Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing 25 February 2022
Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.
Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week
Britain Warns of Cyber Attacks as Russia-Ukraine Crisis Escalates
Britain warned of potential cyber attacks with "international consequences" this week after Russian President Vladimir Puitin ordered troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of the GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, called on British organisations to "bolster their online defences" following the developments.
"While the NCSC is not aware of any current specific threats to UK organisations in relation to events in and around Ukraine, there has been an historical pattern of cyber attacks on Ukraine with international consequences," it said in a statement.
Last week, Ukranian banking and government websites were briefly knocked offline by a spate of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks which the United States and Britain said were carried out by Russian military hackers.
Ransomware Extortion Doesn't Stop After Paying The Ransom
A global survey that looked into the experience of ransomware victims highlights the lack of trustworthiness of ransomware actors, as in most cases of paying the ransom, the extortion simply continues.
This is not a surprising or new discovery, but when seeing it reflected in actual statistics, one can appreciate the scale of the problem in full.
The survey was conducted by cyber security specialist Venafi, and the most important findings that emerge from the respondents are the following:
18% of victims who paid the ransom still had their data exposed on the dark web.
8% refused to pay the ransom, and the attackers tried to extort their customers.
35% of victims paid the ransom but were still unable to retrieve their data.
As for the ransomware actor extortion tactics, these are summarized as follows:
83% of all successful ransomware attacks featured double and triple extortion.
38% of ransomware attacks threatened to use stolen data to extort customers.
35% of ransomware attacks threatened to expose stolen data on the dark web.
32% of attacks threatened to directly inform the victim's customers of the data breach incident.
Ukraine Calls For Volunteer Hackers To Protect Its Critical Infrastructure And Spy On Russian Forces
The government of Ukraine is calling on the hacking community to volunteer its expertise and capabilities, following the invasion of the country by Russian forces.
Reuters reports that Yegor Aushev, the CEO of Kyiv-based Cyber Unit Technologies which has worked with Ukraine's government on the defence of critical infrastructure, claims to have been asked to post a digital call-to-arms after being asked by "a senior Defence Ministry official."
The message, which was posted on hacking forums by Aushev on Thursday, begins "Ukrainian cybercommunity! It’s time to get involved in the cyber defense of our country," and calls for cybersecurity experts and hackers to apply as a volunteer via a Google Docs link. The page volunteers are directed to asks applicants to list their specialities, such as if they have developed malware, and professional references.
According to Aushev, volunteers will be divided into two groups - tasked with offensive and defensive cyber operations.
Study: UK Firms Most Likely To Pay Ransomware Hackers
Some 82% of British firms which have been victims of ransomware attacks paid the hackers in order to get back their data, a new report suggests.
The global average was 58%, making the UK the most likely country to pay cyber-criminals.
Security firm Proofpoint's research also found that more than three-quarters of UK businesses were affected by ransomware in 2021.
Phishing attacks remain the key way criminals access networks, it found.
Phishing happens when someone in a firm is lured into clicking on a link in an email that contains malware, which in turn can help cyber-criminals access company networks.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60478725
Conti Ransomware Group Announces Support of Russia, Threatens Retaliatory Attacks
An infamous ransomware group with potential ties to Russian intelligence and known for attacking health care providers and hundreds of other targets posted a warning Friday saying it was “officially announcing a full support of Russian government.”
The gang said that it would use “all possible resources to strike back at the critical infrastructures” of any entity that organises a cyberattack “or any war activities against Russia.” The message appeared Friday on the dark-web site used by ransomware group Conti to post threats and its victims’ data. Security researchers believe the gang to be Russia-based.
Conti ransomware was part of more than 400 attacks against mostly U.S. targets between spring 2020 and spring 2021, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI reported in September.
https://www.cyberscoop.com/conti-ransomware-russia-ukraine-critical-infrastructure/
91% of UK Organisations Compromised by an Email Phishing Attack in 2021
More than nine in 10 (91%) UK organizations were successfully compromised by an email phishing attack last year, according to Proofpoint’s 2022 State of the Phish report.
The study observed a significant rise in email-based attacks globally in 2021 compared to 2020. Over three-quarters (78%) of organizations were targeted by email-based ransomware attacks last year and 77% faced business email compromise (BEC) attacks, the latter an 18% year-on-year increase from 2020.
The survey of 600 information and IT security professionals and 3500 workers in the US, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the UK also found that attacks in 2021 were more likely to be successful than in 2020. More than four in five (83%) respondents said their organization experienced at least one successful email-based phishing attack last year, up from 57% in 2020. In addition, 68% of organizations admitted they had to deal with at least one ransomware infection stemming from a direct email payload, second-stage malware delivery or other exploit.
Worryingly, 60% of organizations infected with ransomware admitted to paying a ransom, with around a third (32%) paying additional sums to regain access to data and systems.
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-organizations-email-phishing/
Almost 100,000 New Mobile Banking Trojan Strains Detected In 2021
Researchers have found almost 100,000 new variants of mobile banking Trojans in just a year.
As our digital lives have begun to centre more on handsets rather than just desktop PCs, many malware developers have shifted part of their focus to the creation of mobile threats.
