SOC analysts should also cultivate skills like incident handling and response, threat hunting, digital forensics, Python, and bash scripting.

Source: Artem Samokhvalov via Shutterstock

Though artificial intelligence is poised to drastically transform enterprise security operations centers (SOCs), for the moment at least, the top three technologies for new hires to be familiar with remain SIEM, host-based extended detection and response, and vulnerability remediation.

But a trio of other hard skills scored highly in a survey of some 400 cybersecurity practitioners that the SANS Institute conducted on behalf of Torq. These include a knowledge of cloud security issues, PowerShell expertise, and the ability to automate repetitive tasks and systems management functions.

**Core Hard Skills**

Besides the top three skills, "the core hard skills that are currently essential for SOC analysts include: incident handling and response, threat hunting, cloud security, digital forensics, Python, PowerShell, and bash scripting," says Dallas Young, senior technical product manager at Torq.

"As for soft skills, those include critical thinking and creative, informed problem solving, attention to detail in rapidly changing environments, and communication skills at both a technical and interpersonal level," he says.

The SANS survey polled respondents from small, medium, and large companies in the US and other countries about their top SOC challenges. The responses showed that many organizations continue to struggle with issues that have plagued them for years. These include a lack of automation and orchestration of key SOC functions, high-staffing requirements, a shortage of skilled staff, and a lack of visibility. They also reported a pervasive silo mentality among security, incident response, and operations teams.

**SOC Retention Rates Improve**

On the positive side though, the survey showed a surprising uptick in staff retention rates at many SOCs. Some 30% of respondents — a plurality — identified the average SOC tenure at their organization as being between three and five years, compared to the one-to-three year tenures that respondents indicated in previous SANS surveys.

Young chalks up the trend to the increasing automation of Tier-1 triage and analysis at more organizations. This has enabled SOC analysts to focus on more strategic and intellectually stimulating activities, such as threat hunting and advanced incident response. It's also helped alleviate the analyst burnout problem, he says.

Other factors that appear to have contributed to the increased retention rates include better work environments, with remote and flexible hours and management-track leadership training for high performers. "In addition, for security analysts who want to maintain a technical focus, organizations are paying for more training and certification opportunities in areas of interest such as penetration testing, reverse malware engineering, and cloud security subject matter areas as examples," Young says.

Jake Williams, faculty at IANS Research and vice president of R&D at Hunter Strategy, says current job market conditions have allowed many organizations to secure more experienced SOC analysts at the same budget than they could a few years ago. "This is a good thing for organizations short term, but they should be making plans now for when the job market rebounds," Williams says. "Many organizations are camouflaging a lack of process with the skills these more senior analysts bring to the table."

**Cloud Knowledge, ID Management, PowerShell Are Hot Skills**

Like Young, Williams says the biggest in-demand SOC skills — outside of the obvious core skills of SIEM and XDR — are knowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure, and understanding of Active Directory and Entra ID. "I've seen a lot more expectation of baseline cloud knowledge, especially for senior SOC analysts," Williams notes. Given the prolific use of M365 in enterprise, there's an expectation that many senior SOC analysts know PowerShell to query GraphAPI, he says, "PowerShell experience and cloud platform knowledge were niche skills a few years ago. For midtier to senior SOC analysts today, it seems like table stakes."

The SANS survey showed that many SOC practitioners aren't thrilled with their initial usage of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools for SOC analysis purposes. In fact, respondents gave AI and ML tools the lowest rating when asked to rate SOC tools. However, there's little doubt that AI and GenAI technologies are set to fundamentally change the SOC and, in the process, the skills landscape as well.

Young says AI will fundamentally continue moving forward to enhance automated threat detection, proactive threat hunting, automation of repetitive and time-consuming tasks, alert fatigue reduction, and predictive analytics. Increasingly, SOC analysts are going to need to be familiar with machine learning algorithms and data analysis techniques to interpret AI-generated insights, Young says. They will also need skills to handle complex security incidents identified by AI systems and be willing to continuously learn and adapt to new AI technologies and methodologies, he says.

