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The Iranian Cyber Threat
The Iranian Cyber Threat May 2021 0 Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Cyber Retaliation ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Iran’s National Security Strategy .............................................................................................................. 4 Laying the Groundwork ........................................................................................................................... 5 Structure ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Defense ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Offense .................................................................................................................................................... 6 History of Iranian Cyber Attacks and Incidents ........................................................................................... 7 The Attacks .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Iranian Cyber Army ................................................................................................................................. -
Ransoming Government What State and Local Governments Can Do to Break Free from Ransomware Attacks About the Authors
A report from the Deloitte Center for Government Insights Ransoming government What state and local governments can do to break free from ransomware attacks About the authors Srini Subramanian | [email protected] Srini Subramanian is a principal in Deloitte & Touche LLP’s Cyber Risk Services practice and leads the Risk & Financial Advisory practice for the State, Local Government and Higher Education (SLHE) sector. He has more than 30 years of technology experience, and more than 20 years of cyber risk services experience in the areas of information security strategy, innovation, governance, identity, access management, and shared services. Subramanian is a member of the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) Security and Privacy subcommittee. He is an active participant in the National Governors Association (NGA) Policy Council for State Cybersecurity formed in February 2013. Subramanian is the coauthor of the biennial Deloitte—NASCIO Cybersecurity Study publication with NASCIO since 2010. The recent two publications include the 2016 Deloitte-NASCIO Cybersecurity Study—State governments at risk: Turning strategy and awareness into progress and the 2018 Deloitte-NASCIO Cybersecurity Study—State governments at risk: Bold plays for change. Pete Renneker | [email protected] Pete Renneker is a managing director in Deloitte & Touche LLP’s Cyber practice and serves as the Technical Resilience Offering leader. In this capacity, his focus is on the development and delivery of cross-industry services which help clients develop the ability to withstand disruptions to critical business technology. This work includes helping clients respond to cyberattacks, accelerate business recovery from these events, and transform cyber and resiliency programs in anticipation of emerging threats. -
COVID-19 Critical Infrastructure Cyber Threat Brief
Digital Intelligence Securing the Future COVID-19 Critical Infrastructure Cyber Threat Brief CLIENT CONFIDENTIAL Cyjax Purpose This Cyber Threat Brief is intended to help mitigate the risk of cyberattacks against UK critical infrastructure during the coronavirus pandemic. We have defined critical infrastructure as: food supplies, medical supplies, transportation, security services, telecommunications, utilities and financial services. This report provides a broad overview of all relevant coronavirus-related digital threats, alongside more general vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit. We at Cyjax hope this will help organisations and their staff protect themselves from digital threats during this national crisis. If you require any further assistance or advice, please contact us. Overview of malicious cyber activity We have witnessed a significant uptick in cyberattacks exploiting fear of the coronavirus to compromise victims. Notably, however, there has not been a surge in the total number of attacks. Instead, existing cybercriminal operations have been rethemed with COVID-19 lures. Attackers have not gained more resources, but are instead repurposing their existing phishing, ransomware, and malware infrastructure to include COVID-19-themed keywords in a bid to infect more users. [1] All sectors are being targeted with COVID-19-themed attacks, including those operating in the critical infrastructure space. Attacks have ranged from generic “spray and pray” attacks to highly targeted advanced persistent threat (APT) operations. A broad array of nation-state actors have been involved from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, among others. Sophisticated cybercriminals are also staging coronavirus-themed attacks. Most notably, organised ransomware gangs, who have continued to compromise, encrypt and leak data from a diverse group of organisations. -
The Iranian Cyber Threat
