-over-year, with a 48-percent decline in the U.S., SonicWall said in a new report Tuesday. It’s encouraging that we’re seeing a decrease” in ransomware attacks, SonicWall CEO Bob VanKirk said in an interview with CRN. At the same time, “the number of attacks still is staggering,” VanKirk said.

Ransomware Threat Surges as Brits Suffer Millions of Attacks In 2022

Evening Standard, SonicWall News: The scale of the threat posed to companies and consumers by cyberattacks was laid bare today in a new report which reveals global ransomware attempts hit their second highest year on record in 2022.

Cyber intrusion attempts and malware attacks climbed 19% and 2% respectively, according to the Global Cyberattack Trends report by SonicWall, while crypto-theft attacks jumped 43% to reach a record high. The volume of ransomware attacks was especially severe in the UK, climbing a staggering 112% in 2022, the report found, despite a 21% decrease in attacks worldwide.

Experts Spot Half a Million Novel Malware Variants in 2022

InfoSecurity, SonicWall News: Global malware detections increased 2% year-on-year (YoY) in 2022 to hit 5.5 billion, with never-before-seen variants surging 5%, according to SonicWall. The security vendor captured threat intelligence from its global SonicWall Capture Threat network, including one million security sensors, in order to compile its 2023 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report.

Ransomware Threat Surges as Brits Suffer Millions of Attacks In 2022

MSN, SonicWall News: Bob Vankirk, CEO of SonicWall, said: “The past year reinforced the need for cybersecurity in every industry and every facet of business, as threat actors targeted anything and everything, from education to retail to finance. While organizations face an increasing number of real-world obstacles with macroeconomic pressures and continued geopolitical strife, threat actors are shifting attack strategies at an alarming rate.”

State-Sponsored Hackers Are Diversifying Tactics, Targeting Small Businesses

IT Pro, SonicWall News: State-sponsored threat actors are increasingly shifting their focus towards SMBs and smaller enterprises, according to new research. While large enterprises, public services, and critical national infrastructure have traditionally been key targets for state-sponsored threat actors, SonicWall’s 2023 Cyber Threat Report predicted that groups will ‘diversify’ their tactics in 2023 to target SMBs and a “broader set of victims.”

Cybersecurity Predictions for 2023 – Things You Should Know

Utah Pulse, SonicWall News: SonicWall reports a 328% YoY increase in healthcare ransomware attacks in 2022, and healthcare and education are expected to be among the most targeted sectors in 2023. The expanding IoT footprint in these sectors is predicted to make them more vulnerable to digital attacks, increasing the risk to critical infrastructure.

The 20 Coolest Network Security Companies Of 2023: The Security 100

CRN, SonicWall News: Key offer­ings from SonicWall in the realm of next-gener­ation firewalls include the SonicWall NSa 5700, which utilizes a scalable hardware architecture designed to fit in a single rack-mountable unit. The high port density of the NSa 5700 includes multiple 10-Gigabit Ether­net and 1-Gigabit Ethernet fiber and copper interfaces.

CEO Outlook 2023

CRN, SonicWall News: One of the biggest opportunities we will be tackling with our partners is providing a broader set of unified and cost-effective solutions that fully secure the evolving network perimeter. For many of our partners and customers, 2023 will represent a period of cautious and informed investment in IT and security – customers will demand more bang for their security buck.

Industry News

Billions of IoT and Enterprise Devices at Risk Due to New TPM 2.0 Flaws

Two critical security vulnerabilities were found in the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 reference library specification. Both vulnerabilities could cause significant issues. The first is described as an out-of-bounds write while the other is an out-of-bounds read. IoT devices and enterprise devices were among the devices deemed most vulnerable, but all systems that utilize TPM could be vulnerable. According to Hacker News, the function of TPM is to secure cryptographic functions and physical security mechanisms to thwart bad actors. All users should implement the latest updates from both TCG and their vendors to ensure these vulnerabilities are addressed.

Iranian Threat Group Targeting Female Activists in Wake of Protests

The controversial death of Iranian women’s rights activist Mahsa Amini sparked protests and outrage among Iranians late last year. Now it appears that the state-sponsored threat group known as Cobalt Illusion is targeting female protesters on Twitter in a spear-phishing campaign. The threat group uses a fake Twitter account posing as a US think tank to lure victims in and build rapport with them before carrying through their phishing attack. Dark Reading says Cobalt Illusion was using the protests to find a common ground with the women. The information stolen by the threat group is used in multiple ways – notably to inform the Iranian government and military of victims’ activities.