**"Why Does That Matter?"**

Williams expects AI tools to reduce the need for analysts whose sole role has been to respond to basic alarms. "Junior analysts should be looking now at what tasks AI does — and doesn't — do well and educating themselves in the places they can't be replaced by AI, such as critical thinking," he says. "The SOC of the future will be less about knowing that port 3389 is RDP — AI will provide that context on demand — and more about providing the 'why does that matter in this context?'"

Creative thinking when it comes to interesting problems and correlations will remain a key asset for SOC professionals, says Sajeeb Lohani, senior director of cybersecurity at Bugcrowd. "Nowadays, SIEMs are capable of raising alerts, so it is quite easy to fall into a rut and churn tickets," he says. "However, in my opinion, the most successful professionals are able to correlate events and understand business context when triaging and responding to such alerts. That context is key."

Lohani expects that some threats that are considered relatively niche issues in the SOC will become more important over the next few years. "Currently, a large portion of SOCs haven't had to deal with more niche threats like supply chain security issues," he says. "I believe, over time, that will start to change, and more mature practices will \[be needed\] to prepare and adapt."

**About the Author(s)**

Jai Vijayan is a seasoned technology reporter with over 20 years of experience in IT trade journalism. He was most recently a Senior Editor at Computerworld, where he covered information security and data privacy issues for the publication. Over the course of his 20-year career at Computerworld, Jai also covered a variety of other technology topics, including big data, Hadoop, Internet of Things, e-voting, and data analytics. Prior to Computerworld, Jai covered technology issues for The Economic Times in Bangalore, India. Jai has a Master's degree in Statistics and lives in Naperville, Ill.

Cloud Security, PowerShell Expertise Emerge as Key SOC Analyst Skills

PRESS RELEASE

ATLANTA, July 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Secureworks® (NASDAQ: SCWX), a global leader in cybersecurity, today announced the launch of Taegis™ ManagedXDR Plus, a new Managed Detection and Response (MDR) offering that liberates the mid-market from indistinct, cookie cutter security solutions that don't meet their unique security requirements. Today's announcement means that this market sector will no longer be forced to use homogenous cybersecurity solutions that don't align to unique environments or the AI-fueled attacks that target them. Taegis ManagedXDR Plus empowers companies with the tailored use cases, compliance reports, and alerting they need to tackle the rising tide of cyberattacks and regulations with limited budget and people.

Nearly one in three (30%) mid-market companies experienced at least one ransomware attack in 20231 highlighting the need for organizations to strengthen their cyber resiliency with a proactive approach, tailored to their environment. Taegis ManagedXDR Plus addresses the evolving needs of this market sector with greater customization and flexibility on alerting, workflows, and reports to address their specific environment, industry regulations, and risk profile. These personalized configurations are supported by expanded threat hunting and access to proactive services to further increase their vigilance against threats. Organizations can see more, detect better, and respond faster by leveraging Secureworks security operations expertise and threat intelligence to fortify their cyber resiliency and exposure management.

"Until today, the mid-market has had to make do with security solutions that do little to bolster their cyber posture. Yet as the economic driving force for countries around the world, the butterfly effect of a cyberattack on organizations in this sector can often be felt far and wide, testing the digital resilience of the wider global economy. It is imperative for our collective defense that organizations of all sizes have access to cybersecurity that improves their security posture within the reality of their budget," said Kyle Falkenhagen, Chief Product Officer, Secureworks. "The cost of building a SOC in-house quickly escalates when you consider the breadth and depth of expertise required for these advanced challenges, let alone the costs of hiring, training and retaining a robust staff for 24/7 coverage. Taegis ManagedXDR Plus enables mid-market customers to take full advantage of the Taegis platform and our in-house experts to up-level their security to an enterprise level without breaking their budget."

Delivered using the Secureworks Taegis XDR platform, Taegis ManagedXDR Plus expands upon the capabilities of Secureworks Taegis ManagedXDR solution in several areas:

*   Tailored AI Enriched Use Cases: Taegis ManagedXDR Plus customers can leverage customization options tailored to their specific needs.
    
