CISA Cybersecurity Alerts

Latest Episodes:

CISA Alert AA22-110A – Russian state-sponsored and criminal cyber threats to critical infrastructure. Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

The allied cybersecurity authorities of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are releasing this joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA). The intent of this joint CSA is to warn organizations that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could expose organizations both within and beyond the region to increased malicious cyber activity. This activity may occur as a response to the unprecedented economic costs imposed on Russia as well as materiel support provided by the United States and US allies and partners.

AA22-110A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations.

March 21, 2022, Statement by U.S. President Biden.

CISA Shields Up Technical Guidance.

Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to US Critical Infrastructure.

Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative

Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) Advisory.

Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) Cyber Threat Bulletin.

National Cyber Security Centre New Zealand (NZ NCSC) General Security Advisory.

United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK) guidance on how to bolster cyber defences in light of the Russian cyber threat.

All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA’s 24/7 Operations Center at central@cisa.dhs.gov or (888) 282-0870 and to the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBI’s 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov.

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CISA Alert AA22-108A – TraderTraitor: North Korean state-sponsored APT targets blockchain companies. Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

This joint Cybersecurity Advisory highlights the cyber threat associated with cryptocurrency thefts and tactics used by a North Korean state-sponsored APT group since at least 2020. This group is commonly tracked by the cybersecurity industry as Lazarus Group, APT38, BlueNoroff, and Stardust Chollima. As of April 2022, North Korea’s Lazarus Group has targeted various firms, entities, and exchanges in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry using spearphishing campaigns and malware to steal crypto. These actors will likely continue exploiting vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency technology firms, gaming companies, and exchanges to generate and launder funds to support the North Korean regime.

AA22-108A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations

CISA North Korea Threat Information

AppleJeus: Analysis of North Korea’s Cryptocurrency Malware

HIDDEN COBRA – FASTCash Campaign

FASTCash 2.0: North Korea’s BeagleBoyz Robbing Banks

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CISA Alert AA22-103A – APT Cyber Tools Targeting ICS/SCADA Devices. Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

The DOE, CISA, NSA, and the FBI are releasing this joint Cybersecurity Advisory to warn that certain APT actors have demonstrated the ability to gain full system access to multiple ICS/SCADA devices, including: Schneider Electric programmable logic controllers, OMRON Sysmac NEX programmable logic controllers, and Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture servers. DOE, CISA, NSA, and the FBI urge critical infrastructure organizations, especially Energy Sector organizations, to implement the detection and mitigation recommendations provided in this CSA to detect potential malicious APT activity and harden their ICS/SCADA devices.

The DOE, CISA, NSA, and the FBI would like to thank Dragos, Mandiant, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, and Schneider Electric for their contributions to this joint CSA.

AA22-103A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations

Layering Network Security Through Segmentation

Stop Malicious Cyber Activity Against Connected Operational Technology

NSA and CISA Recommend Immediate Actions to Reduce Exposure Across Operational Technologies and Control Systems

Dragos Report: CHERNOVITE’s PIPEDREAM Malware Targeting Industrial Control Systems

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CISA Alert AA22-057A – Destructive malware targeting organizations in Ukraine. Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

This Joint Cybersecurity Advisory between CISA and the FBI provides technical information on WhisperGate and HermeticWiper malware as well as open-source indicators of compromise for organizations to detect and prevent the malware. Additionally, this alert provides recommended guidance and considerations for organizations to address as part of network architecture, security baseline, continuous monitoring, and incident response practices. Alert and technical details. Structured Threat Information Expression (STIX) All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA’s 24/7 Operations Center at central@cisa.dhs.gov or (888) 282-0870 and to the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBI’s 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov.

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CISA Alert AA22-074A – Russian state-sponsored cyber actors gain network access by exploiting default MFA protocols and “PrintNightmare” vulnerability. Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

The FBI and CISA are releasing this joint Cybersecurity Advisory to warn organizations that Russian state-sponsored cyber actors have gained network access through exploitation of default MFA protocols and a known vulnerability. As early as May 2021, Russian state-sponsored cyber actors took advantage of a misconfigured account set to default MFA protocols at a non-governmental organization (NGO), allowing them to enroll a new device for MFA and access the victim network. The actors then exploited a critical Windows Print Spooler vulnerability, “PrintNightmare” (CVE-2021-34527) to run arbitrary code with system privileges. Russian state-sponsored cyber actors successfully exploited the vulnerability while targeting an NGO using Cisco’s Duo MFA, enabling access to cloud and email accounts for document exfiltration. Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations Structured Threat Information Expression (STIX) Russian Cyber Threat Information Shields Up Technical Guidance All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA’s 24/7 Operations Center at central@cisa.dhs.gov or (888) 282-0870 and to the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBI’s 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov.