GitHub to Enforce 2FA Among All Contributors Beginning Next Week

Any developer who writes code for any project on GitHub’s platform will now be required to implement two-factor authentication (2FA). The new policy will start to be implemented on March 13^th and continue to expand through the remainder of 2023. Multi-factor authentication has been gaining steam in recent years as it is a great way for companies to significantly reduce risks from certain cyber threats. According to TechCrunch, GitHub has over 100 million users who are developers, so this move toward stronger security will be far reaching. This announcement comes on the heels of the Biden administration urging large tech companies to accept more responsibility for ensuring that they have strong security postures. GitHub’s 2FA rollout will begin next week and continue until all developers are enrolled.

Medusa Ransomware Gang Reveals Data to Minneapolis School District

The Medusa ransomware gang is asking for $1 million after sending the Minneapolis Public School (MPS) district an hour-long video showing all of the data that they stole. Dark Reading says the cybercriminals gave MPS a deadline of March 17 to make the payment, and made it known that they will accept $1 million from other buys before that deadline as well. This attack is a stark reminder that last year 1 in 4 schools were the victims of a cyberattack.

Scammers Using Games to Steal Cryptocurrency says FBI

The FBI has warned that millions of dollars in cryptocurrency are being stolen through online and mobile games. Bleeping Computer states that the cybercriminals accomplish this by creating custom games and apps that promise players large monetary rewards to victims that they’ve built rapport with online. The threat actors build an actual relationship with the victims before inviting them to play their fake games. They promise the users that the game rewards them with potentially large amounts of cryptocurrency for simple tasks like maintaining a virtual farm. The app prompts the user to store large amounts of cryptocurrency in their scam crypto-wallet and, over time, tempts them to store more crypto-currency in the wallet. Once the user stops making deposits, the scammers drain the wallet of all funds. The FBI has asked all victims to report crimes to the Internet Crime Complaint Center to help them stop these scams.

SonicWall Blog

Recognizing Outstanding Partner and Distributor Performance in 2022 – Bob VanKirk

Latest Threat Intelligence Reveals Rising Tide of Cryptojacking– Amber Wolff

Latest Threat Intelligence Tracks Shifting Cyber Frontlines in 2022 – Amber Wolff

New SMA Release Updates OpenSSL Library, Includes Key Security Features – Jai Balasubramaniyan

SonicWall Recognizes Bill Conner for Transition of Business, Impact on Cybersecurity Industry – Bret Fitzgerald

SonicWall’s Jason Carter and Matt Brennan Earn 2023 CRN Channel Chief Recognition – Bret Fitzgerald

Can You Catch All the Phish? Take Our New Phishing IQ Quiz and Find Out! – Ken Dang

Celebrating 2023 With Expanded “3 & Free” – Matt Brennan

The Art of Cyber War: Sun Tzu and Cybersecurity – Ray Wyman

Talking Boundless Cybersecurity at the Schoolscape IT 2022 Conference – Mohamed Abdallah

SonicWall Included on the Acclaimed CRN Edge Computing 100 List for 2022 – Bret Fitzgerald

Curated cybersecurity news and trends from the industry’s leading bloggers and news outlets, for you from SonicWall.

We’re nearing the end of February, and SonicWall is still receiving positive press. Cyber Security Intelligence looked to SonicWall for data on higher education. CRN discussed SonicWall’s plans for 2023 and some of the features of the NSa 5700. Utah Pulse discusses our data on healthcare and education.

In industry news, Dark Reading reported on a U.S. military email server being exposed and Google bug bounty programs setting records. Hacker News has the scoop on the spam and phishing attacks at NPM. Bleeping Computer covered Activision’s phishing attack as well as a multi-year breach at GoDaddy.

Remember to keep your passwords close and your eyes peeled — cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.

SonicWall News

Cybersecurity Predictions for 2023 – Things You Should Know

Utah Pulse, SonicWall News: SonicWall reports a 328% YoY increase in healthcare ransomware attacks in 2022, and healthcare and education are expected to be among the most targeted sectors in 2023. The expanding IoT footprint in these sectors is predicted to make them more vulnerable to digital attacks, increasing the risk to critical infrastructure.