The Iranian Cyber Threat May 2020 0 Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Structure ................................................................................................................................................. 4 History of Iranian Cyber Attacks and Incidents ......................................................................................... 6 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Introduction In the early morning hours of January 3, 2020, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike that targeted his convoy immediately after landing at Baghdad’s international airport. Iranian leaders vowed “harsh retaliation” for the attack, and followed up on this threat by firing a salvo of over a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi air bases housing U.S. troops in the early morning hours of January 8, wounding over 100 soldiers. While Iran has not yet taken additional major acts of revenge, it has signaled that it is likely to strike U.S. interests again at a future time of its choosing. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, intoned that while the ballistic missile attack represented a “slap on the face” for the U.S., “military action like this (ballistic missile) attack is not sufficient,” vowing to refuse to enter negotiations and to continue to confront the U.S. until its influence is expelled from the region. In the intervening period, Iran’s leaders have maintained a steady drumbeat of threatening rhetoric aimed at the U.S., with Soleimani’s successor, Esmail Qaani, for instance vowing to “hit his enemy in a manly fashion.” With U.S.-Iran tensions heightened, the U.S. national security apparatus has cautioned that one avenue for retaliation Iran is likely to pursue is launching offensive cyber attacks targeting the U.S. -
Raven Leilani the Novelist Makes a Shining Debut with Luster, a Mesmerizing Story of Race, Sex, and Power P
Featuring 417 Industry-First Reviews of Fiction, Nonfiction, Children'sand YA books KIRKUSVOL. LXXXVIII, NO. 15 | 1 AUGUST 2020 REVIEWS Raven Leilani The novelist makes a shining debut with Luster, a mesmerizing story of race, sex, and power p. 14 Also in the issue: Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, Rebecca Giggs, Adrian Tomine, and more from the editor’s desk: The Dysfunctional Family Sweepstakes Chairman BY TOM BEER HERBERT SIMON President & Publisher MARC WINKELMAN John Paraskevas # As this issue went to press, the nation was riveted by the publication of To o Chief Executive Officer Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man MEG LABORDE KUEHN (Simon & Schuster, July 14), the scathing family memoir by the president’s niece. [email protected] Editor-in-Chief For the past four years, nearly every inhabitant of the planet has been affected TOM BEER by Donald Trump, from the impact of Trump administration policies—on [email protected] Vice President of Marketing climate change, immigration, policing, and more—to the continuous feed of SARAH KALINA Trump-related news that we never seem to escape. Now, thanks to Mary Trump, [email protected] Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, we understand the impact of Donald Trump up Managing/Nonfiction Editor ERIC LIEBETRAU close, on his family members. [email protected] It’s not a pretty picture. Fiction Editor LAURIE MUCHNICK The book describes the Trumps as a clan headed by a “high-functioning [email protected] Tom Beer sociopath,” patriarch Fred Trump Sr., father to Donald and the author’s own Young Readers’ Editor VICKY SMITH father, Fred Jr. -
ESET THREAT REPORT Q3 2020 | 2 ESET Researchers Reveal That Bugs Similar to Krøøk Affect More Chip Brands Than Previously Thought
THREAT REPORT Q3 2020 WeLiveSecurity.com @ESETresearch ESET GitHub Contents Foreword Welcome to the Q3 2020 issue of the ESET Threat Report! 3 FEATURED STORY As the world braces for a pandemic-ridden winter, COVID-19 appears to be losing steam at least in the cybercrime arena. With coronavirus-related lures played out, crooks seem to 5 NEWS FROM THE LAB have gone “back to basics” in Q3 2020. An area where the effects of the pandemic persist, however, is remote work with its many security challenges. 9 APT GROUP ACTIVITY This is especially true for attacks targeting Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), which grew throughout all H1. In Q3, RDP attack attempts climbed by a further 37% in terms of unique 13 STATISTICS & TRENDS clients targeted — likely a result of the growing number of poorly secured systems connected to the internet during the pandemic, and possibly other criminals taking inspiration from 14 Top 10 malware detections ransomware gangs in targeting RDP. 15 Downloaders The ransomware scene, closely tracked by ESET specialists, saw a first this quarter — an attack investigated as a homicide after the death of a patient at a ransomware-struck 17 Banking malware hospital. Another surprising twist was the revival of cryptominers, which had been declining for seven consecutive quarters. There was a lot more happening in Q3: Emotet returning 18 Ransomware to the scene, Android banking malware surging, new waves of emails impersonating major delivery and logistics companies…. 20 Cryptominers This quarter’s research findings were equally as rich, with ESET researchers: uncovering 21 Spyware & backdoors more Wi-Fi chips vulnerable to KrØØk-like bugs, exposing Mac malware bundled with a cryptocurrency trading application, discovering CDRThief targeting Linux VoIP softswitches, 22 Exploits and delving into KryptoCibule, a triple threat in regard to cryptocurrencies. -