Many of the traditional infection routes are still workable -- including phishing and the download and execution of suspicious software -- but cyber attackers are also known to infiltrate official app stores, including Google Play, to lure handset owners into downloading software that appears to be trustworthy.
This technique is often associated with the distribution of Remote Access Trojans (RATs). While Google maintains security barriers to stop malicious apps from being hosted in its store, there are methods to circumvent these controls quietly.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/almost-100000-new-mobile-banking-trojans-detected-in-2021/
Anonymous Collective Has Hacked The Russian Defence Ministry And Leaked The Data Of Its Employees In Response To The Ukraine Invasion
A few hours after the Anonymous collective has called to action against Russia following the illegitimate invasion of Ukraine its members have taken down the website of the Russian propaganda station RT News and news of the day is the attack against the servers of the Russian Defense Ministry.
“Anonymous, a group of hacktivists, successfully hacked and leaked the database of the website of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.” reported the Pravda agency.
The website of the Kremlin (Kremlin.ru) is also unreachable, but it is unclear if it is the result of the Anonymous attack or if the government has taken offline it to prevent disruptive attacks.
The Russian Government’s portal, and the websites of other ministries are running very slow.
The collective is also threatening the Russian Federation and private organizations of attacks, it is a retaliation against Putin’s tyranny.
Anonymous pointed out that it is not targeting Russian citizens, but only their government.
“We want the Russian people to understand that we know it’s hard for them to speak out against their dictator for fear of reprisals.”
https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/128428/hacking/anonymous-russian-defense-ministry.html
Email Remains Go-To Method for Cyber Attacks, Phishing Research Report Finds
If you don’t know what it is, if you can’t identify it and if you can’t make sure you don’t topple into its traps, then you can’t fight it, suggests a new report by security provider Proofpoint in its eighth annual State of the Phish report.
The “it” is email-based malware attacks, the kingpin of all hacking methods, that victims often fall for out of a lack of awareness, inadequate training or risky behaviours, such as using a company mobile device for home use.
Proofpoint’s report takes an in-depth look at user phishing awareness, vulnerability and resilience and comes away with some startling numbers: More than three-quarters of organizations associated with the 4,100 IT security professionals and staffers in the worldwide study were hit by email-based ransomware attacks in 2021 and an equal number were victimized by business email compromise attacks, an 18 percent spike from 2020.
What explains the year-over-year climb? Answer: Cyber criminals continue to focus on compromising people, not necessarily systems, Proofpoint said. Email remains cyber criminals’ go-to attack strategy, said Alan Lefort, Proofpoint security awareness training senior vice president and general manager. “Infosec and IT survey participants experienced an increase in targeted attacks in 2021 compared to 2020, yet our analysis showed the recognition of key security terminology such as phishing, malware, smishing (text-based ruse), and vishing (telephone trickery) dropped significantly,” said Lefort. “The awareness gaps and lax security behaviors demonstrated by workers creates substantial risk for organizations and their bottom line.”
The Future of Cyber Insurance
In 2016, just 26% of insurance clients had cyber coverage. That number rose to 47% in 2020, according to a US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. But the demand for cyber coverage isn't the only thing soaring.
At the end of 2020, insurance prices jumped anywhere from 10% to 30%. In the third quarter of 2021, the average cost of cyber insurance premiums climbed a record 27.6%.
If the rates continue to rise, companies might decide it's not worth the cost. That is, if insurers continue to cover their industry.
https://www.darkreading.com/risk/the-future-of-cyber-insurance
Businesses Are at Significant Risk of Cyber Security Breaches Due to Immature Security Hygiene and Posture Management Practices
Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), a leading IT analyst, research, and strategy firm, and a division of TechTarget, Inc., today announced new research into security hygiene and posture management – a foundational part of a strong security program. The study reveals that many aspects of cyber security are managed independently and with antiquated tools, leaving organisations with limited visibility and weak defenses against an ever-evolving threat landscape. Since strong cybersecurity starts with the basics, like knowing about all IT assets deployed, this situation makes organisations vulnerable to advanced threats among strategic, yet often hurried, cloud and digital transformation initiatives.
The new report, Security Hygiene and Posture Management, summarizes a survey of 398 IT and cyber security professionals responsible for evaluating, purchasing, and utilizing products and services for security hygiene and posture management, including vulnerability management, asset management, attack surface management, and security testing tools. The data reveals that organisations must aim to further assess security posture management processes, examine vendor risk management requirements, and test security tool and processes more frequently.
Microsoft Teams Is The New Frontier For Phishing Attacks
Even with email-based phishing attacks proving to be more successful than ever, cyberattackers are ramping up their efforts to target employees on additional platforms, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack.
One advantage is that in those applications, most employees still assume that they’re actually talking to their boss or coworker when they receive a message.
“The scary part is that we trust these programs implicitly — unlike our email inboxes, where we’ve learned to be suspicious of messages where we don’t recognize the sender’s address,” said anti-fraud technology firm Outseer.