*   Expanded Threat Hunting: This new tier quadruples the number of AI assisted threat hunts available as part of Taegis ManagedXDR, and allows for customized requests to more rapidly uncover emerging and undiscovered threat actors targeting their environments.
    
*   Premium Support with Named Experts: Customers can also tap into the knowledge of Secureworks experts to further optimize Taegis in their environment, including 1x1 guidance to help efficiently build their security posture over time.
    
*   Proactive Security Services: Customers can select from a range of proactive security services to further raise their resiliency, identify gaps in posture, and deepen Taegis knowledge.
    

Secureworks now offers three tiers within its Taegis ManagedXDR portfolio - Taegis ManagedXDR, Taegis ManagedXDR Plus and Taegis ManagedXDR Enhanced - delivering on the company's commitment to meet customers wherever they are on their security journey. Regardless of the tier, Taegis ManagedXDR customers enjoy transparent pricing in an inclusive model which includes direct access to security experts within 90 seconds, one year of log retention to assist in threat hunting and compliance needs, hundreds of integrations to unify their existing ecosystem, and more to provide mid-market customers peace of mind and predictability in their cybersecurity budget.

"In an increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity landscape, enterprises find it challenging to handle security operations by themselves. These organizations have distinct needs. Secureworks acknowledges this and provides increased flexibility with Taegis ManagedXDR Plus," said Lucas Ferreyra, cybersecurity industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan. "This new MDR service tier delivers additional capabilities that multiply the value of Secureworks MDR service, further enhancing prevention, detection and response, and showing why Secureworks is one of the leaders in the MDR space."

For more information, please visit the Taegis ManagedXDR Plus web page.

About Secureworks

Secureworks (NASDAQ: SCWX) is a global cybersecurity leader that secures human progress with Secureworks® Taegis™, a SaaS-based, open XDR platform built on 20+ years of real-world detection data, security operations expertise, and threat intelligence and research. Taegis is embedded in the security operations of thousands of organizations around the world who use its advanced, AI-driven capabilities to detect advanced threats, streamline and collaborate on investigations, and automate the right actions.

Secureworks Elevates State of Cybersecurity for Mid-Market Customers With Managed Detection and Response Offering

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, July 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueVoyant, an industry-leading cybersecurity company, today announced the launch of its innovative Cyber Defense Platform. The platform integrates internal, external, and supply chain defense solutions into a single, cloud-native platform designed to measure and strengthen cyber defense posture in a cost-effective manner.

The mission of security operations teams has expanded from protecting the organization's internal networks to also include external threats from supply chain vendors, the digital fraudsters, and the dark web. However, multiple point solutions introduce complexity in management and provide a fragmented view of cyber posture.

BlueVoyant's Cyber Defense Platform provides AI-powered, next-generation security operations across enterprises' entire attack surface. It processes data and alerts from internal networks, supply chains, and the clear, deep, and dark web. This all leads to improvements in scalability, productivity, and enterprises' cyber risk posture.

The platform offers a variety of products and services to strengthen and manage an organization's cyber defense, including:

1.  Detection & Response:  Bolster internal network defenses by utilizing Managed Extended Detection & Response (MXDR) across the entire security stack from endpoints and SIEM (security information and event management) to the cloud, with integrated Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) for added protection
    
2.  Supply Chain Defense: Manage and respond to risks from suppliers, vendors, and other third parties
    
3.  Digital Risk Protection: Detect and respond to external cyber risks, such as brand impersonation, phishing, stolen data, and more
    
4.  Proactive Defense: Proactive approach to attack surface management that includes vulnerability management, external attack surface management, penetration testing, phishing awareness, dark web threat research, and configuration management
    
5.  Cyber Posture Management: Continuously assess, manage, and improve your organization's security posture to reduce cyber risk by leveraging the guidance provided by the NIST Cyber Security Framework (CSF)
    

"The BlueVoyant Cyber Defense Platform is a leap forward in the cybersecurity landscape," said James Rosenthal, CEO and co-founder of BlueVoyant. "We understand the escalating demands that security operations teams face in detecting and responding to threats swiftly. Our platform harnesses the power of AI to respond to those challenges with next-generation security operations across the entire attack surface. The result is improved scalability, enhanced productivity, and a stronger cyber risk posture, all based on cutting-edge technology."        

