CISO Daily Update - August 13, 2024
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Systems Hit by Rhysida Ransomware
Source: Cyber Security News
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office in Florida fell victim to a ransomware attack by the Rhysida group. Access to certain records was temporarily disrupted with no impact on law enforcement services. The attackers demand a ransom of 7 Bitcoins (around $425,000) to restore access. The Sheriff’s Office quickly responded to the attack by cutting off the attackers' access and collaborating with state and cyber experts to investigate and secure its systems. The office's official website is currently down.
Almost 50 PII Categories Impacted in Data Breach at East Valley Institute of Technology
Source: Cybernews
The East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) experienced a data breach in January 2024 affecting over 200,000 individuals and exposing up to 48 categories of personally identifiable information (PII)--including social security numbers, health data, and financial information. Despite the breach's potential severity, EVIT reported no significant operational impact and has taken steps to secure its systems–including deploying EDR software, changing passwords, and rebuilding servers.
FBI Disrupts the Dispossessor Ransomware Operation, Seizes Servers
Source: Bleeping Computer
In collaboration with international agencies, the FBI disrupted the Dispossessor ransomware operation–seizing servers and websites linked to the group. This joint effort involved law enforcement from the U.S., U.K., and Germany. Dispossessor has targeted small to mid-sized businesses globally since August 2023, exploiting vulnerabilities and weak security measures. The operation seized multiple servers and domains used by the ransomware group. The FBI urges past and potential victims to report any information to the Internet Crime Complaint Center to aid in ongoing investigations.
CrowdStrike Tries to Patch Things Up With Cybersecurity Industry
Source: Darkreading
CrowdStrike faced the cybersecurity community at Black Hat and DEF CON, addressing the global outage in July that affected over 8.5 million Windows systems. The issue stemmed from a mismatch and out-of-bounds read in their Falcon EDR sensor, causing system crashes. CrowdStrike’s CTO George Kurtz and president Michael Sentonas publicly apologized and detailed corrective measures, including code reviews and process improvements. At DEF CON, Sentonas accepted the 2024 Pwnie Award for Most Epic Fail, acknowledging their mistake and emphasizing accountability in the company’s response.
Mega Money, Unfathomable Violence Pervade Thriving Underground Doxxing Scene
Source: The Register
The underground doxxing scene has evolved into a highly profitable and increasingly violent criminal enterprise. Platforms like Doxbin, with 300,000 users, generate substantial revenue through extortion. Doxxers employ illegal methods such as hacking and fraudulent law enforcement requests to obtain personal information. The industry has expanded to include "Violence as a Service," offering physical harm to intimidate victims, with prices ranging from $170 for assault to $24,500 for kidnapping. With limited legal protections against doxxing, experts recommend using unique usernames, complex passwords, and restricting personal information shared online to mitigate risks.
UN Adopts Controversial Cybercrime Treaty
Source: Infosecurity Magazine
The UN adopted a controversial Cybercrime Treaty despite widespread criticism from various companies. The treaty aims to combat online crime but critics fear it will grant governments excessive surveillance powers–potentially stifling dissent and violating human rights. Provisions allowing data interception and restricting disclosure of surveillance activities are particularly alarming. While the treaty seeks to establish a global legal framework for cybercrime, its potential negative impacts on privacy and freedom of expression are raising concerns.
Justice Department Disrupts North Korean ‘Laptop Farm’ Operation
Source: Security Week
U.S. authorities arrested Matthew Isaac Knoot, a Tennessee man accused of running a "laptop farm" that helped North Korean IT workers secure remote jobs at American companies by posing as U.S.-based professionals using stolen identities. The Justice Department revealed that these North Koreans infiltrated various U.S. businesses, earning millions while funding North Korea’s weapons program. Knoot faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
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VULNERABILITIES TO WATCH
FreeBSD Releases Urgent Patch for High-Severity OpenSSH Vulnerability
Source: The Hacker News
FreeBSD's urgent patch addresses a critical OpenSSH vulnerability (CVE-2024-7589) that could allow remote code execution with root privileges. The flaw stems from a signal handler in sshd calling non-async-signal-safe logging functions, affects the daemon's privileged code when clients fail to authenticate within the LoginGraceTime. This vulnerability is similar to the recent regreSSHion issue and arises from FreeBSD's integration of blacklistd with OpenSSH. Users must update their systems and restart sshd immediately to mitigate risks. Alternatively, setting LoginGraceTime to 0 in sshd_config can prevent remote code execution but may expose the system to denial-of-service attacks.
Vulnerability in Windows Driver Leads to System Crashes
Source: Infosecurity Magazine
A newly discovered vulnerability (CVE-2024-6768) in the Windows CLFS[.]sys driver allows unprivileged users to trigger a system crash, leading to the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD). Identified by cybersecurity researcher Ricardo Narvaja, the flaw stems from improper input data validation and affects all versions of Windows 10 and 11. The vulnerability is easy to exploit with low privileges, posing a significant risk of denial of service (DoS) attacks and system instability with a CVSS score of 6.8.
Microsoft Warns of OpenVPN Vulnerabilities, Potential for Exploit Chains
Source: Security Week
Microsoft uncovered vulnerabilities in OpenVPN, which have been patched in version 2.6.10 and might allow hackers to execute remote code on Windows systems. Vladimir Tokarev discovered four vulnerabilities in the OpenVPN client, namely CVE-2024-27459, CVE-2024-24974, CVE-2024-27903, and CVE-2024-1305, which expose users to privilege escalation, unauthorized access, and denial-of-service attacks. While exploitation needs user authentication and extensive OpenVPN expertise, Microsoft warns that chaining these vulnerabilities might result in strong attack sequences, potentially letting attackers bypass security measures and influence critical system processes.
Critical Vulnerabilities in Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU Affecting Billions of Android Devices
Source: Cyber Press
Google researchers uncovered critical vulnerabilities in Qualcomm's Adreno GPU, potentially impacting billions of Android devices globally. These high-severity flaws affect various Qualcomm chipsets including the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and could allow unauthorized access and control of affected devices. Key vulnerabilities include CVE-2024-23350 and CVE-2024-21481, which could lead to denial-of-service attacks and memory corruption. Qualcomm acknowledged the issues and is working with OEMs to distribute patches.
SPECIAL REPORTS
High-Risk Cloud Exposures Surge Due to Rapid Service Growth
Source: Infosecurity Magazine
Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 reports a surge in high-risk cloud exposures, with organizations adding over 300 new services monthly which contributes to nearly 32% of such risks. The complexity of the expanding digital landscape challenges businesses and government entities to maintain accurate IT asset inventories. Key vulnerabilities include critical IT and security infrastructure, with remote access services like RDP and SSH accounting for significant exposure due to misconfigurations. Unit 42 advises continuous scanning, prioritizing high-risk vulnerabilities, and leveraging automation to mitigate these risks effectively.
74% of Ransomware Victims Were Attacked Multiple Times in a Year
Source: Help Net Security
A recent Semperis survey reveals that 74% of ransomware victims experienced multiple attacks within a year, with some organizations hit several times in just a week. Despite widespread adoption of cybersecurity measures, 83% of organizations were targeted, and 78% paid ransom—often multiple times. The report highlights a critical need for businesses to strengthen their identity and access management (IAM) and backup strategies, as only 27% had dedicated Active Directory-specific backup systems. The findings emphasize the importance of Board involvement in cybersecurity planning, urging companies to adopt an "assume breach" mindset to mitigate the rising threat of frequent and simultaneous cyber attacks.
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