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Threat Source newsletter (Oct. 27, 2022): I thought we were already aware of supply chain attacks?
Supply chain attacks were all the rage in 2020 after SolarWinds, but we seem to have forgotten how important they are.
Thursday, October 27, 2022 14:10
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Threat Source newsletter.
There are plenty of jokes about whether we’re “aware” of cybersecurity during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. But now I’m wondering if people are aware of supply chain attacks.
I thought we hit the pinnacle of supply chain attacks in 2020 with the SolarWinds attack, when these types of attacks dominated headlines and defenders started shouting from the mountaintops about how important it is to be ready for supply chain attacks.
And then Kaseya came along a few months later when attackers found a different way to deploy malicious updates that were disguised as legitimate patches.
And still today, we’re warning about the dangers of how prevalent supply chain attacks are and how everyone needs to be ready for this attacker technique. This leaves me wondering if Kaseya and SolarWinds weren’t the breaking point — what is?
It seems like no matter how many times we see major ransomware attacks, even coming to the point of making it impossible for people to get gas, attackers are back again with another ransomware attack a few weeks later.
We still have several hurdles to overcome to fix the supply chain attack problem, as Jaeson Schultz from our Outreach team outlined in this recent post. But it’s clear that these attacks aren’t going anywhere, and neither are defenders’ warnings.
As I wrote at the start of October, it can be easy to poke fun at Cybersecurity Awareness Month because it’s impossible to define what it even means to be “aware” of cybersecurity. Clearly, there’s still awareness to spread, though, and we keep needing to spread it in regard to supply chain attacks, ransomware and pretty much every other type of cyber attack.
The one big thing
For the first time since collecting such data, Cisco Talos Incident Response saw an equal number of ransomware and pre-ransomware engagements, making up nearly 40 percent of threats in the third quarter of 2022. It can be difficult to determine what constitutes a pre-ransomware attack if ransomware never executes and encryption does not take place. However, Talos IR assesses that the combination of Cobalt Strike and credential-harvesting tools like Mimikatz, paired with enumeration and discovery techniques, indicates a high likelihood that ransomware is the final objective.
Why do I care?
This data represents what Talos IR is actively seeing in the wild over the past few months and is likely representative of the broader threat landscape.
So now what?
A lack of MFA remains one of the biggest impediments to enterprise security. Nearly 18 percent of engagements either had no MFA or only had it enabled on a handful of accounts and critical services. Talos IR frequently observes ransomware and phishing incidents that could have been prevented if MFA had been properly enabled on critical services, such as endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions. Talos IR recommends disabling VPN access for all accounts that are not using two-factor authentication.
Top security headlines of the week
The Biden administration is preparing to release updated guidelines and warnings around election security with a few days left before the midterm elections. A bulletin reportedly being drafted includes information on threats from Russia, China and other state-sponsored actors. Election workers and local officials are also having to deal with physical threats to polling workers and locations, all while the number of volunteers is dwindling. Earlier this month, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a PSA stating that malicious cyber activity is “unlikely to disrupt or prevent voting.” (Politico, Axios, Voice of America)
Apple released security updates for its iOS and iPadOS operating systems this week, including fixes for a vulnerability that “may have been actively exploited.” There are 20 vulnerabilities fixed in these updates in all. CVE-2022-42827 is the most notable vulnerability, which could allow an attacker to execute code with Kernel privileges via an attacker-controlled app. This is the third Kernel-related out-of-bounds memory vulnerability that Apple has patched in each of its previous security updates: CVE-2022-32894 and CVE-2022-32917. CVE-2022-32917 was known to be used in attacks in the wild. (Forbes, The Hacker News)
Two vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Mark of the Web (MoTW) security feature could allow an attacker to send JavaScript files that could bypass security blocks in place. Attackers are reportedly actively exploiting both issues, though Microsoft has yet to issue any formal fixes for the vulnerabilities, and there are no workarounds available. Mark of the Web protects users against files from untrusted sources, but the two vulnerabilities could allow the attackers to construct the files in a way that they are not appropriately marked by Windows. Attackers commonly use .js files as attachments or downloads that can run outside a web browser. (Dark Reading, Bleeping Computer)
Can’t get enough Talos?
