Are you sitting comfortably? Then let us begin… No, this isn’t the start of some Christmas fairy tale… it’s how I begin reading most reports which cover the last 12 months in Cybersecurity, and there are quite a few to look at. But for me, the one I value most is the ENSIA Threat landscape (ETL) report, which is now in its tenth year. Every year, the report does a great job of presenting what has...

All of us at Tripwire’s Vulnerability Exposure and Research Team (VERT) are constantly looking out for interesting stories and developments in the infosec world. Here’s what cybersecurity news stood out to us during the week of December 19th, 2022. I’ve also included some comments on these stories. NIST Recommends upgrading from SHA-1 The SHA-1 algorithm has reached the end of its usefulness...

The FBI is warning US consumers that cybercriminals are placing ads in search engine results that impersonate well-known brands, in an attempt to spread ransomware and steal financial information. In a public service announcement issued this week, the FBI describes how cybercriminals are purchasing ads that show up at the very top of search engine results, often purporting to link to a legitimate...

There’s usually a surge in online activities during festive periods. People place gift orders and send funds to loved ones, and organizations roll out offers that reflect the spirit of the festivity. Threat actors will usually take advantage of this activity to sneak past your defenses . By convincingly impersonating any of these legitimate offers, they can gain access to an organization's network...

Call her Linda Leesburg. Fresh out of graduate school and starting her first serious job, she decided to buy some kitchen utensils and related items, including a dish set, cookware, silverware and a coffee maker, to outfit the kitchen of her new apartment. She could easily buy these products at a local store, but she discovered a store online that offered them at an unusually low price. Leesburg...

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is the UK’s technical authority for cybersecurity. Established in 2016, it has worked to improve online safety and security, and has brought clarity and insight to an increasingly complex online world. In its 6th annual review, it gives insights to its understanding of the cyber environment affecting the UK. One of the most important roles of the NCSC is...

Recent advancements in the digital landscape have led to a new kind of paradigm, one where enterprise perimeters are no longer clearly defined or limited. The rapid uptake of remote working, cloud, and IoT led to these prominent shifts, resulting in users, applications, and data no longer residing exclusively within the perimeters of the enterprise. This has led to enterprise perimeters becoming...

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recently published important cybersecurity guidance to help protect retailers, which comes right as the holiday shopping season is in full swing. Retail organizations are no strangers to cyber attacks. In fact, some recent large-scale retail industry cyber attacks have included popular brands such as Guess, Under Armour, CVS Health, Home Depot, and Target...

Law enforcement agencies in the United States, UK, Netherlands, Poland, and Germany have brought down the most popular DDoS-for-hire services on the internet, responsible for tens of millions of attacks against websites. 50 of the world's biggest "booter" sites used to launch disruptive distributed denial-of-service attacks have been taken down as part of "Operation Power Off" - a joint action by...

The holiday season has arrived, and cyberattacks are expected to increase with the upcoming celebratory events. According to The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) 2022 Holiday Season Threat Trends and summary report, ransomware and phishing attacks are expected to increase in retail. With the FIFA World Cup 2022, many cybersecurity experts have advised...

As we walk towards the end of 2022, full-scale predictions are made about the trends for cybersecurity in the upcoming year: how will cybersecurity affect us, what major cyber threats will dominate the landscape, and, where shall we allocate cybersecurity budgets? Above all, what can we do to secure our businesses and protect our tangible and intangible assets from cybercriminals’ activities? As...

Philip Ingram (PI) talked to Darren Desmond (DD) . Darren currently works with the Automobile Association (AA) in the UK as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), joining in 2018. He started his professional career in the British Army's Royal Military Police, before a stint in the Special Investigation Branch, and Military Intelligence. Darren has worked across multiple areas of the...

Businesses come in many different sizes, yet, they all share one similarity; the growing need for cybersecurity in today’s ever-changing technology landscape. While large companies with robust security infrastructure and experience may ward off many aspiring cybercriminals, small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) prove to be ideal targets. Lacking experience, budget, and infrastructure, small...

All of us at Tripwire’s Vulnerability Exposure and Research Team (VERT) are constantly looking out for interesting stories and developments in the infosec world. Here’s what cybersecurity news stood out to us during the week of December 5th, 2022. I’ve also included some comments on these stories. Vulnerable Redis servers allow malware to drop a backdoor A new Go-based malware threat that...

Malicious hackers, hell-bent on infiltrating an organisation, have no qualms about exploiting even the most tragic events. Take, for instance, the horrific crowd crush that occurred in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaweon on 29 October, when over 150 people were killed during Halloween festivities. Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) reports this week that it saw a North Korean government-backed...

Tripwire's October 2022 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft and Adobe. First on the patch priority list this month are patches for Chromium and Microsoft Edge based on Chromium. These patches resolve over 10 issues such as user-after-free, insufficient policy enforcement, and out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities. Up next are patches for Microsoft...

It’s no surprise that industrial environments have become increasingly valuable targets for malicious behavior. The State of Security has featured many cybersecurity events across myriad industrial verticals, including but not limited to chemical manufacturing , transportation , power generation and petrochemical . Several of these industries have taken great strides in improving their defense...

In the world of security, authentication, and authorization methodologies are foundational aspects of defense. Authentication techniques protect against unlawful entry to systems through the verification of a user, and authorization either grants or denies the verified user’s access level. For example, if an employee from the finance department requests records from the administration department...

Digital payment systems are quickly becoming the norm. The speed and convenience of apps like PayPal and Apple Pay have led businesses and consumers to move away from cash, but this efficiency comes at a cost. These digital platforms are also attractive to cybercriminals. Mitigating any vulnerability starts with understanding how threat actors target it. With that in mind, here’s how...

All of us at Tripwire’s Vulnerability Exposure and Research Team (VERT) are constantly looking out for interesting stories and developments in the infosec world. Here’s what cybersecurity news stood out to us during the week of November 28th, 2022. I’ve also included some comments on these stories. UEFI bugs disabled Secure Boot Acer has fixed a high-severity vulnerability that could enable local...