Tag: zero-trust
Teenage hackers run rings around cyber-defenses
The recent UK retail cyberattacks that impacted Marks & Spencer and the Co-Op supermarket chain are only the tip of a very large iceberg that now threatens organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. Although media reports have attributed the attacks to a group named “Scattered Spider,” the actual threat is far bigger. For a start, there is no criminal group that actually calls itself “Scattered Spider”, which is just a made-up name attributed by cybersecurity researchers. These attacks and many others in the US and the UK are now known to be the work of a vast sprawling network of hackers, some as young as 14, spread across the US and the UK. They call themselves “the Community”, or “the Com” for short, and are essentially a vast teenage subculture of criminal hackers.
Cybersecurity has become an ongoing war
In our business, assessing risk is crucial. There is a constantly evolving threat landscape, and cybercriminals are constantly introducing new techniques and developing existing ones. And as online connectivity grows, so does every organization's overall attack surface. Unit 42 are constantly conducting research examining the full scope of the ever expanding attack surface and constantly testing existing defenses. They play the role of cybercriminals, acting as white-hat hackers, if you like, in order to detect potential weaknesses. This research is conducted across the board and also directed at each client specific attacks surface. And when there is a breach, Unit 42 is there to detect and control it. They effectively act as wartime consiglieres – remember that the ongoing Russia/Ukraine conflict started in cyberspace. They must also act immediately to mitigate any breach that does occur. Constant research and testing of defenses are vital. We have to be right every time, but the cybercriminal gangs only have to be right once to effect a breach and perform a successful attack.
Shoring up SMEs Cyber-Defenses
In an exclusive interview with Cyber Intelligence, CEO and co-founder of cybersecurity firm EyeR, Sean Tsvik, explains what small-to-medium-sized organizations (SMEs) can do to protect their systems and customers’ critical data from increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks. They should start by using a managed detection and response (MDR) service. That allows medium-sized organizations to protect themselves against increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks without paying high salaries to in-house cyber experts. MDR services work out costing only a couple of dollars per endpoint and are by far the best starting point for small-to-medium-sized companies looking to strengthen their cyber defenses. Small organizations can also benefit from moving to the cloud as this leaves even fewer endpoints to secure.
US is top target for mobile cybercrime
The US is the top target for cyber-attacks focusing on mobile devices and those connected by the Internet of Things (IoT) plus the operational technology (OT) systems than run facilities such as power plants. According to cybersecurity firm Zscaler’s ThreatLabz 2024 Mobile, IoT, and OT Threat Report, mobile remains a top threat vector, with 111% growth in spyware and 29% growth in banking malware. Technology (18 percent), education (18 percent) and manufacturing (14 percent) continue to be the sectors most targeted by mobile malware. The education sector saw the most dramatic rise in blocked transactions, with a 136 percent increase on the previous year.
Russia-Backed Hackers Infiltrate Microsoft’s Corporate Email System – January 22nd
Microsoft announced on a blog post that the email intrusion attack began in November 2023 and was discovered on January 12th, 2024. Microsoft deduced that the attack originated from a Russian nation-state hacking group. The Microsoft blog post stated the attack gained access to a small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts, consisting of Microsoft leadership, security, and IT team members. The incident is still under investigation and reported to the SEC, Microsoft vowed to take any further necessary action while being as transparent as possible.