CyberWire Daily

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A leadership shift. Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

President Trump fires the head of NSA and Cyber Command. The Health Sector Coordinating Council asks the White House to abandon Biden-era security updates. Senators introduce bipartisan legislation to help fight money laundering. A critical vulnerability has been discovered in the Apache Parquet Java library. The State Bar of Texas reports a ransomware-related data breach. New Android spyware uses a password-protected uninstallation method. A Chinese state-backed threat group exploits a critical Ivanti vulnerability for remote code execution. Today’s guest is Dave Dewalt, Founder and CEO of NightDragon, with the latest trends and outlook from cyber leaders. Malware masquerades as the tax man.

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CyberWire Guest

Today’s guest is Dave Dewalt, Founder and CEO of NightDragon, sharing 2024 trends and a 2025 outlook.

Selected Reading

Haugh fired from leadership of NSA, Cyber Command (The Record)

Defense Sec Hegseth in Signalgate Pentagon watchdog probe (The Register)

HSCC Urges White House to Shift Gears on Health Cyber Regs (BankInfo Security)

Lawmakers seek to close loophole limiting Secret Service investigations into cyber laundering (The Record)

Critical Apache Parquet RCE Vulnerability Lets Attackers Run Malicious Code (Cyber Security News)

State Bar of Texas Says Personal Information Stolen in Ransomware Attack (SecurityWeek)

New Android Spyware That Asks Password From Users to Uninstall (TechCrunch)

Chinese State Hackers Exploiting Newly Disclosed Ivanti Flaw (Infosecurity Magazine)

Hackers Leveraging URL Shorteners & QR Codes for Tax-Related Phishing Attacks (Microsoft)

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The invisible force fueling cyber chaos. Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

A joint advisory labels Fast Flux a national security threat. Europol shuts down a major international CSAM platform. Oracle verifies a data breach. A new attack targets Apache Tomcat servers. The Hunters International group pivots away from ransomware. Hackers target Juniper routers using default credentials. A controversy erupts over a critical CrushFTP vulnerability. Johannes Ullrich, Dean of Research at SANS Technology Institute unpacks Next.js. Abracadabra, alakazam — poof! Your credentials are gone.

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CyberWire Guest

Johannes Ullrich, Dean of Research at SANS Technology Institute, is discussing Next.js and how similar problems have led to vulnerabilities recently.

Selected Reading

Fast Flux: A National Security Threat (CISA)

Don’t cut CISA personnel, House panel leaders say, as they plan legislation giving the agency more to do (CyberScoop)

CSAM platform Kidflix shut down by international operation (The Record)

AI Image Site GenNomis Exposed 47GB of Underage Deepfakes (Hackread)

Oracle tells clients of second recent hack, log-in data stolen, Bloomberg News reports (Reuters)

Hackers Exploiting Apache Tomcat Vulnerability to Steal SSH Credentials & Gain Server Control (Cyber Security News)

Hunters International Ransomware Gang Rebranding, Shifting Focus (SecurityWeek)

Hackers Actively Scanning for Juniper’s Smart Router With Default Password (Cyber Security News)

Details Emerge on CVE Controversy Around Exploited CrushFTP Vulnerability (SecurityWeek)

New Malware Attacking Magic Enthusiasts to Steal Login Credentials (Cyber Security News)

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Chrome & Firefox squash the latest flaws. Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

Google and Mozilla patch nearly two dozen security flaws. The UK’s Royal Mail Group sees 144GB of data stolen and leaked. A bizarre campaign looks to recruit cybersecurity professionals to hack Chinese websites. PostgreSQL servers with weak credentials have been compromised for cryptojacking. Google Cloud patches a vulnerability affecting its Cloud Run platform. Oracle faces a class-action lawsuit over alleged cloud services data breaches. CISA releases ICS advisories detailing vulnerabilities in Rockwell Automation and Hitachi Energy products. General Paul Nakasone offers a candid assessment of America’s evolving cyber threats. On today’s CertByte segment, a look at the Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies exam. Are AI LLMs more like minds or mirrors?

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CertByte Segment

Welcome to CertByte! On this bi-weekly segment hosted by Chris Hare, a content developer and project management specialist at N2K, we share practice questions from N2K’s suite of industry-leading certification resources, this week, Chris is joined by Troy McMillan to break down a question targeting the Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies (350-401 ENCOR) v1.1 exam. Today’s question comes from N2K’s Cisco CCNP Implementing and Operating Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies ENCOR (350-401) Practice Test.

The ENCOR exam enables candidates to earn the Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core certification, which can also be used to meet exam requirements for several other Cisco certifications.

Have a question that you’d like to see covered? Email us at certbyte@n2k.com. If you're studying for a certification exam, check out N2K’s full exam prep library of certification practice tests, practice labs, and training courses by visiting our website at n2k.com/certify.To get the full news to knowledge experience, learn more about our N2K Pro subscription at https://thecyberwire.com/pro.

