CyberWire Daily

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New, Mirai-based threat in the wild. PLA told to steer clear of US election stories. Big data in small spreadsheets. John McAfee arrested. A hackable marital (or something) aid. Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

Spyware version of Mirai detected in the wild. The People’s Liberation Army is told, by its government, to lighten up on US election stories. Centripetal wins a major patent lawsuit. Excel is not a big data tool. John McAfee is arrested on US tax charges. Our guest is Roger Barranco from Akamai on tracking increased DDoS attacks. Ben Yelin on a case involving warrants for Wifi location data. And an aid to chastity is found to be hackable, but at least it errs on the side of continence.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/194

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Maritime shipping hacks remind observers of NotPetya. Spyware through the firmware. New ransomware strain. Huawei in Europe. Go ahead, Lefty, give ‘em your fingerprints. Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

Attacks on maritime shipping organizations raise concerns about global supply chains. Someone’s pushing spyware through the firmware. Someone else is messing with the heads of Trickbot’s masters. A new ransomware strain, Egregor, shows again that a ransomware attack amounts to a data breach. Huawei may be losing ground in Europe. Mike Benjamin from Lumen on DDoS ransoms. Scott Algeier from IT-ISAC looks back on 20 years of information sharing. And criminals give their fingerprints to police, virtually.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/193

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Diane M. Janosek: It's only together that we are going to rise. [Career Notes] Oct 04, 2020

Show notes

Commandant for the National Security Agency's National Cryptologic School Diane M. Janosek shares the story of her career going global Diane explains how she's always been drawn to doing things that could help and raise the nation. From a position as a law clerk during law school, to the role of a judicial clerk, and joining the White House Counsel's office, Diane was exposed to many things and felt she experienced the full circle. Moving on to the Pentagon and finally, the NSA, Diane transitioned into her current role where she orchestrates the educational environment for military and civilian cyber and cryptologists worldwide for the nation. Diane encourages those who love to learn to join the multidisciplinary cybersecurity field. Our thanks to Diane for sharing her story with us.

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Smaug: Ransomware-as-a-service drag(s)on. [Research Saturday] Oct 03, 2020

Show notes

Threat actors and cybercriminals that don’t have the ability to develop their own ransomware for malicious campaigns can turn to the Smaug Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) offering, which is available via a Dark Web Onion site. At least two threat actors are operating the site, providing ransomware that can be used to target Windows, macOS, and Linux machines. The site is built with ease of use in mind. To launch an attack, threat actors simply need to sign up, create a campaign, and then start distributing the malware. The site also handles decryption key purchasing and tracking for victims.

Joining us in this week's Research Saturday to discuss the research is Anomali's Joakim Kennedy and Rory Gould.

The research can be found here:

Anomali Threat Research Releases First Public Analysis of Smaug Ransomware as a Service

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CISA and Cyber Command describe a new RAT. Emotet spams Team Blue. Spyware campaigns described. Maritime sector hacks. And another reason not to pay the ransom. Oct 02, 2020

Show notes

SlothfulMedia is the new RAT in town. Emotet spam counts on political commitments. ESET describes two distinct spyware campaigns in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Hackers are paying more attention than usual to the maritime sector. Awais Rashid from the University of Bristol on privacy concerns of contact tracing apps. Our guest is Krystle Portocarrero from Juniper Networks on the continued rise of encryption and the technical and privacy challenges that come with it. And the US Treasury Department cautions all that paying up in a ransomware attack might land you in sanctions hot water.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/192

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Ransomware incidents: worse than feared. And some of them pose a threat to patient safety. A Fancy Bear sighting? Glitch suspends trading in Tokyo. Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

Two ransomware incidents now seem worse than originally believed. Hacking hospitals raises concerns for patient safety. It appears Fancy Bear was the group that hacked the US Federal agency CISA warned about recently. Chris Novak from Verizon considers whether investigations should be performed under attorney client privilege and if that privilege will hold. Alex Mosher from MobileIron explains how yours truly got phished. With Cookies. And interruptions to trading on Japan’s exchanges seem to be due to technical problems, and not to cyberattack.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/191

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Opportunistic paydays and soft targets. Crooks use captchas and padlocks, too. Protecting against Zerologon. A microelectronics strategy. Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

Ransomware gangs continue to look for an opportunistic payday. Another exposed database is found, and secured. Captchas and padlock icons have their place, but they’re not a guarantee of security. Microsoft explains how to reduce exposure to Zerologon. The US looks to reduce dependence on foreign microelectronics. Joe Carrigan has thoughts on Facebook running SuperPAC ads. Our guest is Sanjay Gupta from Mitek on how online marketplaces can balance security with biometrics. And there’s just one shopping day before National Cybersecurity Month.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/190

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Ransomware versus shipping, hospitals, and schools. Cyberattacks’ growing sophistication. An interim rule enables implementation of the US Defense Department’s CMMC program. Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

Three (count ‘em) three big ransomware attacks are in progress. One of them has moved into its doxing phase. Microsoft resolves authentication problems that briefly disrupted services yesterday. Tracking trends in cyberattacks--the sophistication seems to lie in the execution. The US Defense Department now has an interim rule implementing its CMMC program. Ben Yelin describes the extensive use of facial recognition software by the LAPD. Our guest is Christy Wyatt from Absolute on their Endpoint Resilience report. And why do hackers hack? To a large extent it seems they do so...because they can.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/189

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Will no one rid me of this turbulent newsletter? US court delays TikTok ban. Microsoft takes down cyberespionage operation. Huawei’s CFO gets another day in court. REvil recruits. Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

The TikTok ban has been delayed; the November goal for the company’s change in ownership still stands, at least for now. Microsoft takes down infrastructure used by a Chinese cyberespionage group. Huawei’s CFO returns to court in Vancouver. The UK shows some of its cyber offensive hand. DDoS in Hungary; malware in Texas. The strange and sad case of eBay and a newsletter. Rick Howard shares lessons learned from his CSO Perspectives podcast. Our guest is Thomas Etheridge from CrowdStrike on mitigating the risk of public cloud key compromises. And REvil wants to recruit more criminal affiliates.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/188

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Richard Torres: Getting that level of experience is going to be crucial. [Career Notes] Sep 27, 2020

Show notes

Director of security operations at Syntax Richard Torres talks about his path leading him working in juvenile justice to becoming a private investigator to physical security at a nuclear power plant to cybersecurity presently. Always a fan of police shows, Richard became a member of the Air Force Junior ROTC in high school and began his path there. Richard shares the challenges of working in several facets of the security industry including his transition from SWAT team member to cybersecurity. He notes the role that diplomacy plays when you're trying to get honesty and be steered in the right direction. Our thanks to Richard for sharing his story with us.

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