BlueVoyant boasts more than 1,000 customers, and recently announced the acquisition of Conquest Cyber, a cyber defense company renowned for its innovative SaaS technology. In addition, Microsoft recently named BlueVoyant the prestigious 2024 Worldwide Security Partner of the Year, which recognizes that BlueVoyant is on the forefront of cybersecurity. The company is also a member of the Microsoft Copilot for Security Design Council.

BlueVoyant recently unveiled a new Security Operations (SOC) and Customer Experience Center in Leeds, England, which joins BlueVoyant's existing SOC in Hungary. An additional EU SOC will be opening in Ireland later in 2024. The company's SOCs complement existing global security operations centers and provide additional in-time-zone support for European clients. 

To learn more about the BlueVoyant Cyber Defense Platform, visit the BlueVoyant website.

About BlueVoyant  
BlueVoyant delivers a comprehensive cloud-native security operations platform that provides real-time threat monitoring for networks, endpoints, and supply chains, extending to the clear, deep, and dark web. The platform integrates advanced AI technology with expert human insight to offer extensive protection and swift threat mitigation, ensuring enterprise cybersecurity. Trusted by more than 1,000 clients globally, and the 2024 Microsoft Worldwide Security Partner of the Year, BlueVoyant sets the standard for modern cyber defense solutions.

BlueVoyant Unveils Edge Security Operations Platform

### Impact

The REXML gem before 3.3.1 has some DoS vulnerabilities when it parses an XML that has many specific characters such as `<`, `0` and `%>`.

If you need to parse untrusted XMLs, you may be impacted to these vulnerabilities.

### Patches

The REXML gem 3.3.2 or later include the patches to fix these vulnerabilities.

### Workarounds

Don't parse untrusted XMLs.

### References

* https://github.com/ruby/rexml/security/advisories/GHSA-vg3r-rm7w-2xgh : This is a similar vulnerability
* https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/07/16/dos-rexml-cve-2024-39908/

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1.  GitHub Advisory Database
2.  GitHub Reviewed
3.  CVE-2024-39908

**REXML denial of service vulnerability**

Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jul 16, 2024 in ruby/rexml

**Package**

**Affected versions**

< 3.3.2

**Description**

Published to the GitHub Advisory Database

Jul 16, 2024

**Severity**

**CVSS base metrics**

User interaction

Required

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

**Weaknesses**

**GHSA ID**

GHSA-4xqq-m2hx-25v8

**Source code**

GHSA-4xqq-m2hx-25v8: REXML denial of service vulnerability

### Summary
Vulnerability scan of fiona shows [CVE-2023-45853](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45853)

### Details
fiona depends on madler-zlib 1.3.  MiniZip in zlib through 1.3 has an integer overflow and resultant heap-based buffer overflow in zipOpenNewFileInZip4_64 via a long filename, comment, or extra field. NOTE: MiniZip is not a supported part of the zlib product. NOTE: pyminizip through 0.2.6 is also vulnerable because it bundles an affected zlib version, and exposes the applicable MiniZip code through its compress API.

### Impact
Unkown.  Please document if this vulnerability is exposed


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1.  GitHub Advisory Database
2.  GitHub Reviewed
3.  GHSA-q5fm-55c2-v6j9

**Fiona affected by CVE-2023-45853 related to MiniZip madler-zlib**

Critical severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jul 15, 2024 in Toblerity/Fiona • Updated Jul 16, 2024

**Affected versions**

< 1.10b1

**Description**

**Summary**

Vulnerability scan of fiona shows CVE-2023-45853

**Details**

fiona depends on madler-zlib 1.3. MiniZip in zlib through 1.3 has an integer overflow and resultant heap-based buffer overflow in zipOpenNewFileInZip4\_64 via a long filename, comment, or extra field. NOTE: MiniZip is not a supported part of the zlib product. NOTE: pyminizip through 0.2.6 is also vulnerable because it bundles an affected zlib version, and exposes the applicable MiniZip code through its compress API.

