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Cyware Weekly Cyber Threat Intelligence January 7-11, 2019

Cyware Weekly Cyber Threat Intelligence January 7-11, 2019 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing Jan 11, 2019

The Good

We’re back with the most interesting cybersecurity of the week. Let’s start with all the positive advancements that happened in the cybersecurity landscape. Google has announced new features on G suite to alert admins on phishing and data exfiltration activities. T-Mobile announced caller verification technology to combat Spammers. Meanwhile, two Senators introduced a bill to protect the U.S. from supply chain security issues.

  • Google introduces new, secure features for G Suite. These features are introduced as a measure to alert admins on activities such as phishing and data exfiltration. Google said that the alert center in G Suite now comes with improvements in security-related notifications and alerts.

  • T-Mobile announced Caller Verification technology to alert users on incoming calls that are non-authentic. This caller verification technology is based on STIR and SHAKEN standards which deter spam or spoof calls. The technology will be available to T-Mobile customer who uses Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

  • Two senators introduce a bill to create a central government entity that deals with supply chain security issues and help U.S. technologies to stay safe from foreign theft. The bill proposes to create a White House Office of Critical Technologies and Security to protect US technologies against state-sponsored technology theft and risks to the critical supply chain.

The Bad

Over the past week, several data breaches and massive cyber attacks happened. Ethereum Classic was hit by a majority attack with over $1 million potentially stolen. Another data breach was noted this week which hit Singapore Airlines stealing private data of 285 customers. Meanwhile, a large group of Reddit users’ accounts were found to be locked out due to some unusual activity.

  • Ethereum Classic token was hit by 51% attack, with deep chain reorganizations and double spends amounting to over $1 Million. ETC market cap fell by around 6% since the discovery of the attack.

  • Chinese fraudsters stole $18.6 million dollars from Tecnimont S.p.A. Tecnimont S.p.A’s India head was the primary victim of this attack. Attackers used spam emails to convince the Indian chief of a possible ‘acquisition’ in China and successfully sourced the money from the chief.

  • A software glitch in Singapore Airlines website caused a data breach impacting 285 customers. Out of which 278 customers’ private data such as customers’ names, email addresses, account numbers, membership tier statuses, KrisFlyer miles, recent miles transactions, upcoming flights, and KrisFlyer rewards were compromised. For the remaining seven customers, passport details were compromised.

  • Reddit account users were locked out of the account due to unusual activity that indicates unauthorized access. The reason behind such unusual activity is bad password practices such as using very simple passwords and reuse of passwords across multiple websites/services.

  • Cybercriminals hacked EWN’s systems and sent spam alerts to thousands of people across Australia. The hackers gained unauthorized access to EWN’s system and sent spam notifications via text, email, and landline. However, the event did not compromise anyone's personal information.

  • Attackers breached Titan Manufacturing and Distribution Inc’s computer systems. The attackers used malware attack to breach the company’s computer system and stole customers’ data such as full names, billing addresses, contact numbers, payment card details such as card numbers, expiration dates, and verification codes.

  • Bankers Life was hit by data breach exposing PII of Humana health insurance policy applicants. The exposed personally identifiable information (PII) included names, addresses, dates of birth, last four digits of Social Security numbers, and limited information on Humana health insurance policy.

  • An open and unprotected MongoDB which contained 202,730,434 resumes of Chinese jobseekers was left publicly accessible. The exposed CVs contained personal information such as full names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, marital status, education, salary expectations, previous job experience, and more.

New Threats

Several vulnerabilities and malware strains emerged over the past week. Cybercriminals were spotted using a combination of Vidar Malware and GandCrab Ransomware in a single attack. CryptoMix ransomware returned with a new attack campaign targeting weak RDP ports. A new malware strain ‘IcePick-3PC’ was discovered by researchers which is capable of stealing device IP addresses. Last but not least, a group of researchers identified a new type of side-channel attack that is hardware agnostic and targets Operating System (OS) page cache.

  • Attackers are using a combination of Vidar Malware and GandCrab Ransomware to attack victims. Security researchers investigated the campaign and detected that several exploit kits such as Fallout and GrandSoft were used to initially install Vidar malware and then a secondary payload containing GandCrab ransomware was used.
  • CryptoMix ransomware returns with a new attack campaign targeting weak RDP ports. Attackers used a brute force attack on the weak RDP ports in order to gain access to the target network. Once inside the network, the attackers would harvest the admin credentials and encrypt the backup files.
  • Researchers detected a new malware strain dubbed as ‘IcePick-3PC’ which is capable of stealing device IP addresses by hacking a website’s third-party tools. The malware has affected several publishers and e-commerce businesses including industries such as retail and healthcare.
  • Researchers disclosed that a new type of side-channel attack targets operating system page cache. The researchers reported that the page cache attacks are hardware agnostic and target both Windows and Linux operating systems.
  • A malware was spotted on a weather app named ‘Weather Forecast-World Weather Accurate Radar’ which came preinstalled on Alcatel smartphones as well as was available for download on Google Play store.
  • Researchers spotted adware hidden behind 85 Android apps including games, TV apps, and remote control apps which were available in Google Play Store. These 85 apps were downloaded over 9 million times. However, Google has removed those 85 apps from the Play Store.
  • TA505 threat actor group was spotted using two new malware families - ServHelper backdoor and FlawedGrace RAT to launch its recent attack campaign against banks, retailers, and businesses. The malware strains help the hacker group to establish remote desktop access and harvest users’ personal data.
  • A critical vulnerability (CVE-2018-16196) that exists in the Vnet/IP Open Communication Driver impacts several Yokogawa products. This vulnerability has a CVSS score of 7.7, making it a ‘high-severity’ category vulnerability. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to stop the communications functionality of the Vnet/IP Open Communication Driver, thereby resulting in DoS.
  • A vulnerability in Microsoft Office allowed documents with embedded ActiveX controls to leak local machine information and user information including passwords, certificates, https requests, and more.