- Talos Takes Ep. #118: Threat Hunting 101
- Beers with Talos Ep. #127: I’m a skiddie, and you can too!
- A bug in Abode’s home security system could let hackers remotely switch off cameras
- Talos Incident Response Q3 2022 Quarterly Report
Upcoming events where you can find Talos
Click or Treat? How not to fall for a phishing attack this Halloween (Oct. 31)
Virtual
BSides Lisbon (Nov. 10 - 11)
Cidade Universitária, Lisboa, Portugal
Most prevalent malware files from Talos telemetry over the past week
SHA 256: e12b6641d7e7e4da97a0ff8e1a0d4840c882569d47b8fab8fb187ac2b475636c
MD5: a087b2e6ec57b08c0d0750c60f96a74c
Typical Filename: AAct.exe
Claimed Product: N/A
Detection Name: PUA.Win.Tool.Kmsauto::1201
SHA 256: e4973db44081591e9bff5117946defbef6041397e56164f485cf8ec57b1d8934
MD5: 93fefc3e88ffb78abb36365fa5cf857c
Typical Filename: Wextract
Claimed Product: Internet Explorer
Detection Name: PUA.Win.Trojan.Generic::85.lp.ret.sbx.tg
SHA 256: c67b03c0a91eaefffd2f2c79b5c26a2648b8d3c19a22cadf35453455ff08ead0
MD5: 8c69830a50fb85d8a794fa46643493b2
Typical Filename: AAct.exe
Claimed Product: N/A
Detection Name: PUA.Win.Dropper.Generic::1201
SHA 256: 58d6fec4ba24c32d38c9a0c7c39df3cb0e91f500b323e841121d703c7b718681
MD5: f1fe671bcefd4630e5ed8b87c9283534
Typical Filename: KMSAuto Net.exe
Claimed Product: KMSAuto Net
Detection Name: PUA.Win.Tool.Hackkms::1201
SHA 256: 125e12c8045689bb2a5dcad6fa2644847156dec8b533ee8a3653b432f8fd5645
MD5: 2c8ea737a232fd03ab80db672d50a17a
Typical Filename: LwssPlayer.scr
Claimed Product: 梦想之巅幻灯播放器
Detection Name: Auto.125E12.241442.in02
Related news
Apple on Tuesday rolled out security updates to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and Safari web browser to address a new zero-day vulnerability that could result in the execution of malicious code. Tracked as CVE-2022-42856, the issue has been described by the tech giant as a type confusion issue in the WebKit browser engine that could be triggered when processing specially crafted content, leading to
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.7.1 and iPadOS 15.7.1, iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7, iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16. An app may be able to access iOS backups.
This issue was addressed with improved entitlements. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16. An app may be able to record audio using a pair of connected AirPods.
A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 16. Deleted contacts may still appear in spotlight search results.
This issue was addressed with improved entitlements. This issue is fixed in iOS 16, watchOS 9. An app may be able to read a persistent device identifier.
A now-patched security flaw in Apple's iOS and macOS operating systems could have potentially enabled apps with Bluetooth access to eavesdrop on conversations with Siri. Apple said "an app may be able to record audio using a pair of connected AirPods," adding it addressed the Core Bluetooth issue in iOS 16.1 with improved entitlements. Credited with discovering and reporting the bug in August
Categories: News Tags: iPhone Tags: iPad Tags: Apple Tags: zero day Tags: exploit Tags: bug Tags: threat Tags: CVE-2022-42847 A zero-day bug that affects iPhones and iPads is being exploited in the wild (Read more...) The post iPhone zero-day. Update your devices now! appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.