**Impact**

Unkown. Please document if this vulnerability is exposed

**References**

*   GHSA-q5fm-55c2-v6j9
*   https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45853
*   OSGeo/gdal@4aa7ca6
*   madler/zlib@73331a6

Published to the GitHub Advisory Database

Jul 16, 2024

Last updated

Jul 16, 2024

GHSA-q5fm-55c2-v6j9: Fiona affected by CVE-2023-45853 related to MiniZip madler-zlib

### Summary
Vulnerability scan of fiona shows [CVE-2020-14152](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-14152)

### Details
In IJG JPEG (aka libjpeg) before 9d, jpeg_mem_available() in jmemnobs.c in djpeg does not honor the max_memory_to_use setting, possibly causing excessive memory consumption.

### Impact
Unkown. Please document if this vulnerability is exposed


**Fiona affected by CVE-2020-14152 related to madler-zlib**

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jul 15, 2024 in Toblerity/Fiona • Updated Jul 16, 2024

GHSA-g4m4-9q4c-mfw6: Fiona affected by CVE-2020-14152 related to madler-zlib

As attackers set their sights on infrastructure, security teams need to reduce risk levels without compromising operational agility.

Amir Hirsh, SVP & General Manager of OT Security, Tenable

July 16, 2024

4 Min Read

Source: ElenaBs via Alamy Stock Photo

COMMENTARY

Hackers affiliated with the Chinese government have reportedly maintained access to US critical infrastructure for years, several agencies warned in February. The revelation is, at least on the surface, a heel-turn for Chinese cyber behavior — moving from espionage to the potential compromise or destruction of infrastructure via operational technology (OT). This includes the programmable systems and devices connected to physical environments.

Last December, a supply chain-focused attack against ShipManager software from maritime advisory company DNV reportedly disrupted operations for dozens of its clients — affecting as many as 1,000 vessels. In November, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned of Iranian actors actively exploiting Unitronics equipment used in water and wastewater systems, prompting a later warning from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House. The EPA also warned in May that a whopping 70% of US water systems fail its cybersecurity standards.

Similar OT systems have been connected to the Internet to enable remote monitoring and control, but that convenience has opened up avenues for attackers. These systems were often built for reliability before widespread connectivity. They are often implemented with niche solutions and can be difficult to audit and protect.

OT attacks, along with IT attacks on infrastructure supporting these operational environments, can take down customers' supply chains, damage equipment, and result in costly production disruptions: According to a study by ITC, four in 10 enterprise organizations said one hour of downtime can cost from $1 million to over $5 million.

Keeping the lights on in these increasingly complex environments is no easy feat. OT needs even higher levels of protection than that afforded to IT, since a single OT breach can cascade across multiple systems. Here, I'll outline three key steps for defending these environments, which begins with understanding OT's cyber-physical impacts and complexities.

**1\. Eliminate Gaps Across Environments**

Convergence of security between IT and OT is accelerating, but the two cannot be completely independent workstreams. Managing OT security is not a "set it and forget it" or reactive process, and vulnerability management cannot be lax. An effective strategy meant to reduce OT risk and protect operational uptime requires full asset visibility, and oftentimes there is crossover with IT.

With greater visibility, defenders can gather accurate and continuous telemetry data. Acquiring it, however, will entail ongoing communication and collaboration with the IT teams who have traditionally overseen Internet-facing devices.

IT and OT defenders can establish cross-functional teams and carry out joint risk assessment exercises. This open line will generate a better understanding about how assets communicate with each other, which apps are running (and where), and how user privileges are configured. The visibility gives teams greater control over their organizational infrastructure and can inform critical decision-making processes.