Related Threat Briefings

Feb 7, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, February 03–07, 2025

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Jan 10, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, January 06–10, 2025

The U.K is fortifying its digital defenses with the launch of Cyber Local, a £1.9 million initiative to bridge cyber skills gaps and secure the digital economy. Spanning 30 projects across England and Northern Ireland, the scheme emphasizes local business resilience, neurodiverse talent, and cybersecurity careers for youth. Across the Atlantic, the White House introduced the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark, a consumer-friendly cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices. Overseen by the FCC, the initiative tests products like baby monitors and security systems for compliance with rigorous cybersecurity standards, ensuring Americans can make safer choices for their connected homes. China-linked threat actor RedDelta has ramped up its cyber-espionage activities across Asia, targeting nations such as Mongolia, Taiwan, Myanmar, and Vietnam with a modified PlugX backdoor. Cybercriminals have weaponized trust by deploying a fake PoC exploit tied to a patched Microsoft Windows LDAP vulnerability. CrowdStrike reported a phishing operation impersonating the company, using fake job offers to lure victims into downloading a fraudulent CRM application. Once installed, the malware deploys a Monero cryptocurrency miner. A new Mirai-based botnet, dubbed Gayfemboy, has emerged as a formidable threat, leveraging zero-day exploits in industrial routers and smart home devices. With 15,000 active bot nodes daily across China, the U.S., and Russia, the botnet executes high-intensity DDoS attacks exceeding 100 Gbps. In the Middle East, fraudsters are posing as government officials in a social engineering scheme targeting disgruntled customers. Cybercriminals have weaponized WordPress with a malicious plugin named PhishWP to create realistic fake payment pages mimicking services like Stripe. The plugin not only captures payment details in real time but also sends fake confirmation emails to delay detection.

Dec 20, 2024

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, December 16–20, 2024

In a digital age where borders are blurred, governments are sharpening their strategies to outpace cyber adversaries. The draft update to the National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP) introduces a comprehensive framework for managing nationwide cyberattacks that impact critical infrastructure and the economy. Meanwhile, the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill, recently approved by the Senate, emphasizes strengthening cybersecurity measures both at home and abroad. A deceptive health app on the Amazon Appstore turned out to be a Trojan horse for spyware. Masquerading as BMI CalculationVsn, the app recorded device screens, intercepted SMS messages, and scanned for installed apps to steal sensitive data. Malicious extensions targeting developers and cryptocurrency projects have infiltrated the VSCode marketplace and NPM. Disguised as productivity tools, these extensions employed downloader functionality to deliver obfuscated PowerShell payloads. The BADBOX botnet has resurfaced, compromising over 192,000 Android devices, including high-end smartphones and smart TVs, directly from the supply chain. Industrial control systems are facing heightened risks as malware like Ramnit and Chaya_003 targets engineering workstations from Mitsubishi and Siemens. Both malware families exploit legitimate services, complicating detection and mitigation efforts in ICS environments. The Chinese hacking group Winnti has been leveraging a PHP backdoor called Glutton, targeting organizations in China and the U.S. This modular ELF-based malware facilitates tailored attacks across industries and even embeds itself into software packages to compromise other cybercriminals. A tax-themed phishing campaign, dubbed FLUX#CONSOLE, is deploying backdoor payloads to compromise systems in Pakistan. Threat actors employ phishing emails with double-extension files masquerading as PDFs.

Dec 13, 2024

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, December 09–13, 2024

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Dec 6, 2024

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, December 02–06, 2024

NIST sharpened the tools for organizations to measure their cybersecurity readiness, addressing both technical and leadership challenges. The two-volume guidance blends data-driven assessments with managerial insights, emphasizing the critical role of leadership in applying findings. The Manson Market, a notorious hub for phishing networks, fell in a sweeping Europol-led takedown. With over 50 servers seized and 200TB of stolen data recovered, the operation spanned multiple countries, including Germany and Austria. Russian APT group BlueAlpha leveraged Cloudflare Tunnels to cloak its GammaDrop malware campaign from prying eyes. The group deployed HTML smuggling and DNS fast-fluxing to bypass detection, targeting Ukrainian organizations with precision. Earth Minotaur intensified its surveillance operations against Tibetan and Uyghur communities through the MOONSHINE exploit kit. The kit, now updated with newer exploits, enables the installation of the DarkNimbus backdoor on Android and Windows devices. Cloudflare Pages became an unwitting ally in the sharp rise of phishing campaigns, with a staggering 198% increase in abuse cases. Cybercriminals exploited the platform's infrastructure to host malicious pages, fueling a surge from 460 incidents in 2023 to over 1,370 by October 2024. DroidBot has quietly infiltrated over 77 cryptocurrency exchanges and banking apps, building a web of theft across Europe. Active since June 2024, this Android malware operates as a MaaS platform, enabling affiliates to tailor attacks. Rockstar 2FA, a phishing platform targeting Microsoft 365 users, has set the stage for large-scale credential theft. With over 5,000 phishing domains launched, the platform is marketed on Telegram. The Gafgyt malware is shifting gears, targeting exposed Docker Remote API servers through legitimate Docker images, creating botnets capable of launching DDoS attacks.