Tech giant Apple on Monday rolled out updates to remediate a zero-day flaw in iOS and iPadOS that it said has been actively exploited in the wild. The weakness, given the identifier CVE-2022-42827, has been described as an out-of-bounds write issue in the Kernel, which could be abused by a rogue application to execute arbitrary code with the highest privileges. Successful exploitation of
Tech giant Apple on Monday rolled out updates to remediate a zero-day flaw in iOS and iPadOS that it said has been actively exploited in the wild. The weakness, given the identifier CVE-2022-42827, has been described as an out-of-bounds write issue in the Kernel, which could be abused by a rogue application to execute arbitrary code with the highest privileges. Successful exploitation of
Such exploits sell for up to $10 million, making them the single most valuable commodity in the cybercrime underworld.
A logic issue was addressed with improved restrictions. This issue is fixed in iOS 16, iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7. A person with physical access to an iOS device may be able to access photos from the lock screen.
The issue was addressed with improved bounds checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6, iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7, iOS 16, macOS Big Sur 11.7. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited..
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Apple Security Advisory 2022-09-12-4 - macOS Monterey 12.6 addresses bypass and code execution vulnerabilities.
Categories: Exploits and vulnerabilities Categories: News Apple has patched an actively-exploited flaw that affects a host of devices and software, including iPhones, Macs, iPads, and iPod touch. (Read more...) The post Important update! iPhones, Macs, and more vulnerable to zero-day bug appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.
Categories: Exploits and vulnerabilities Categories: News Apple has patched an actively-exploited flaw that affects a host of devices and software, including iPhones, Macs, iPads, and iPod touch. (Read more...) The post Important update! iPhones, Macs, and more vulnerable to zero-day bug appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.
Apple has released another round of security updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in iOS and macOS, including a new zero-day flaw that has been used in attacks in the wild. The issue, assigned the identifier CVE-2022-32917, is rooted in the Kernel component and could enable a malicious app to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. "Apple is aware of a report that this issue may
Categories: News Tags: Apple Tags: iOS 12.5.6 Tags: webkit Tags: CVE-2022-32893 Apple has released a security update for iOS 12.5.6 to patch a remotely exploitable WebKit vulnerability that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on unpatched devices. (Read more...) The post Apple releases security update for iPhones and iPads to address vulnerability appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.
Apple Security Advisory 2022-08-31-1 - iOS 12.5.6 addresses code execution and out of bounds write vulnerabilities.
Apple continues a staged update process to address a WebKit vulnerability that allows attackers to craft malicious Web content to load malware on affected devices.
Plus: Chrome patches another zero-day flaw, Microsoft closes up 100 vulnerabilities, Android gets a significant patch, and more.
By Jon Munshaw. Welcome to this week’s edition of the Threat Source newsletter. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was once the most talked about story in the world. Six months into the conflict, modern attention spans have moved on to other news stories. But Ukraine Independence Day yesterday should serve as a reminder to everyone that the threats to Ukraine have not gone anywhere. The country still faces a physical conflict with Russia every day that seemingly has no easy end, and the barrage of cyber attacks is suspected to continue. As discussed in our livestream yesterday, Talos continues to see evolving cybersecurity threats in the region, including the most recent GoMet backdoor. And as Joe Marshall highlighted in his blog post last week, Ukraine’s agriculture industry — which is vital to the global food supply chain — remains vulnerable to kinetic and virtual attacks. Because there’s been no one major cyber attack against Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, the larg...
An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.6.1 and iPadOS 15.6.1, macOS Monterey 12.5.1. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
Categories: Exploits and vulnerabilities Categories: News CISA updated its catalog of actively exploited vulnerabilities. Make sure you update your software before the due date! (Read more...) The post CISA wants you to patch these actively exploited vulnerabilities before September 8 appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.
The fact that the flaws enable remote code execution, exist across all major Apple OS technologies, and are being actively exploited heightens the need for a quick response.
Apple Security Advisory 2022-08-17-1 - iOS 15.6.1 and iPadOS 15.6.1 addresses code execution and out of bounds write vulnerabilities.