**2\. Develop Comprehensive OT Playbooks**

Once assets are mapped and better understood, the next step is a standardization of security practices. Defenders should create or evolve OT security playbooks and consider a range of scenarios.

Plans should draw from the organization's existing knowledge base, outline step-by-step incident response protocols, and define reactive steps among all business units and executives — for instance, documenting which teams or partners must respond in the event of a sector-specific worst-case scenario, such as a critical pipeline being held for ransom.

OT defenders should also regularly monitor guidance disseminated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (including the new governance pillar of the NIST CSF framework) and intelligence agencies, along with industry groups and vendors.

**3\. Implement Robust Controls**

With more systems coming online, the general widening of the OT attack surface necessitates powerful exposure management technology. In fact, this is a point my colleagues and I continue to raise in different forums, as threat actors, like China-backed entities, continue to shift their tactics.

Sophisticated advanced persistent threats (APTs), like China's Volt Typhoon, increasingly rely on living-off-the-land techniques — using legitimate, embedded services to carry out their crimes. This can cloak their network activity and make traditional indicators of compromise highly difficult to detect. This ultimately dilutes the impact of more traditional security technologies.

Defenders simply cannot overlook this threat. They must be able to contextualize data and resolve issues before they can be exploited, performing functions like high-speed asset discovery and malware detection.

**Moving Away From Reactive Policies**

Given the rise of ransomware attacks in OT environments — more than half of polled industrial firms confirming they've suffered a related incident — there is new urgency tied to this domain. In fact, these events have created space for security teams to advocate internally for more robust controls.

Luckily, as part of this effort, organizations are steadily moving away from the reactive policies that once guided OT and instead are looking more holistically at the intricate web of networks and devices across their operations.

By using these tips, security teams can effectively reduce risk levels without compromising operational agility. OT infrastructure demands time and attention, but greater security will help protect physical environments from the advances of prominent APTs.

**About the Author(s)**

SVP & General Manager of OT Security, Tenable

Amir Hirsh is a technological entrepreneur based in Israel with over 20 years of experience. He has been instrumental in the creation, growth and sale of numerous companies covering cyber, AI, and media.

Amir leads Tenable's platform, exposure management, and operational technology (OT) business units, driving continued product innovation and development to address both present and future market needs. He also oversees Tenable's go-to-market, marketing, and engineering teams. He is a creative thinker and an innovative tech and business leader with an execution-focused management style.

As a key leader at Tenable, Amir speaks regularly at various industry events and conferences, and his views on market trends and the technology innovation driving them have been covered in many media outlets.

Defending OT Requires Agility, Proactive Controls

The ransomware is rudimentary with basic functionalities, likely having been created by an inexperienced developer — but it's effective at locking up files and sucking up memory capacity.

Source: imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG via Alamy Stock Photo

A ransomware strain coined "ShadowRoot" has been found targeting Turkish businesses through phishing attacks.

The phishing emails contain a PDF attachment disguised as an invoice with embedded malicious links. Upon user interaction, this triggers a download of a RootDesign.exe file hosted on a compromised GitHub account.

The downloaded file is a Delphi binary and, according to researchers at Forcepoint who analyzed the exe, it drops further payloads: "C:\\TheDream\\RootDesign.exe," "C:\\TheDream\\Uninstall.exe” and “C:\\TheDream\\Uninstall.ini".

"We have observed recursive self-process creation by RootDesign.exe, which causes the files to get encrypted multiple times, resulting in higher memory consumption," the researchers said. "It also drops many copies of encrypted files on the root."

They add that the ransomware appears "rudimentary" and likely the work belonging to an inexperienced developer.

In addition to user awareness for defense, the researchers recommend blocking the following email addresses to prevent being targeted by the Shadowroot threat actors:

*   Kurumsal\[.\]tasilat\[@\]internet\[.\]ru
    
*   ran\_master\_som\[@\]proton\[.\]me
    
*   lasmuruk\[@\]mailfence\[.\]com
    

**About the Author(s)**

Shadowroot Ransomware Lures Turkish Victims via Phishing Attacks

The threat group used CVE-2024-38112 and a "zombie" version of IE to spread Atlantida Stealer through purported PDF versions of reference books.