North Korean Cyber Activity 03/25/2021
North Korean Cyber Activity 03/25/2021 TLP: WHITE, ID# 202103251030 Agenda • DPRK National Interests • Timeline of Recent Activity • Overview of DPRK APT Groups • APT Threat Actor Profiles o HIDDEN COBRA o Andariel o APT37 o APT38 o TEMP.Hermit o TEMP.Firework o Kimsuky o Bureau 121 Bureau 325 o Slides Key: • Recommendations Non-Technical: Managerial, strategic and high- • Outlook level (general audience) Technical: Tactical / IOCs; requiring in-depth knowledge (sysadmins, IRT) 2 DPRK National Interests • North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) • Supreme leader: Kim Jong-un (since 2011) • Primary strategic goal: perpetual Kim family rule via development of economy and nuclear weapons • Primary drivers of security strategy: o Deterring foreign intervention by obtaining nuclear capabilities o Eliminating perceived threats to Kim regime o Belief that North Korea is entitled to respect as a world power • “Cyberwarfare is an all-purpose sword that guarantees the North Korean People’s Armed Forces ruthless striking capability, along with nuclear weapons and missiles.” – Kim Jong-un (2013) • Reportedly has 7,000 cyber warriors • 300% increase in the volume of activity to and from North Korean networks since 2017 3 Timeline of Recent Activity Jan 2020 Feb 2021 Two distinct Aug 2020 Nov 2020 South Korean Feb 2021 clusters of USG exposed North Korean Intelligence North Korean DPRK cyber DPRK hackers claims DPRK Lazarus activity begin malware used targeted a targeted Group targeting in fake job major COVID- COVID-19 -
Crowdstrike Global Threat Intel Report
TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN CROWDSTRIKE GLOBAL THREAT INTEL REPORT www.crowdstrike.com TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN CROWDSTRIKE GLOBAL THREAT INTEL REPORT INTRODUCTION .........................................................................4 Table of KEY FINDINGS ............................................................................7 STATE OF THE UNION .............................................................9 Contents: NOTABLE ACTIVITY ............................................................... 13 Criminal ................................................................................ 13 State ...................................................................................... 19 Hacktivist/Nationalist ............................................................. 25 2014 Zero-Day Activity ........................................................... 34 Event-Driven Operations ......................................................... 39 KNOW THE ADVERSARY ....................................................49 Effect of Public Reporting on Adversary Activity ........................ 49 HURRICANE PANDA .................................................................50 GOTHIC PANDA ..........................................................................55 Overview of Russian Threat Actors ........................................... 57 2015 PREDICTIONS.................................................................61 CONCLUSION ........................................................................... 73 2 Introduction Intelligence -
Global Threat Report Mid-Year 2021 Introduction
Global Threat Report Mid-Year 2021 Introduction Threat actors are constantly adding to their repertoire by exploring new tactics and techniques to help bolster their efficacy against both technological blockers and humans. So far, this year has been no different as they have continued to add new methods to their toolchest. Thus far in 2021, we have observed several new techniques in the realm of customization as well as obfuscation. We will cover several examples in this report. We will also examine several consistent attack trends that continue to plague organizations across the globe. We are halfway through 2021 and one thing remains unchanged - email is still the number one attack vector for infecting organizations globally. Through the first half of 2021, phishing attacks continued their evolution with greater levels of sophistication. For the first time we observed attackers leveraging real web certificate data to add credibility to their attacks through customization. We also observed greater levels of obfuscation as some attacks threat actors went to great lengths to disguise the nature of their attacks. We observed phishing attacks leveraging CAPTCHA technology to avoid detection. Threat actors also continued the cycle of abuse by leveraging legitimate services to hide their intent. Job seekers and hiring functions within organizations were also targeted with phishing emails designed to mimic legitimate job sites. IC3 recently reported Business Email Compromise as the costliest of cybercrimes in 2020 with adjusted losses totaling $1.8 billion. It is not surprising we observed a large and growing volume of BEC attacks throughout Q1(’21) and Q2(’21) which show no signs of abating. -
Despite Infighting and Volatility, Iran Maintains Aggressive Cyber Operations Structure