The 20 Coolest Network Security Companies Of 2023: The Security 100

CRN, SonicWall News: Key offer­ings from SonicWall in the realm of next-gener­ation firewalls include the SonicWall NSa 5700, which utilizes a scalable hardware architecture designed to fit in a single rack-mountable unit. The high port density of the NSa 5700 includes multiple 10-Gigabit Ether­net and 1-Gigabit Ethernet fiber and copper interfaces.

CEO Outlook 2023

CRN, SonicWall News: One of the biggest opportunities we will be tackling with our partners is providing a broader set of unified and cost-effective solutions that fully secure the evolving network perimeter. For many of our partners and customers, 2023 will represent a period of cautious and informed investment in IT and security – customers will demand more bang for their security buck.

Universities Targeted with Ransomware

Cyber Security Intelligence, SonicWall News: According to research carried out by threat analysts at SonicWall there was a 51% increase in ransomware attacks within the education sector in 2022. They predicted the education sector to be among the most targeted by cyber criminals in 2023. This is certainly proving to be true so far.

Ransomware Attacks Aimed at Manufacturing Grew By 50pc in 2022

SiliconRepublic, SonicWall News: In recent cybersecurity predictions for 2023, Spencer Starkey of SonicWall predicted that healthcare and education will be among the sectors most targeted by cyberattacks this year.

Genie Out of The Bottle: ChatGPT Has Shaken Up the AI Sector

SiliconRepublic, SonicWall News: In recent AI predictions for 2023, experts such as Immanuel Chavoya of SonicWall said new software will give threat actors the ability to quickly exploit vulnerabilities and reduce the technical expertise required “down to a five-year-old level.”

Stolen MTU Data Appears on Dark Web Following IT Breach

SiliconRepublic, SonicWall News: In recent cybersecurity predictions for 2023, Spencer Starkey of Sonicwall predicted that healthcare and education will be among the sectors most targeted by cyberattacks this year.

Ryuk, Conti Ransomware Members Hit with UK Sanctions in Latest Crackdown

ITPro, SonicWall News: In 2020 – the third year of it being considered a major strain – security firm SonicWall revealed it was behind a third of ransomware attacks worldwide for the year.

Global Hacker Attack May Reach Brazil but Risk Is Limited, Says Experts

GQ Brasil, SonicWall News: Arley Brogiato, director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the multinational security company SonicWall, does not exclude the possibility of these attacks reaching Brazilian companies, but says he is surprised by the alerts and the dissemination of the news, which on the morning of last Monday (6) competed with football game calendars and the price of cooking gas in Manaus the most sought after Google Trends.

SonicWall’s Jason Carter and Matt Brennan Earn 2023 CRN Channel Chief Recognition

SonicWall Blog, SonicWall News: SonicWall Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Jason Carter and Vice President Americas Channel Sales Matt Brennan have been named to CRN’s 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, CRN honors the IT channel executives who drive the channel success and evangelize the importance of channel partnerships within the IT industry.

Challenges For Startups in The IoT Sector
TechToday, SonicWall News: According to a report by SonicWall, 2.8 billion malware attacks were registered, up 11% in the first half of 2022, marking the first increase in global malware volume in over three years.

JD Sports Cyber Attack: Why Online Retail Is Vulnerable and What Can Be Done?

Charged Retail, SonicWall News: The JD Sports incident is yet another example of the rise in cyberattack incidents, with the retail industry experiencing a 90% increase in ransomware attacks last year, according to a report from SonicWall.

Industry News

Activision Breached Following Phishing Attack

Gaming giant Activision revealed that they were the victim of a data breach in December 2022 exposing employee and game info. According to Bleeping Computer, hackers gained access to their systems by using a phishing SMS that successfully tricked an employee. No source data or player info was exposed in the leak. A research group called VX-Underground claims that sensitive employee information as well the companies release schedule up to November 2023 was stolen in the attack. Insider Gaming reported that the compromised employee was in the human resources department which netted the attackers access to large amounts of sensitive employee data.

Google Bug Bounties Break Records

Last year, Google awarded more than $12 million to ethical hackers and researchers for bug bounties while addressing over 2,900 vulnerabilities in its products. According to Dark Reading, that total eclipses the previous years dollar amount of $8.5 million. Bug bounties in the Android ecosystem alone netted white hats $4.8 million. Google released their annual Vulnerability Reward Program (VRP) report, and it showed multiple segments of their VRP set records in 2022.

