Welcome to our July Newsletter!
In this month's edition:
•We’ll cover the latest cyber security news from big breaches to data leaks.
•There’s a new blog on Wildcard certificates exploring the pros and cons
•Finally, hear from our Technical Consultant Stephen Mellon on why you should consider switching from Citrix NetScaler to F5 BIG-IP
THIS MONTH'S CYBER NEWS - LATEST
Our curated roundup of top news stories in the cyber security world this month, include Close to 10 billion passwords exposed in possibly the biggest leak ever, Over 6,000 operations and appointments have been delayed by London cyber-attack and threat actors claiming breach of Nokia database :
On July 4, a hacker, ObamaCare, posted a compilation of nearly ten billion unique passwords on a leading hacking forum. The leak is expected to be built on a prior RockYou2021 compilation of 8.4 billion passwords. One of the most significant data leaks in recent history is reported to have occurred on July 4. The leak, dubbed RockYou2024 by the original poster, “ObamaCare”, on a leading hacking forum, compiled 9,948,575,739 unique passwords into plain text. This means close to ten billion passwords were leaked.
More than 6,000 operations and appointments have been postponed at London hospitals affected by the Synnovis cyber-attack, NHS England has confirmed.
In an update, published on 4 July 2024, NHSE said that 4,913 acute outpatient appointments and 1,391 elective procedures have been postponed at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust since the incident on 3 June. Data for the fourth week of reporting (24-30 June) shows that across the two most affected trusts, 1,517 acute outpatient appointments and 136 elective procedures had to be postponed because of the ransomware attack against pathology provider Synnovis.
Threat actors have claimed responsibility for a breach of Nokia’s database. The announcement was made via a tweet from the notorious hacker group H4ckManac, known for their previous cyber exploits. The tweet, 2024, reads: “We have successfully breached Nokia’s database. Sensitive information is now in our hands. #NokiaHack #DataBreach”.
According to cyber security experts, the breach appears to have compromised a substantial amount of sensitive data, including customer information, internal communications, and proprietary technology details. The exact breach method remains unclear, but initial analyses suggest that the hackers may have exploited vulnerabilities in Nokia’s network infrastructure.
The hacker group has a history of targeting large corporations and has previously been linked to breaches involving financial institutions and tech companies.This latest incident raises serious concerns about the security measures at Nokia, a global leader in telecommunications technology.
FEATURE: The Pros and Cons of Wildcard certificates
Certificate management is a critical part of an organisation's cyber security that shouldn't be ignored. Certificates are vital for protecting data transmitted between websites and users. If not properly managed your data could be exposed. One certificate option that organisations often consider is wildcard certs, which provide some convenience benefits but also carry security risks.
What Are Wildcard Certificates?
A wildcard certificate allows a single certificate to secure multiple subdomains of a domain. For example, a wildcard cert for *.example.com would secure app.example.com, shop.example.com, support.example.com, etc. This can be more convenient than acquiring individual certificates for each subdomain.
PROS:
•Cost Savings. Wildcard certs are generally less expensive than purchasing multiple single-domain certs
•Simplified Management. Only one certificate needs to be tracked, updated and renewed rather than dozens or hundreds.
•Flexibility. New subdomains are automatically covered without needing new certs issued.
CONS:
•Increased Risk. If the private key is compromised, all associated subdomains are vulnerable. This provides a larger attack surface area.
•Limited Transparency. You can't easily determine which subdomains are actively using the cert.
•Compatibility Issues. Some applications and services do not properly support wildcard certificates.
While the cost and management benefits were previously major advantages, the proliferation of free and automated certificate platforms has diminished these benefits substantially.
FullProxy POV: In our view the security tradeoffs aren't worth the convenience. Read more about wildcard certificates in our latest blog here.
THIS MONTH'S INSIGHT: F5 BIG-IP VS Citrix NetScaler
The debate has been raging for years. Which is the superior application delivery controller (ADC), F5 BIG-IP or Citrix NetScaler?
As F5 Gold Partners, we may be a bit biased, but we believe F5 BIG-IP comes out on top. And now with Citrix’s recent announcement that NetScaler will go end-of-sale and end-of-support by the end of 2024, now is an excellent time to switch to a better alternative.
Technical Consultant Stephen Mellon explains more about why you should consider switching:
"F5 BIG-IP and Citrix NetScaler are both capable and powerful ADC solutions. If you need to cope with demanding traffic requirements that require advanced security features, and a highly customisable application delivery and content interface then F5 BIG-IP is the better choice.
F5 BIG-IP offers a comprehensive set of features including advanced traffic management, SSL offloading, application security (WAF), DDoS protection, remote access and DNS services. These features can be integrated into a multi cloud platform via a single interface to simplify traffic management, improve application security and efficiency.
The decision ultimately depends on your specific requirements. But with NetScaler’s looming end-of-life and F5’s perpetual licensing, deep feature set, customisation abilities, and cloud integration, BIG-IP presents a compelling option to consider for application delivery and control."
Read more in our latest blog here
FULLPROXY NEWS: Here come the hackers! Westcon annual golf day
Our Technical Consultant Stephen Mellon and CTO Chris T. enjoyed connecting with partners and vendors including as F5 and Zscaler at Westcon's annual golf day at Hampton Court Palace golf club earlier in the month. Unfortunately… the golf didn’t go so well! Best we stick to the cyber day jobs :)
Stay cyber safe!
The FullProxy Team