Avsnitt
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This week, we are joined by, Amnon Kushnir from Sygnia, who is sharing their work on "China-Nexus Threat Group ‘Velvet Ant’ Leverages a Zero-Day to Deploy Malware on Cisco Nexus Switches." In early 2024, Sygnia observed the ‘Velvet Ant’ threat group exploiting a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2024-20399) to infiltrate Cisco Switch appliances and operate undetected within enterprise networks.
This attack enables threat actors to escape Cisco’s command interface and install malware directly on the device’s OS, bypassing standard security tools. The incident underscores the risks posed by third-party appliances and the importance of enhanced monitoring and threat detection to counter advanced persistent threats.
The research can be found here:
China-Nexus Threat Group ‘Velvet Ant’ Leverages a Zero-Day to Deploy Malware on Cisco Nexus Switches
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This week, we are pleased to be joined by Mick Baccio, global security advisor for Splunk SURGe, sharing their research on "LLM Security: Splunk & OWASP Top 10 for LLM-based Applications." The research dives into the rapid rise of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) that initially seem magical, but behind the scenes, they are sophisticated systems built by humans. Despite their impressive capabilities, these systems are vulnerable to numerous cyber threats.
Splunk's research explores the OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications, a framework that highlights key vulnerabilities such as prompt injection, training data poisoning, and sensitive information disclosure.
The research can be found here:
LLM Security: Splunk & OWASP Top 10 for LLM-based Applications
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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This week we are joined by Chester Wisniewski, Global Field CTO from Sophos X-Ops team, to discuss their work on "Crimson Palace returns: New Tools, Tactics, and Targets." Sophos X-Ops has observed a resurgence in cyberespionage activity, tracked as Operation Crimson Palace, targeting Southeast Asian government organizations.
After a brief lull, Cluster Charlie resumed operations in September 2023, using new tactics such as web shells and open-source tools to bypass detection, re-establish access, and map target network infrastructure, demonstrating ongoing efforts to exfiltrate data and expand their foothold.
The research can be found here:
Crimson Palace returns: New Tools, Tactics, and Targets
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In this episode, Trevor Hilligoss, VP of SpyCloud Labs at SpyCloud, discusses the increasing threat of ransomware, emphasizing the role of infostealer malware in facilitating these attacks. He draws from SpyCloud's 2024 Malware and Ransomware Defense Report, highlighting how compromised identity data from infostealers creates opportunities for ransomware operators.
With 75% of organizations experiencing multiple ransomware attacks in the past year, Trevor explores findings from over 500 security leaders in the US and UK, discussing the challenges businesses face and how they can use insights from this research to defend against ransomware and other cybercrimes.
The research can be found here:
MALWARE AND RANSOMWARE DEFENSE REPORT
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Joshua Miller from Proofpoint is discussing their work on "Best Laid Plans: TA453 Targets Religious Figure with Fake Podcast Invite Delivering New BlackSmith Malware Toolset." Proofpoint identified Iranian threat actor TA453 targeting a prominent Jewish figure with a fake podcast interview invitation, using a benign email to build trust before sending a malicious link.
The attack attempted to deliver new malware called BlackSmith, containing a PowerShell trojan dubbed AnvilEcho, designed for intelligence gathering and exfiltration. This malware consolidates all of TA453's known capabilities into a single script rather than the previously used modular approach.
The research can be found here:
Best Laid Plans: TA453 Targets Religious Figure with Fake Podcast Invite Delivering New BlackSmith Malware Toolset
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We are joined by Yves Younan, Senior Manager, Talos Vulnerability Discovery and Research from Cisco, discussing their work on "How multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft apps for macOS pave the way to stealing permissions." Cisco Talos has uncovered eight vulnerabilities in Microsoft applications for macOS that could allow attackers to exploit the system's permission model by injecting malicious libraries.
By leveraging permissions already granted to these apps, attackers could gain access to sensitive resources like the microphone, camera, and screen recording without user consent. While Microsoft considers these issues low risk and has declined to fix them, the vulnerabilities pose a potential threat to user privacy and security.
The research can be found here:
How multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft apps for macOS pave the way to stealing permissions
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Jonathan Tanner, Senior Security Researcher from Barracuda, discussing their work on "Stealthy phishing attack uses advanced infostealer for data exfiltration." The recent phishing attack, detailed by Barracuda, uses a sophisticated infostealer malware to exfiltrate a wide array of sensitive data.