U.S. Military Emails Exposed Due to Password Mishap

A cloud-based email server for the Department of Defense spent two weeks without password protection leaving it wide open to the public. A security researcher spotted the server and noticed sensitive information in the emails. According to Dark Reading, the email server appeared to be configured improperly. It’s not known if anyone aside from the security researcher found the exposed data during the two-week period it was unprotected. There was no classified data leaked from the server.

NPM Repository Attacked with Spam and Phishing Links

An attack on the widely used JavaScript package manager NPM has resulted in one of its repositories being flooded with over 15,000 spam packages. The threat actors were attempting to distribute phishing links on the open-source platform. According to Hacker News, the fake packages were attempting to pass off as free goodies. Some of the packages were called things like “free-tiktok-followers,” or “free-xbox-codes.” The attackers used automation to post a large number of packages quickly.

GoDaddy Reveals They Suffered Multi-year Breach

Popular web hosting company GoDaddy has been the victim of a multi-year breach that has resulted in their source code being stolen. GoDaddy says currently unknown attackers placed malware on their servers after infiltrating them. The attack was discovered in December 2022 when some GoDaddy users reported that their domains were now being redirected to random websites. While it was only discovered in December, GoDaddy revealed that the attackers had access to their networks for multiple years. According to Bleeping Computer, the breaches that GoDaddy experienced in November 2021 and March 2020 are related to this multi-year breach. GoDaddy has enlisted the help of external cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to investigate the cause of the incident.

SonicWall Blog

SonicWall Recognizes Bill Conner for Transition of Business, Impact on Cybersecurity Industry – Bret Fitzgerald

SonicWall’s Jason Carter and Matt Brennan Earn 2023 CRN Channel Chief Recognition – Bret Fitzgerald

Can You Catch All the Phish? Take Our New Phishing IQ Quiz and Find Out! – Ken Dang

Celebrating 2023 With Expanded “3 & Free” – Matt Brennan

The Art of Cyber War: Sun Tzu and Cybersecurity – Ray Wyman

Talking Boundless Cybersecurity at the Schoolscape IT 2022 Conference – Mohamed Abdallah

SonicWall Included on the Acclaimed CRN Edge Computing 100 List for 2022 – Bret Fitzgerald

A New Era of Partnering to Win – Robert (Bob) VanKirk

Multiply Your Security with Multifactor Authentication – Amber Wolff

Curated cybersecurity news and trends from the industry’s leading bloggers and news outlets, for you from SonicWall.

Winter is rolling on, and SonicWall is still plowing its way into headlines. ITPro cited our data while discussing major ransomware strains. Our Director of Regional Sales in LATAM, Arley Brogiato, spoke with GQ Brasil. We congratulate SonicWall’s Jason Carter and Matt Brennan for earning 2023 CRN Channel Chief Recognition.

In industry news, Bleeping Computer reported on a grocery delivery service breach that affected over 1 million customers and a Canadian bookstore that suffered a major attack. Dark Reading told the tale of an ethical hacker gaining control of Toyota’s internal systems. Ransomware is running loose on an unpatched VMWare product according to Hacker News. IT Security Guru reported on an attack from the notorious LockBit ransomware gang that halted London stock trading.

Remember to keep your passwords close and your eyes peeled — cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.

SonicWall News

Ryuk, Conti Ransomware Members Hit with UK Sanctions in Latest Crackdown

ITPro, SonicWall News: In 2020 – the third year of it being considered a major strain – security firm SonicWall revealed it was behind a third of ransomware attacks worldwide for the year.

Global Hacker Attack May Reach Brazil but Risk Is Limited, Says Experts

GQ Brasil, SonicWall News: Arley Brogiato, director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the multinational security company SonicWall, does not exclude the possibility of these attacks reaching Brazilian companies, but says he is surprised by the alerts and the dissemination of the news, which on the morning of last Monday (6) competed with football game calendars and the price of cooking gas in Manaus the most sought after Google Trends.

SonicWall’s Jason Carter and Matt Brennan Earn 2023 CRN Channel Chief Recognition

SonicWall Blog, SonicWall News: SonicWall Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Jason Carter and Vice President Americas Channel Sales Matt Brennan have been named to CRN’s 2023 Channel Chiefs list. Every year, CRN honors the IT channel executives who drive the channel success and evangelize the importance of channel partnerships within the IT industry.

