Weekly Cyber News: 9th - 13th Dec 2024
Cyber Security Associates
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The cyber security landscape keeps changing, with new threats and tools emerging every week. It can be easy to lose track of what’s happening, but we’ve rounded up the latest news you need to know about - keep reading to learn more.
Hackers find hole in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts' cyber-security
Doughnut chain Krispy Kreme says it has been hit by a cyberattack which has disrupted its online systems.
Some customers in the US have been unable to make online orders as a result of the hack, which occurred in late November but has only just been disclosed.
Krispy Kreme revealed the attack in a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) on Wednesday.
It said the incident was "reasonably likely" to "have a material impact" on the firm's business operations, but clarified that brick-and-mortar shops remain open.
Russia Attacks Ukraine With Malware Using Other Hackers' Backdoors
A group known as Secret Blizzard, which has ties to Russia's Federal Security Service, is targeting Ukraine's military with the goal of swiping PDFs, emails, documents, and other data.
Ransomware Hackers Exploiting Cleo Software Zero-Day
File transfer software made by Cleo Communications is under active attack and a patch meant to stymie hackers doesn't fix the flaw, say security researchers from Huntress.
Hackers are exploiting an arbitrary file-write vulnerability tracked as CVE-2024-50623 along with a feature in Cleo software that automatically executes files in the autorun directory.
Apple adds ChatGPT to iPhone in latest iOS update
Apple on Wednesday started integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT into its devices, delivering on a long-awaited feature that investors hope will help drive sales of its latest iPhones.
The rollout is part of a wider deployment of artificial intelligence-powered tools in the latest updates to the operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.
Senior Dating Breach Exposes More than 700,000 Profile Details
The mature singles website Senior Dating has suffered a data breach that exposed the personal data of more than 700,000 users.
According to media reports the breach occurred on November 23rd and saw 765,517 accounts and their bios exposed, along with birth dates, drinking habits, education levels, email addresses, genders, geographic locations, occupations, profile photos, relationship statuses, smoking habits and social media profiles.
US sanctions Chinese firm over potentially deadly ransomware attack
The United States sanctioned a Chinese cybersecurity company over an ambitious cyberattack that U.S. Treasury officials say could have killed people.
The Treasury said in a statement, opens new tab on Tuesday that the Chengdu-based Sichuan Silence Information Technology Company and one of its employees, Guan Tianfeng, deployed malicious software to more than 80,000 firewalls run by thousands of companies worldwide in April 2020.
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Marsh Specialty on what's happening with ransomware in the UK
In a webinar discussing the state of the cyber insurance market in Q4 2024, Helen Nuttall (pictured), UK head of cyber incident management at Marsh Specialty highlighted the two key claims trends shaping the cyber risk landscape today – ransomware and supply chain risk.
Focusing in on ransomware, the headline is a bleak one – “it hasn’t gone away”. The NCSC’s latest annual report revealed ransomware as the most pervasive cyber threat to UK organisations, and it’s a threat that continues to impact organisations of all shapes and sizes. In slightly more upbeat news, however, she noted that ransomware payment rates continue on a downward trend, falling from 80% of victims in 2019 to 32% in Q3 2024.
IT systems in Medway disconnected due to ‘suspicious activity’
Medway Community Healthcare (MCH) has announced that it has disconnected its IT systems to “protect patient and staff data” after detecting some “suspicious activity”.
In a statement on its website, published on 5 December 2024, the trust confirmed the decision and reason for disconnecting its systems, following the incident three day earlier.
The latest statement says: “Earlier this week we told you that we detected some suspicious activity relating to our IT systems.
“As a precaution, we therefore disconnected out systems to protect patient and staff data.”
Deloitte Responds After Ransomware Group Claims Data Theft
Deloitte has issued a statement in response to a ransomware group’s claims regarding the theft of a significant amount of information belonging to the company.
The ransomware group calling itself Brain Cipher listed Deloitte UK on its Tor-based website last week, claiming to have obtained over one terabyte of data (they claim this is the volume of the data when compressed).
The hackers are threatening to make the stolen files available in five days from now, unless a ransom is paid.
Cyber-crime Against Manufacturing Sector on the Rise
Supply chain attacks against the manufacturing sector are up 50%, new data reveals.
Cyber-criminals are ramping up their attacks on the manufacturing sector, exploiting outdated operational technology (OT) systems and interconnected supply chains with devastating effects.
A new analysis of the cyber threat landscape in the manufacturing industry by IDS-INDATA reveals a staggering 50% increase in supply hain attacks, making them the fastest-growing cyber threat to the industry.
Electrica Group reports ongoing cyber attack
Romanian utility company Societatea Energetica Electrica S.A., also known as Electrica Group, has reported that it is currently experiencing a cyber attack. The company has activated its specific response protocols in line with internal security procedures and regulatory requirements.
Electrica Group, which is listed on both the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and the London Stock Exchange (LON:LSEG) (LSE), has assured the public that its critical systems remain unaffected by the cyber incident. The disruptions faced by consumers are primarily due to precautionary measures taken to protect the company's internal infrastructure. These measures are temporary and are aimed at safeguarding the security of the company's entire system.
If you want to keep your data safe from the latest cyber threats, then we can help - don’t hesitate to get in touch with the dedicated cyber experts at CSA.