CYBER THREAT ANALYSIS | Despite Infighting and Volatility, Iran Maintains Aggressive Cyber Operations Structure By Insikt Group® CTA-IR-2020-0409 CYBER THREAT ANALYSIS | IRAN Recorded Future’s Insikt Group® is conducting ongoing research on the organizations involved in Iran’s cyber program. This report serves to provide greater insight into the major military and intelligence bodies involved in Iran’s offensive cyber program. Although offensive cyber capabilities include domestic attacks, we researched those organizations with declared international missions. Due to the secretive nature of some organizations and lack of verifiable information, we incorporated competing hypotheses to adhere to industry analytic standards. For the purposes of this research, we investigated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the Basij, as well as the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Force Logistics (MODAFL). Although the report suggests links between a select number of advanced persistent threat (APT) groups and certain intelligence organizations, we are unable to conclusively assign them to specific agencies due to gaps in information about each group. The sources for our research primarily include intelligence surfaced in the Recorded Future® Platform, industry research released by Symantec, FireEye, ClearSky, and PaloAlto, among others, and open source news reports. Executive Summary While the Iranian cyber program remains at the forefront of Tehran’s asymmetric capabilities, its intelligence apparatus is colored by various dysfunctions and seemingly destabilizing traits. In particular, the politicization of its various intelligence agencies and ensuing domestic feuds have reportedly polarized officer-level rank and file throughout the various security crises of the Islamic Republic. -
Ryuk 04/08/2021
The Evolution of Ryuk 04/08/2021 TLP: WHITE, ID# 202104081030 Agenda • What is Ryuk? • A New Ryuk Variant Emerges in 2021 • Progression of a Ryuk Infection • Infection Chains • Incident: Late September Attack on a Major US Hospital Network • Incident: Late October Attack on US Hospitals • UNC1878 – WIZARD SPIDER • Danger to the HPH Sector • Mitigations and Best Practices • References Slides Key: Non-Technical: Managerial, strategic and high- level (general audience) Technical: Tactical / IOCs; requiring in-depth knowledge (sysadmins, IRT) 2 What is Ryuk? • A form of ransomware and a common payload for banking Trojans (like TrickBot) • First observed in 2017 • Originally based on Hermes(e) 2.1 malware but mutated since then • Ryuk actors use commercial “off-the-shelf” products to navigate victim networks o Cobalt Strike, Powershell Empire • SonicWall researchers claimed that Ryuk represented a third of all ransomware attacks in 2020 • In March 2020, threat actor group WIZARD SPIDER ceased deploying Ryuk and switched to using Conti ransomware, then resumed using Ryuk in mid-September • As of November 2020, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimated that victims paid over USD $61 million to recover files encrypted by Ryuk 3 A New Ryuk Variant Emerges in 2021 • Previous versions of Ryuk could not automatically move laterally through a network o Required a dropper and then manual movement • A new version with “worm-like” capabilities was identified in January 2021 o A computer worm can spread copies of itself from device to device -
Security Now! #789 - 10-20-20 Anatomy of a Ryuk Attack
Security Now! #789 - 10-20-20 Anatomy of a Ryuk Attack This week on Security Now! This week we examine the coming controversial changes to the WebExtension API. We look at the revelations and fallout from last week's Patch Tuesday, and at Zoom's latest announcement of this week’s roll-out of end-to-end encryption. We make sure everyone knows about the latest horrific SonicWall vulnerability and Microsoft's pair of not-that-worrisome out-of-cycle patches. We share a bit of miscellany and closing-the-loop feedback. Then we examine an actual Ryuk Ransomware intrusion and attack... step-by-step. Browser News Edge to be updated with browser extensions “Manifest V3” The proposed changes to the WebExtensions API, generically known as “Manifest V3” were first announced by Google two years ago, in October 2018, for its Chromium project. And as we'll recall, Google's stated plans did not go over well. When Google announced their planned changes they said that the main intent was to improve extension security, improve extension performance and give users greater control over what extensions did and with which sites they could interact. But extension developers quickly pointed out that the “Manifest V3” updates contained changes that crippled the ability of ad blockers, antivirus, parental control enforcement, and various privacy-enhancing extensions to do their job as they had been. As a consequence, Google's announcement triggered a significant backlash from users, extension developers, and even other browser makers. Since, among other things, the extensions had the effect of limiting the power of ad blockers to block ads, the non-Google community was unhappy to see Google — an advertising-based company — moving to limit our ability to limit the ads our browsers subjected us to.