Notably, traditional phishing has seen no slowdown: Proofpoint reported that 83% of organizations experienced a successful email-based phishing attack in 2021 — a massive jump from 57% in 2020. And outside of email, SMS attacks (smishing) and voice-based attacks (vishing) both grew in 2021, as well, according to the email security vendor.
However, it appears that attackers now view widely used collaboration platforms, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, as another growing opportunity for targeting workers, security researchers and executives say. For some threat actors, it’s also a chance to leverage the additional capabilities of collaboration apps as part of the trickery.
https://venturebeat.com/2022/02/23/microsoft-teams-is-the-new-frontier-for-phishing-attacks/
Threats
Ransomware
Russia-Based Ransomware Group Conti Issues Warning To Kremlin Foes | Reuters
Conti Ransomware 'Acquires' TrickBot as It Thrives Amid Crackdowns | SecurityWeek.Com
Ransomware Is Top Attack Vector On Critical Infrastructure | CSO Online
TrickBot Malware Operation Shuts Down, Devs Move To Stealthier Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Microsoft Exchange Servers Hacked To Deploy Cuba Ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Attackers Used Dridex To Deliver Entropy Ransomware, Code Resemblance Uncovered - Help Net Security
Expeditors Shuts Down Global Operations After Likely Ransomware Attack (bleepingcomputer.com)
Chipmaker Giant Nvidia Hit By A Ransomware Attack - Security Affairs
Backups ‘No Longer Effective’ For Stopping Ransomware Attacks (computerweekly.com)
BEC – Business Email Compromise
Phishing & Email
Cyber Attackers Leverage DocuSign to Steal Microsoft Outlook Logins | Threatpost
New Phishing Campaign Targets Monzo Online-Banking Customers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Devious Phishing Method Bypasses MFA Using Remote Access Software (bleepingcomputer.com)
Other Social Engineering
Malware
Over 2.7 Million Cases Of Emotet Malware Detected Globally - Japan Today
Jester Stealer Malware Adds More Capabilities To Entice Hackers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Beware: New Kraken Botnet Easily Fools Windows Defender And Steals Crypto Wallet Data - Neowin
Threat Actors Target Poorly Protected Microsoft SQL Servers - Security Affairs
New Golang Botnet Empties Windows Users’ Cryptocurrency Wallets (bleepingcomputer.com)
Revamped CryptBot Malware Spread By Pirated Software Sites (bleepingcomputer.com)
Social Media Hijacking Malware Spreading Through Gaming Apps on Microsoft Store (thehackernews.com)
Mobile
New Xenomorph Android Malware Targets Customers Of 56 Banks (bleepingcomputer.com)
Gaming, Banking Trojans Dominate Mobile Malware Scene | Threatpost
Samsung Shipped '100m' Android Phones With Flawed Encryption • The Register
Data Breaches/Leaks
Organised Crime & Criminal Actors
Police Dismantled Gang That Used Phishing Sites To Steal Credit Cards - Security Affairs
Nigerian Hacker Pleads Guilty To Stealing Payroll Deposits (bleepingcomputer.com)
Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking
Insider Risk and Insider Threats
Employees Are Often Using Devices In Seriously Risky Ways - Help Net Security
Insider Threats Are More Than Just Malicious Employees (darkreading.com)
83% Of Employees Continue Accessing Old Employer's Accounts - Help Net Security
Motorola Case Shows Importance Of Detecting Insider IP Theft Quickly | CSO Online
Fraud, Scams & Financial Crime
Think You Couldn't Be Duped By a Con Artist? Think Again | Psychology Today
French Speakers Blasted By Sextortion Scams With No Text Or Links – Naked Security (sophos.com)
Digital Ad Fraud Set to Hit $68bn in 2022 - Infosecurity Magazine
Supply Chain
Nation State Actors
Russia-Backed Hackers Behind Powerful New Malware, UK and US Say | Russia | The Guardian
Ransomware Used as Decoy in Destructive Cyber Attacks on Ukraine | SecurityWeek.Com
Data Wiper Attacks On Ukraine Were Planned At Least In November - Security Affairs
Russia’s Sandworm Hackers Have Built a Botnet of Firewalls | WIRED
China-linked APT10 Target Taiwan's Financial Trading Industry - Security Affairs
US and UK Details a New Python Backdoor Used by MuddyWater APT - Security Affairs
Privacy
Spyware, Espionage & Cyber Warfare
Sector Specific
Financial Services Sector
Defence
Health/Medical/Pharma Sector
Construction
Reports Published in the Last Week
Other News
War in Ukraine Risks Scrambling the Logic of Cyber Security | Financial Times (ft.com)
Russia-Ukraine War: Phishing, Malware and Hacker Groups Taking Sides (thehackernews.com)
22 Very Bad Stats On The Growth Of Phishing, Ransomware | VentureBeat
Data Leaks And Shadow Assets Greatly Exposing Organisations To Cyber Attacks - Help Net Security
50% of Websites Vulnerable to Hacking All Year in 2021, New Report Says - MSSP Alert
Is Multifactor Authentication Less Effective Than It Used To Be? (slate.com)
How To Keep Pace With Rising Data Protection Demands - Help Net Security
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