Challenges For Startups in The IoT Sector

TechToday, SonicWall News: According to a report by SonicWall, 2.8 billion malware attacks were registered, up 11% in the first half of 2022, marking the first increase in global malware volume in over three years.

JD Sports Cyber Attack: Why Online Retail Is Vulnerable and What Can Be Done?

Charged Retail, SonicWall News: The JD Sports incident is yet another example of the rise in cyberattack incidents, with the retail industry experiencing a 90% increase in ransomware attacks last year, according to a report from SonicWall.

The Best Hardware Firewalls for Small Businesses

Ask by Geeks, SonicWall News: One of the best small business firewalls is the SonicWall TZ400 Security Firewall. The SonicWall TZ400 NGFW Premium is considered a little more expensive than other firewall options, but its security, reliability, ease of use, and unique features justify its price.

10 million Customers Exposed in JD Sports Cyber Attack

ITPro, SonicWall News: A study last year by SonicWall found that the retail sector saw a 264% surge in ransomware attacks between February 2021 and 2022. The widespread consumer shift to online shopping during the pandemic prompted hackers to escalate attacks against online retailers.

Three Ways Governments Can Better Protect Public Data

Networking+, SonicWall News: The chances of being hit by a ransomware attack are more significant than ever. Last year, global ransomware volume skyrocketed by 105% year over year, according to the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. While no industry was spared, the numbers were particularly gruesome for governments. Ransomware attempts on government entities rose a staggering 1,885%. That’s more than double the increase reported by healthcare (755%), education (152%), and retail (21%) combined.

2023 Predictions: Emerging Tech & Global Conflict Bring New Cyber Threats

CyberSecurityInsiders, SonicWall News: 2022 saw a shifting cybersecurity landscape as rising geopolitical conflicts brought new tactics, targets, and goals for cybercrime. According to recent threat intelligence from SonicWall, global ransomware attempts declined 31% YoY as cybercriminals and nation-state actors opted for never-before-seen malware variants, IoT malware, and cryptojacking in attacks motivated by financial gain and state-sponsored hacktivism.

Cybersecurity ‘More Critical Than Ever’ In Era of Connected Care: BD

MedTechDive, SonicWall News: Ransomware attacks in which cybercriminals attempt to extort money declined by 23% overall during the first half of 2022 but increased 328% in healthcare, according to data from cybersecurity company SonicWall.

IT Services Industry Looks to Cyber, Cloud Consulting for Growth

TechTarget, SonicWall News: Logically’s MSSP offerings include extended detection and response, endpoint detection and response, and MDR; enterprise-level managed firewall services; and cybersecurity assessments, according to Skeens. The company runs a SOC. The company’s IT security technology partners include SonicWall.

The Sonicwall NSsp 15700 Brings Serious Network Protection Super Powers

iTWire, SonicWall News: iTWire really could go on and on; the list of features is almost endless. There is a database of applications for intelligent packet analysis, support for IoT devices, DNS protection, and more. However, the best thing right now is to take it for a spin yourself. You can demo the SonicWall NSsp series firewalls online without any installation or commitment and see all the features and benefits in action.

Royal Mail ‘Cyber Incident’ Causes Widespread Disruption

Strategic Risk, SonicWall News: There were 623 million ransomware attacks globally in 2021 according to Sonic wall, representing a 105% year on year increase. The UK saw a 228% surge and a 65% increase in never-seen-before malware.

Industry News

Weee! Grocery Service Discloses Data Breach Affecting Over 1 million Customers

The self-proclaimed largest Asian and Hispanic grocery delivery service in North America, Weee!, lost the personal data of 1.1 million customers in a recent breach. According to Bleeping Computer, a bad actor with the username ‘IntelBroker,’ began leaking data from Weee! on a data breach forum. The leak contained customers names, phone numbers, email addresses, device types, order notes and other data. Weee! does not retain customer payment information in their databases, so no customer payment data was lost. Weee! stated that they would notify all impacted customer individually if their information was exposed.

Cyberattack Disrupts London Stock Trading

A ransomware attack brought London stock trading to a screeching halt last week. The ransomware group LockBit targeted Ion Markets in an attack. Ion Markets is a financial data group that supports a large amount of derivatives trading in the London market. According to IT Security Guru, 42 clients were affected by the attack. The attack even forced some groups to begin processing trades manually. LockBit allegedly used its signature ransomware attack which locks the victims out of accessing their data through encryption and leaves a note demanding payment. The company said all affected servers have been disconnected and they’re working to resolve the issue.