The attack begins with a phishing email containing an ISO file with an HTA payload, which downloads and executes obfuscated scripts to extract and transmit browser information, saved files, and credentials to remote servers. This advanced infostealer is notable for its extensive data collection capabilities and complex exfiltration methods, highlighting the increasing sophistication of cyber threats.
The research can be found here:
Stealthy phishing attack uses advanced infostealer for data exfiltration
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Alex Delamotte, Threat Researcher from SentinelOne Labs, joins to share their work on "Xeon Sender | SMS Spam Shipping Multi-Tool Targeting SaaS Credentials." SentinelOne’s Labs team has uncovered new research on Xeon Sender, a cloud hacktool used to launch SMS spam attacks via legitimate APIs like Amazon SNS.
First seen in 2022, this tool has been repurposed by multiple threat actors and distributed on underground forums, highlighting the ongoing trend of SMS spam through cloud services and SaaS.
The research can be found here:
Xeon Sender | SMS Spam Shipping Multi-Tool Targeting SaaS Credentials
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This week, N2K's very own Brandon Karpf sits down with Kevin Lentz, Team Leader of the Cyber Pacific Project at the Global Disinformation Lab, and they discuss the recent threatcasting report "Cyber Competition in the Indo-Pacific Gray Zone 2035." This report, developed using the Threatcasting Method, examines how the U.S. and Indo-Pacific allies can coordinate their cyber defense efforts in response to future competition with China.
It presents findings, trends, and recommendations based on twenty-five scenarios simulated by a cross-functional group of experts to anticipate and address emerging threats over the next decade.
The research can be found here:
Cyber Competition in the Indo-Pacific Gray Zone 2035
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Tim Peck, a Senior Threat Researcher at Securonix, is discussing their work on "Threat actors behind the DEV#POPPER campaign have retooled and are continuing to target software developers via social engineering." The DEV#POPPER campaign continues to evolve, now targeting developers with malware capable of operating on Linux, Windows, and macOS systems.
The threat actors, believed to be North Korean, employ sophisticated social engineering tactics, such as fake job interviews, to deliver stealthy malware that gathers sensitive information, including browser credentials and system data.
The research can be found here:
Research Update: Threat Actors Behind the DEV#POPPER Campaign Have Retooled and are Continuing to Target Software Developers via Social Engineering
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Robert Duncan, VP of Product Strategy from Netcraft, is discussing their work on "Mule-as-a-Service Infrastructure Exposed." Netcraft's new threat intelligence reveals the intricate connections within global fraud networks, showing how criminals use specialized services like Mule-as-a-Service (MaaS) to launder scam proceeds.
By mapping the cyber and financial infrastructure, including bank accounts, crypto wallets, and phone numbers, Netcraft exposes how different scams are interconnected and identifies weak points that can be targeted to disrupt these operations. This insight provides an opportunity to prevent fraud and protect against financial crimes like pig butchering, investment scams, and romance fraud.
The research can be found here:
Mule-as-a-Service Infrastructure Exposed
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Snir Ben Shimol from ZEST Security on their work, "How we hacked a cloud production environment by exploiting Terraform providers." In this blog, ZEST discusses the security risks associated with Terraform providers, particularly those from community sources.
The research highlights the importance of carefully vetting providers, regular scanning, and following best practices like version pinning to mitigate potential vulnerabilities in cloud infrastructure management.
The research can be found here:
The hidden risks of Terraform providers
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Shachar Menashe, Senior Director of Security Research at JFrog, is talking about "When Prompts Go Rogue: Analyzing a Prompt Injection Code Execution in Vanna.AI." A security vulnerability in the Vanna.AI tool, called CVE-2024-5565, allows hackers to exploit large language models (LLMs) by manipulating user input to execute malicious code, a method known as prompt injection.
This poses a significant risk when LLMs are connected to critical functions, highlighting the need for stronger security measures.
The research can be found here:
When Prompts Go Rogue: Analyzing a Prompt Injection Code Execution in Vanna.AI
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This week, we are joined by Jason Baker, Senior Threat Consultant at GuidePoint Security, and he is discussing their work on "Worldwide Web: An Analysis of Tactics and Techniques Attributed to Scattered Spider." In early 2024, a current RansomHub RaaS affiliate was identified as a former Alphv/Black Cat affiliate and is believed to be linked to the Scattered Spider group, known for using overlapping tools, tactics, and victims.