Source: Ezyjoe via Alamy Stock Photo

New details have emerged about how an advanced persistent threat (APT) group exploited an unpatched Microsoft zero-day in a spear-phishing campaign to spread the Atlantida Stealer, which lifts system information and sensitive data such as passwords and cookies from various applications.

A blog post published July 15 by Trend Micro sheds new light on how the APT, dubbed Void Banshee, which used the flaw (CVE-2024-38112)against victims in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The bug exists in the MSHTML (Trident) engine for the now retired Internet Explorer (IE) browser, but it can be exploited on a victim's machine even if IE is disabled or not the default browser.

It's an "alarming" attack given that IE has "historically been a vast attack surface but now receives no further updates or security fixes," Trend Micro senior threat researcher Peter Girnus and malware reverse engineer Aliakbar Zahravi wrote in the post.

The Void Banshee campaign lured victims via zip archives containing malicious files disguised as book PDFs that were disseminated via cloud-sharing websites, Discord servers, and online libraries, among others sectors, the researchers found. This is a typical tactic of the group, which tends to target victims both for information stealing and financial gain, they noted.

"\[Atlantida\] malware focuses on extracting stored sensitive and potentially valuable data, such as passwords and cookies, and it can also collect files with specific extensions from the infected system's desktop," the researchers wrote. "Moreover, the malware captures the victim's screen and gathers comprehensive system information."

**New Details on Zero-Day Exploitation**

Separately, security researchers already had revealed that unidentified threat groups were exploiting the IE flaw — which was patched in Microsoft's July Patch Tuesday update— to spread Atlantida and other malware in malicious PDF files.

Microsoft described CVE-2024-38112 as a spoofing vulnerability that could have a high impact on system confidentiality, integrity, and availability if successfully exploited, but only gave it a moderately high severity rating of 7.5 out of 10 on the CVSS vulnerability-severity scale. That's because that for an attack to be successful, an attacker would need to convince a victim to interact with the weaponized URL file, among other factors.

Trend Micro's report provides new details about how Void Banshee was able to get Windows users to do this by convincing targets in a spear-phishing campaign to open URL shortcut files designed to look like PDF copies of a book — specifically, textbooks and reference materials such as "Clinical Anatomy."

This "suggests the campaign is targeting highly skilled professionals and students who often use reference materials and places where digital copies of books are collected," the researchers wrote.

**CVE-2024-38112 Exploitation & Payload Behavior**

A previously revealed attack vector described by Check Point security researcher Haifei Li detailed how malicious shortcuts when could use IE — even if it's not the default browser — to open an attacker-controlled URL by calling the defunct browser instead of a more secure browser such as Chrome or Edge. The vector hid dangerous HTML application (HTA) files in PDF documents that looked safe to users.

Trend Micro's report describes how Void Banshee did this by distributing URL files that contained the MHTML protocol handler and the x-usc! directive, which allowed the group to access and run HTA files directly through the disabled IE process. When a victim opens what looks like an innocuous PDF, it instead opens the URL target in the native IE through the iexplore.exe process.

"The Internet shortcut file that exploits CVE-2024-38112 points to an attacker-controlled domain where an HTML file downloads the HTA stage of the infection chain," the researchers explained. "Using this HTML file, the attacker can also control the window view size of the website through IE. This is used by the threat actor to hide browser information and to mask the downloading of the next stage of the infection chain from the victim."

As mentioned, the attack ultimately delivers the Atlantida stealer, which is built from open source stealers NecroStealer and PredatorTheStealer. It targets sensitive information from various applications, including Telegram, Steam, FileZilla, various cryptocurrency wallets, and Web browsers. The malware then compresses the stolen data into a zip file and sends it back to an attacker-controlled command-and-control (C2) site over TCP port 6655.