Hacker Gains SysAdmin Privileges to Toyota Through Portal Flaw

A web app for Toyota employees was broken into by an ethical hacker who simply knew the email address of one of the users. The security researcher revealed that he discovered the backdoor entrance into the app in October. In a blog post about the attack, he revealed that he was able to log in as any corporate user or supplier. He used that entryway to log in as a system administrator and therefore gain total control over the app. According to Dark Reading, he then had full access to internal projects, documents and user accounts. This is yet another sign that every business should be taking extra care with their cybersecurity. Toyota is lucky that this hacker was ethical.

Canadian Bookseller Goes Dark Following Cyberattack

The largest book retailer in Canada, Indigo Books & Music, shut down following a cyberattack. The retailer was forced to take its website offline and resort to cash only payments at its physical locations. The attack even made gift card purchases impossible. According to Bleeping Computer, it’s still unclear what type of attack the bookseller suffered. The retailer released a statement indicating they are working with a third party to determine the cause and resolve the situation.

VMWare Bug Exploitation Attracts Ransomware Attacks

According to Hacker News, attacks focused on VMWare ESXi hypervisors are deploying ransomware on vulnerable systems. The attacks are targeting outdated software. A patch has been available since February 2021. The experts believe it can be traced to a Rust-based ransomware strain called ‘Nevada.’ VMWare recommends users update to the latest patch to avoid any issues.

SonicWall Blog

Can You Catch All the Phish? Take Our New Phishing IQ Quiz and Find Out! – Ken Dang

Celebrating 2023 With Expanded “3 & Free” – Matt Brennan

‘3 & Free’ Promotion: How to Upgrade to a New SonicWall TZ Series NGFW for Free – Matt Brennan

The Art of Cyber War: Sun Tzu and Cybersecurity – Ray Wyman

Talking Boundless Cybersecurity at the Schoolscape IT 2022 Conference – Mohamed Abdallah

3 & Free: 1 Amazing Deal, 2 Exceptional Firewalls, 3 Years of Superior Threat Protection – Matt Brennan

SonicWall Wins CRN’s 2022 Tech Innovator Award in Enterprise Network Security – Bret Fitzgerald

SonicWall Included on the Acclaimed CRN Edge Computing 100 List for 2022 – Bret Fitzgerald

A New Era of Partnering to Win – Robert (Bob) VanKirk

Multiply Your Security with Multifactor Authentication – Amber Wolff

10 Reasons to Upgrade to the Latest SonicWall Gen 7 TZ Firewall – Sarah Choi

Curated cybersecurity news and trends from the industry’s leading bloggers and news outlets, for you from SonicWall.

We’re nearing the end of January, and SonicWall is still roaring into headlines. Read about the NSsp 15700’s “superpowers,” as described by the folks at iTWire, and see how CyberSecurityInsider breaks down some of our latest threat intelligence. Take a look at MedTechDive citing some of our data and see TechTarget’s piece on one of our partners.

This week has been busy for industry news. The FBI has taken down the ransomware gang known as Hive, and we have information from Dark Reading, Axios and Reuters. Security Week reports that German airports, banks and government have been hit with Killnet DDoS attacks. TechCrunch reports that backups have been stolen from a breach at LastPass. At Hacker News, we’re hearing about vulnerabilities in Samsung’s Galaxy app store on Android. Bleeping Computer is reporting that Microsoft OneNote attachments are the latest trend in email-based malware.

SonicWall News

2023 Predictions: Emerging Tech & Global Conflict Bring New Cyber Threats

CyberSecurityInsiders, SonicWall News: 2022 saw a shifting cybersecurity landscape as rising geopolitical conflicts brought new tactics, targets and goals for cybercrime. According to recent threat intelligence from SonicWall, global ransomware attempts declined 31% YoY as cybercriminals and nation-state actors opted for never-before-seen malware variants, IoT malware, and cryptojacking in attacks motivated by financial gain and state-sponsored hacktivism.

Cybersecurity ‘More Critical Than Ever’ In Era of Connected Care: BD

MedTechDive, SonicWall News: Ransomware attacks in which cybercriminals attempt to extort money declined by 23% overall during the first half of 2022 but increased 328% in healthcare, according to data from cybersecurity company SonicWall.