The high-confidence assessment by GuidePoint’s DFIR and GRIT teams is supported by the consistent use of tools like ngrok and Tailscale, social engineering tactics, and systematic playbooks in intrusions.
The research can be found here:
Worldwide Web: An Analysis of Tactics and Techniques Attributed to Scattered Spider
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Dick O'Brien from Symantec Threat Hunter team is talking about their work on "Ransomware Attackers May Have Used Privilege Escalation Vulnerability as Zero-day." Also going to provide some background/history on Black Basta. CVE-2024-26169 in the Windows Error Reporting Service, patched on March 12, 2024, allowed privilege escalation.
Despite initial claims of no active exploitation, recent analysis indicates it may have been exploited as a zero-day before the patch.
The research can be found here:
Ransomware Attackers May Have Used Privilege Escalation Vulnerability as Zero-day
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This week, we are joined by Selena Larson, Staff Threat Researcher, Lead Intelligence Analysis and Strategy at Proofpoint, as well as host of the "Only Malware in the Building" podcast, as she is discussing their research on "Scammers Create Fraudulent Olympics Ticketing Websites." Proofpoint recently identified a fraudulent website selling fake tickets to the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and quickly suspended the domain.
This site was among many identified by the French Gendarmerie Nationale and Olympics partners, who have shut down 51 of 338 fraudulent websites, with 140 receiving formal notices from law enforcement.
The research can be found here:
Security Brief: Scammers Create Fraudulent Olympics Ticketing Websites
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This week, we are joined by Asheer Malhotra and Vitor Ventura from Cisco Talos, and they are discussing "Operation Celestial Force employs mobile and desktop malware to target Indian entities." Cisco Talos revealed Operation Celestial Force, an espionage campaign by the Pakistani threat group "Cosmic Leopard," targeting Indian defense, government, and technology sectors.
Active for at least six years, the operation has recently increased its use of mobile malware and commercial spyware for surveillance.
The research can be found here:
Operation Celestial Force employs mobile and desktop malware to target Indian entities
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Joshua Miller from Proofpoint joins Dave to discuss findings on "Welcome to New York: Exploring TA453's Foray into LNKs and Mac Malware." In mid May, TA453, also known as Charming Kitten, APT42, Mint Sandstorm, and Yellow Garuda, was found sending a benign conversation lure masquerading as a senior fellow with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) to the public media contact for a nuclear security expert at a US-based think tank focused on foreign affairs.
The research states that "the email solicited feedback on a project called “Iran in the Global Security Context” and requested permission to send a draft for review." Proofpoint shares it's findings and what you can expect from the threat group.
The research can be found here:
Welcome to New York: Exploring TA453's Foray into LNKs and Mac Malware
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Ismael Valenzuela, Vice President Threat Research & Intelligence, from Blackberry Threat Research and Intelligence team is discussing their work on "Transparent Tribe Targets Indian Government, Defense, and Aerospace Sectors Leveraging Cross-Platform Programming Languages." BlackBerry has identified Transparent Tribe (APT36), a Pakistani-based advanced persistent threat group, targeting India's government, defense, and aerospace sectors from late 2023 to April 2024, using evolving toolkits and exploiting web services like Telegram and Google Drive.
Evidence such as time zone settings and spear-phishing emails with Pakistani IP addresses supports their attribution, suggesting alignment with Pakistan's interests.
The research can be found here:
Transparent Tribe Targets Indian Government, Defense, and Aerospace Sectors Leveraging Cross-Platform Programming Languages
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Kerri Shafer-Page from Arctic Wolf joins us to discuss their work on "Lost in the Fog: A New Ransomware Threat." Starting in early May, Arctic Wolf's Incident Response team investigated Fog ransomware attacks on US education and recreation sectors, where attackers exploited compromised VPN credentials to access systems, disable Windows Defender, encrypt files, and delete backups.
Despite the uniformity in ransomware payloads and ransom notes, the organizational structure of the responsible groups remains unknown.
The research can be found here:
Lost in the Fog: A New Ransomware Threat
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