**"Zombie Relics" Like IE Remain Dangerous**

Overall, the attacks on CVE-2024-38112 demonstrate how even technology like IE that is no longer supported or even in active use at an organization can still pose a major threat, according to Trend Micro.

"Even though users may no longer be able to access IE, threat actors can still exploit lingering Windows relics like IE on their machine to infect users and organizations with ransomware, backdoors, or as a proxy to execute other strains of malware," the researchers wrote.

Furthermore, the ability of threat actors to access unsupported and disabled system services to circumvent modern Web sandboxes, such as IE mode for Microsoft Edge, poses "a significant industry concern," they wrote.

Patching the flaw is the most obvious way to thwart current exploitation of the IE issue, the researchers noted. Trend Micro also included a list of MITRE ATT&CK techniques and a link to indicators of compromise (IoCs) in its post.

According to Trend Micro, organizations also should take a proactive approach and engage in advanced threat intelligence as well as adopt a security posture that is constantly monitoring scanning software and other corporate network assets for potential flaws and other attack surfaces that potentially can be exploited.

**About the Author(s)**

Elizabeth Montalbano is a freelance writer, journalist, and therapeutic writing mentor with more than 25 years of professional experience. Her areas of expertise include technology, business, and culture. Elizabeth previously lived and worked as a full-time journalist in Phoenix, San Francisco, and New York City; she currently resides in a village on the southwest coast of Portugal. In her free time, she enjoys surfing, hiking with her dogs, traveling, playing music, yoga, and cooking.

Void Banshee APT Exploits Microsoft Zero-Day in Spear-Phishing Attacks

Rabbit has introduced an option to erase all data from the r1 device before selling it on, but what if you lose it or it gets stolen?

Rabbit, the manufacturer of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistant r1 has issued a security advisory telling users it’s found a potential security risk. If a user loses or sells their device, a person in possession of the r1 could potentially jailbreak the device and gain access to files that contain logging information, chats, and photos.

To tackle the potential problem with sensitive data being left behind on the r1, Rabbit has taken the following measures:

*   A factory reset option is now available in the settings menu that lets you erase all data from the r1 prior to transferring ownership.
*   Pairing data is no longer logged to the device.
*   The amount of log data that gets stored on the device has been reduced.
*   Pairing data can no longer be used to read from the user’s Rabbithole journal section. It can only trigger actions.

Rabbit also says it is performing a full review of device logging practices to check whether additional technical controls are needed.

If you have an r1, you don’t need to do anything as the fix will be downloaded and installed automatically. While most updates to the r1 do not require any action of the user, updates that require you to accept them, including new features and more supported apps, will happen via over-the-air updates. For these, follow the prompt on your r1, make sure you’re connected to WiFi and a power source, and wait for it to update.

For those not familiar with the concept, the Rabbit r1 is an AI-powered gadget that can manage the use of your apps for you. It’s a standalone gadget with a 2.88-inch touchscreen, a rotating camera for taking photos and videos, and a scroll wheel/button designed to navigate the menu or allow you to talk to the built-in AI.

The Rabbithole mentioned earlier is an all-in-one web portal to manage the relationship with rabbit OS, and the device that you pair the r1 to. The Rabbit r1 uses a Large Action Model (LAM) to translate the user’s voice into actions on the device it’s paired with, whether that’s a handheld device, like a phone, or a desktop computer.

It’s still pretty much a project under development. Right now, the Rabbit r1 can answer questions, call an Uber, order DoorDash, play music on Spotify, translate speech, generate images on Midjourney, identify nearby objects with its camera and record voice memos. Nothing your phone can’t do, but Rabbit promises more options on the horizon and claims that all these actions are easier to accomplish when you’re using the r1.

The journal section of the Rabbithole web portal shows any visual searches you’ve conducted using the r1’s camera and voice memos you’ve recorded.

Rabbit says there’s no indication that pairing data has been abused to retrieve Rabbithole journal data belonging to a former device owner. Yet the possibility exists, and it’s good that users now have the ability to erase all data before selling the device. However, this doesn’t solve the issue if the r1 is stolen or lost.

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