IT Services Industry Looks to Cyber, Cloud Consulting for Growth

TechTarget, SonicWall News: Logically’s MSSP offerings include extended detection and response, endpoint detection and response, and MDR; enterprise-level managed firewall services; and cybersecurity assessments, according to Skeens. The company runs a SOC. The company’s IT security technology partners include SonicWall.

The Sonicwall NSsp 15700 Brings Serious Network Protection Super Powers

iTWire, SonicWall News: iTWire really could go on and on; the list of features is almost endless. There is a database of applications for intelligent packet analysis, support for IoT devices, DNS protection and more. However, the best thing right now is to take it for a spin yourself. You can demo the SonicWall NSsp series firewalls online without any installation or commitment and see all the features and benefits in action.

Royal Mail ‘Cyber Incident’ Causes Widespread Disruption

Strategic Risk, SonicWall News: There were 623 million ransomware attacks globally in 2021 according to SonicWall, representing a 105% year-on-year increase. The UK saw a 228% surge and a 65% increase in never-before-seen malware.

8 Safety Solutions to Keep Your Business Secure

Business Info, SonicWall News: Network security devices are essential for any business. They establish a firewall that will protect internal networks from external threats, such as attacks from the internet. The SonicWall TZ270 uses patented Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI) to prevent cyber-attacks.

Safe Homes: Security Tech for Remote Workers

Silicon, SonicWall News: Speaking to Silicon UK, Rick Meder, VP of Strategic Partnerships and Platform Architecture at SonicWall, commented: “With most employees no longer within the protected perimeter of a traditional corporate network, the basic secure access tools in place for remote access workers have become quickly inadequate. The potential attack surface expands exponentially, oversight by security staff is met with extreme challenges, and policy complexity reaches levels like never before. Efforts to uphold an adequate security posture while maintaining workforce productivity quickly become overwhelming.”

Finally, Ransomware Victims Are Refusing to Pay Up

The Register, SonicWall News: SonicWall in October 2022 said that it saw a 31 percent drop in ransomware attacks in the first nine months of the year, but that also was coming off record numbers recorded in 2021. CEO Robert VanKirk at the time told The Register there was an “unstable cyberthreat landscape” fed by expanded attack surfaces, growing numbers of threats, and a tense geopolitical environment that included the Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The CEO also noted that even though the numbers in 2022 were down, they were still higher than in any year but 2021.

Top 7 AI Trends to Watch Out for In 2023

Silicon, SonicWall News: Immanuel Chavoya, emerging threat expert at cybersecurity company SonicWall, believes new AI software will give threat actors the ability to quickly exploit vulnerabilities and reduce the technical expertise required “down to a five-year-old level.”

All You Need to Know About The ‘Godfather’ Malware Targeting This Country’s Financial System

AMB Crypto, SonicWall News: “The research titled “2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report” from cybersecurity company SonicWall claims that cryptojacking attacks have increased in the banking sector by 269% year-to-date. This figure is nearly five times higher than cyberattacks directed at the retail sector. According to the study from SonicWall, the total number of cryptojacking incidents increased by 30% to 66.7 million in the first half of 2022.”

An Evolving Landscape: Top 10 Cybersecurity Predictions For 2023

Silicon Republic, SonicWall News: “Spencer Starkey, channel sales EMEA VP for SonicWall, predicts that healthcare and education will be among the sectors most targeted by cyberattacks in 2023. The cybersecurity company claims the healthcare sector saw a 328% year-on-year increase in ransomware attacks last year.”

Royal Mail’s Export Service Hit with Major Cyber Incident And Is Experiencing ‘Severe Disruption’

City AM, SonicWall News: “Terry Greer-King, Head of EMEA at SonicWall, a cybersecurity firm, linked this cyber incident to declining cyber safety in the UK. Greene told City Am: “The cyber incident at the Royal Mail shows that the public sector, like all other industries, is still vulnerable to mass cyberattack. As legacy IT concerns become more apart across the UK’s public sector, the state of its cybersecurity is still a main topic that must be addressed, especially after 2021 brought a 94% increase in malware on the global government sector. As a service that people and businesses alike depend on day-to-day, ensuring its digital infrastructure remains secure must be a top priority. To truly safeguard national public-sector cybersecurity, the government must take real concerted action now,” he added.

