CyberWire Daily

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Turn challenges into opportunities. [Career Notes] Jul 12, 2020

Show notes

Cybersecurity and disinformation researcher Bilyana Lilly shares her career path from studying where she was always a foreigner to an expert on the Russian perspective. While studying international law in Kosovo, Bilyana realized there are no winners in war. Through her work, she hopes to bring a greater understanding of Russia's strategic thinking. Our thanks to Bilyana for sharing her story with us.

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Are you running what you think you're running? [Research Saturday] Jul 11, 2020

Show notes

Built into virtually every hardware device, firmware is lower-level software that is programmed to ensure that hardware functions properly.

As software security has been significantly hardened over the past two decades, hackers have responded by moving down the stack to focus on firmware entry points. Firmware offers a target that basic security controls can’t access or scan as easily as software, while allowing them to persist and continue leveraging many of their tried and true attack techniques.

Joining us on this week's Research Saturday is Maggie Jauregui, security researcher at Dell, to discuss this issue.

The research can be found here:

Three firmware blind spots impacting security

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The importance of staying up-to-date. Conti ransomware gains as Ryuk fades. Germany warns of Chinese companies’ data collection. Huawei’s fortunes in Canada and UK. Hushpuppi update. Jul 10, 2020

Show notes

Unpatched and beyond-end-of-life systems are (again) at risk. Conti ransomware appears to be steadily displacing its ancestor Ryuk in criminal markets. Are privacy laws as consumer friendly as they’re often taken to be? There may be some grounds for doubt. German security services warn of the espionage potential of Chinese companies’ data collection. Huawei skepticism grows in Germany, Canada, and the UK. Zully Ramzan from RSA on zero trust. Our guest is Conan Ward from QOMPLX on the unfortunate reality of cyber insurance in light of the 3rd anniversary of NotPetya. And Ray Hushpuppi says the Feds didn’t extradite him; they kidnapped him.

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

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/133

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Coordinated inauthenticity with a domestic bent. Preinstalled malware in discount phones. Evilnum and the Joker continue to evolve. Incidents at FreddieMac and RMC. Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

Facebook takes down more coordinated inauthenticity. Preinstalled malware is found in discount phones available under the FCC’s Lifeline program. The Evilnum APT continues its attacks against fintech platforms and services. Joker Android malware adapts and overcomes its way back into the Play store. FreddieMac discloses a third-party databreach. Johannes Ullrich from SANS on defending against Evil Maids with glitter. Our guest is Rohit Ghai from RSA with a preview of his keynote, Reality Check: Cybersecurity’s Story. And the Royal Military College of Canada’s hack attack remains under investigation.

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

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/132

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Traditional sabotage at Natanz. CISA’s ICS strategy. DDoSecrets’ server seized by German police at the request of the US. COVID-19-themed phishing infrastructure taken down. Cyberespionage. Jul 08, 2020

Show notes

The Natanz blast looks like traditional sabotage. CISA releases its strategy for securing industrial control systems. Authorities in Germany seize DDoSecrets’ server pursuant to a US request. Microsoft takes down COVID-19-themed BEC and phishing infrastructure. FBI Director denounces China’s cyberespionage. Joe Carrigan helps review personal privacy measures for ios and Android. Rick Howard speaks with Steve Moore from Exabeam with insights from a year spent interviewing CISOs. And some DDoS and ransomware attempts.

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

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/131

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Sabotage, not cyber? Cosmic Lynx pounces on some big companies with BEC. Purple Fox upgrade. Coordinated inauthenticity in the journalistic supply chain. Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

Explosions at Iranian nuclear sites remain unexplained, but look increasingly like conventional sabotage as opposed to cyberattacks. The Cosmic Lynx gang sets a high bar for business email compromise. The Purple Fox exploit kit gets an upgrade. Ben Yelin describes a 5th amendment compelled decryption case that may be headed to the Supreme Court. Our guest is Hugh Thompson, Chairman of the RSA Conference Program, on the human element of cyber security and lessons learned shifting a conference online. And a network of coordinated inauthenticity and fictitious personae is found pushing an Emirati official line.

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

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/130

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Damage at Natanz, maybe cyber-induced but maybe not. Official Huawei skepticism spreads. Big European dragnet. Hushpuppi in custody. Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

An Iranian nuclear installation may have been hacked. Or maybe not, but in any case it was damaged. Huawei gets more skeptical looks. European police round up hundreds of online contraband dealers. Thomas Etheridge from CrowdStrike on the increased need for speed, scale, and remote investigative and recovery services. Our guest is Tobias Whitney from Fortress Information Security on the Asset to Vendor Network (A2V). And an accused Nigerian money-launderer (and an admitted influencer) is now in US custody, facing Federal charges.

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

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/129

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Solving hard problems and pursuing your passions. [Career Notes] Jul 05, 2020

Show notes

CEO, Matt Devost, describes many firsts in his career including hacking into systems on an aircraft carrier at sea. He shares how he enjoys solving hard problems and the red teamer perspective, and how he was able to translate those into a career. For those interested in cybersecurity, Matt advises opportunities for self-directed learning including heading down to your basement and building your own lab. Our thanks to Matt for sharing his story with us.

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Evil Corp versus newspapers. Trolling for unprotected MongoDB. Taurus in the criminal souks. Law and security. Loot boxes as gambling items. Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

Evil Corp seems to have been shuffling through some newspaper sites. Don’t take the gangs’ communiqués at face value, but some appear to be trolling for unprotected MongoDB databases. A look at Taurus, an information-stealer being sold in criminal-to-criminal markets. Chinese law and online security. The EARN-IT Act is being debated. Justin Harvey on “Smishing”. Our guest is Jeff Styles from FireMon on COVID-19 increasing misconfiguration risks. And there’s trouble in Tilted Towers.

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

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/128

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EvilQuest ransomware identified. Out-of-band patches. The scope of Chinese surveillance of Uighurs. Hong Kong and the National Security Law. FCC finds against Huawei, ZTE. Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

EvilQuest ransomware found in pirated versions of Little Snitch app. Out-of-band patches from Microsoft and Oracle. Extensive Chinese surveillance of Uighurs described. Hong Kong and the world react to China’s new National Security Law. The US FCC finds both Huawei and ZTE are threats to national security. Joe Carrigan on password stealers that target gaming. Our guest is Kiersten Todt from the Cyber Readiness Institute on how COVID-19 has changed small business security and what to expect going forward. And Britain rethinks its position on Huawei and 5G infrastructure.

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

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/127

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