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CISA Alert AA22-076A – Strengthening Cybersecurity of SATCOM Network Providers and Customers. Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

The FBI and CISA are aware of possible threats to U.S. and international satellite communication (SATCOM) networks. Successful intrusions into SATCOM networks could create risk in SATCOM network providers’ customer environments. AA22-076A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations CISA Shields Up Technical Guidance NSA Cybersecurity Advisory: Protecting VSAT Communications NSA Cybersecurity Tech-Rep: Network Infrastructure Security Guidance Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, February 2022 CISA Tip: Choosing and Protecting Passwords CISA Capacity Enhancement Guide: Implementing Strong Authentication All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA’s 24/7 Operations Center at central@cisa.dhs.gov or (888) 282-0870 and to the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBI’s 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov.

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CISA Alert AA22-083A – TTPs of Indicted State-Sponsored Russian Cyber Actors Targeting the Energy Sector. Mar 31, 2022

Show notes

This joint Cybersecurity Advisory provides information on multiple intrusion campaigns conducted by state-sponsored Russian cyber actors from 2011 to 2018 that targeted US and international Energy Sector organizations. CISA, the FBI, and DOE assess that state-sponsored Russian cyber operations continue to pose a threat to Energy Sector networks and are sharing this information in order to highlight TTPs used by adversaries to target Energy Sector organizations. They urge the Energy Sector and other critical infrastructure organizations to apply the recommendations listed in the Mitigations Section and Appendix Alpha of the alert documentation to reduce the risk of compromise. AA22-083A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations Russian Government Employees Charged for Hacking Critical Infrastructure CISA Shields Up Technical Guidance Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to US Critical Infrastructure Rewards for Justice Program All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA’s 24/7 Operations Center at central@cisa.dhs.gov or (888) 282-0870 and to the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBI’s 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov. If you have information on state-sponsored Russian cyber operations targeting US critical infrastructure, contact the Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program. You may be eligible for a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting under the direction or control of a foreign government, participates in malicious cyber activity against US critical infrastructure. Contact +1-202-702-7843 on WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram, or send information via the Rewards for Justice secure Tor-based tips line located on the Dark Web. For more details refer to the Rewards for Justice website.

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CISA Alert AA22-055A – Iranian government-sponsored actors conduct cyber operations against global government and commercial networks. Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

The FBI, CISA, US Cyber Command Cyber National Mission Force, and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre have observed a group of Iranian government-sponsored APT actors, known as MuddyWater, conducting cyber espionage and other malicious cyber operations targeting a range of government and private-sector organizations across sectors—including telecommunications, defense, local government, and oil and natural gas—in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.

AA22-055A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations

Malware Analysis Report

AA22-052A STIX and Malware Analysis STIX

Iran Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories

NCSC-UK MAR – Small Sieve

CNMF's press release – Iranian intel cyber suite of malware uses open source tools

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CISA Alert AA22-054A – New Sandworm malware “Cyclops Blink” replaces VPNFilter. Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

CISA, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have identified that the actor known as Sandworm or Voodoo Bear is using a new malware, Cyclops Blink. CISA, the NCSC, and the FBI have previously attributed the Sandworm actor to the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate’s Russian (GRU’s) Main Centre for Special Technologies.

AA22-054A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations

Cyclops Blink Malware Analysis Report

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CISA Alert AA22-047A – Russian state-sponsored cyber actors target cleared defense contractor networks to obtain sensitive US defense information and technology. Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

CISA, the FBI, and NSA have observed Russian state-sponsored cyber actors regularly target US cleared defense contractors from at least January 2020 through February 2022. The actors have targeted both large and small defense contractors and subcontractors with varying levels of cybersecurity protocols and resources. These defense contractors support contracts for the US Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community in command, control, communications, and combat systems; intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting; weapons and missile development; vehicle and aircraft design; and software development, data analytics, computers, and logistics.

AA22-047A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations

Russia Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories

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