Industry News

Russia-backed Hacker Group Killnet Attacks German Infrastructure

After Germany agreed to send aid to Ukraine in the form of tanks, the Russia-backed cybercriminal gang known as Killnet attacked airports, banks and government offices in Germany with DDoS attacks. While the attack was instigated by Killnet, it is likely that more people took part in it. Killnet announced the attack on Wednesday following Germany’s announcement of sending aid to Ukraine. According to Security Week, Germany is on high alert for cybercriminal activity due to the geopolitical unrest in Europe.

FBI Hacks Hive Ransomware Gang

In perhaps the week’s biggest news, the U.S. government has busted the infamous Hive ransomware gang. The group has been extremely active since it first appeared in 2021. According to Dark Reading, the gang has been operating a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platform. The gang does not discriminate, as they have attacked schools, infrastructure and businesses alike. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, they have been infiltrating Hive’s systems since July 2022 and have captured their decryption keys. According to Reuters, this move from the FBI may have saved victims up to $130 million. Government hackers were able to break into Hive’s networks and distribute their decryption keys to victims across the world. The government hackers warned the victims in advance so they could take precautions against Hive. Hive was one of the most notorious cybercriminal gangs in the world. They typically extorted international businesses and demanded huge cryptocurrency payments in return.

According to Axios, this move from the DoJ is one of the most significant moves the U.S. government has taken against a ransomware gang. Before now, the U.S. has been tight-lipped about its operations against cybercriminal gangs. In the wake of the attack on the Colonial Pipeline in 2021, ransomware has become a priority for the U.S. government. The FBI’s director, Christopher Wray, said the investigation into Hive is still ongoing. It’s unclear how large of a dent this will make in global ransomware attacks, but one thing is certain – it’s a good day to be fighting against cybercriminals.

GoTo Encrypted Backups Stolen in LastPass Breach

GoTo, the parent company of the popular password manager LastPass, has revealed that customers’ encrypted backup data was stolen during a recent breach. According to LastPass, the attackers used information that was stolen during an incident in August 2022. According to TechCrunch, the breach also impacted several of GoTo’s products, including its VPN tool, Hamachi. GoTo CEO Paddy Srinivasan said, “The affected information, which varies by product, may include account usernames, salted and hashed passwords, a portion of multi-factor authentication settings, as well as some product settings and licensing information.” Srinivasan also said GoTo is advising impacted customers to reset passwords and MFA settings.

Samsung’s Galaxy App Store Security Flaws

NCC Group has discovered two security flaws in Samsung’s Galaxy app store on Android. The vulnerabilities could allow threat actors to direct users to bogus landing pages or even install malicious apps on the user’s device. Hacker News reports that Samsung has patched the vulnerability to stop unauthorized access. These vulnerabilities only affect users who are running Android 12 or any version before that. Users who are running Android 13 are unaffected.

Microsoft OneNote Attachments Now Being Used to Spread Malware

Threat actors are now able to infect remote access users with phishing malware using OneNote attachments, according to Bleeping Computer. In the past, attackers have been able to attach malicious Excel and Word files to emails which ran macros on the infected computers to install malware. Microsoft has since disabled macros by default, which has forced threat actors to look elsewhere for getting malicious files from point A to point B. TrustWave SpiderLabs began warning users in December about OneNote files being used in this way. Fortunately, OneNote has been able to recognize these files and warn users not to open them. However, some users have ignored the warning and opened the malicious files anyways. The best way to protect yourself is to not open files from anyone you don’t know.

SonicWall Blog

Can You Catch All the Phish? Take Our New Phishing IQ Quiz and Find Out! – Ken Dang

Celebrating 2023 With Expanded “3 & Free” – Matt Brennan

‘3 & Free’ Promotion: How to Upgrade to a New SonicWall TZ Series NGFW for Free – Matt Brennan

The Art of Cyber War: Sun Tzu and Cybersecurity – Ray Wyman

Talking Boundless Cybersecurity at the Schoolscape IT 2022 Conference – Mohamed Abdallah

3 & Free: 1 Amazing Deal, 2 Exceptional Firewalls, 3 Years of Superior Threat Protection – Matt Brennan

SonicWall Wins CRN’s 2022 Tech Innovator Award in Enterprise Network Security – Bret Fitzgerald

SonicWall Included on the Acclaimed CRN Edge Computing 100 List for 2022 – Bret Fitzgerald

A New Era of Partnering to Win – Robert (Bob) VanKirk

Multiply Your Security with Multifactor Authentication – Amber Wolff

10 Reasons to Upgrade to the Latest SonicWall Gen 7 TZ Firewall – Sarah Choi