Please note: The questions and answers provided here, and on our site, are not actual current or prior questions and answers from these certification publishers or providers.

Additional source: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/training-certifications/exams/encor.html

Selected Reading

Chrome 135, Firefox 137 Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek)

Royal Mail Group Loses 144GB to Infostealers: Same Samsung Hacker, Same 2021 Infostealer Log (Infostealers)

Someone is trying to recruit security researchers in bizarre hacking campaign (TechCrunch)

Ongoing cryptomining campaign hits over 1.5K PostgreSQL servers (SC Media)

ImageRunner Flaw Exposed Sensitive Information in Google Cloud (SecurityWeek)

Google Brings End-to-End Encrypted Emails to All Enterprise Gmail Users (SecurityWeek)

Oracle now faces class action amid alleged data breaches (The Register)

CISA Releases Two ICS Advisories for Vulnerabilities, & Exploits Surrounding ICS (Cyber Security News)

Exclusive: Gen. Paul Nakasone says China is now our biggest cyber threat (The Record)

Large AI models are cultural and social technologies (Science)

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Hackers beware, fines are in the air. Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

The UK unveils the full scope of its upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. Apple warns of critical zero-day vulnerabilities under active exploitation. The InterLock ransomware group claims responsibility for a cyberattack on National Presto Industries. Microsoft flags a critical vulnerability in Canon printer drivers. Check Point Software confirms a data breach. The FTC warns 23andMe’s bankruptcy trustees to uphold their privacy obligations. A Canadian hacker has been arrested and charged for allegedly breaching systems tied to the Texas Republican Party. A GCHQ intern pleads guilty to stealing top-secret data. On our Threat Vector segment, host David Moulton from Palo Alto Networks speaks with Richu Channakeshava, Senior Product Manager at Palo Alto Networks, about the urgent need for organizations to prepare for a post-quantum world. The confabulous hallucinations of AI.

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Threat Vector Segment

Host David Moulton from Palo Alto Networks Threat Vector podcast asks “Is the Quantum Threat Closer Than You Think?” on the latest segment of Threat Vector. Quantum computing is advancing fast, and with it comes a major cybersecurity risk—the potential to break today’s encryption standards. David speaks with Richu Channakeshava, Senior Product Manager at Palo Alto Networks, about the urgent need for organizations to prepare for a post-quantum world. You can catch the full discussion here. Be sure to listen to new episodes of Threat Vector every Thursday on your favorite podcast app.

Selected Reading

UK threatens £100K-a-day fines under new cyber bill (The Register)

Apple Warns of Three 0-Day Vulnerabilities Actively Exploited in Attacks (Cyber Security News)

Ransomware Group Takes Credit for National Presto Industries Attack (SecurityWeek)

Critical Vulnerability Found in Canon Printer Drivers (SecurityWeek)

Check Point Acknowledges Data Breach, Claims Information is 'Old (Cyber Security News)

FTC: 23andMe's Buyer Must Uphold Co.'s Data Privacy Pledge (BankInfo Security)

Canadian hacker arrested for allegedly stealing data from Texas Republican Party (The Record)

GCHQ intern took top secret spy tool home, now faces prison (The Register)

A Peek Into How AI 'Thinks' - and Why It Hallucinates (GovInfo Security)

Why Confabulation, Not Hallucination, Defines AI Errors (Integrative Psych)

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Ransom demands and medical data for sale. Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

A cyberattack targeting Oracle Health compromises patient data. The DOJ nabs over $8 million tied to romance scams. Trend Micro examines a China-linked APT group conducting cyber-espionage. A new Android banking trojan called Crocodilus has emerged. North Korea’s Lazarus Group targets job seekers in the crypto industry. CISA IDs a new malware variant targeting Ivanti Connect Secure appliances. Maria Varmazis, host of N2K’s T-Minus Space Daily show chats with Jake Braun, former White House Principal Deputy National Cyber Director and chairman of DEF CON Franklin. They discuss designating space as critical infrastructure. Nulling out your pizza payment.

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CyberWire Guest

Maria Varmazis, host of N2K’s T-Minus Space Daily show sits down with Jake Braun, former White House Principal Deputy National Cyber Director and chairman of DEF CON Franklin, and they discuss designating space as critical infrastructure and sharing an overview of its attack surface.

Selected Reading

Oracle Health breach compromises patient data at US hospitals (Bleeping Computer)

Oracle Warns Health Customers of Patient Data Breach (Bloomberg)

Critical Condition: Legacy Medical Devices Remain Easy Targets for Ransomware (SecurityWeek)

U.S. seized $8.2 million in crypto linked to 'Romance Baiting' scams (Bleeping Computer)

DOJ Seizes USD 8.2M Tied to Pig Butchering Scheme (TRM Labs)

Earth Alux Hackers Employ VARGIET Malware to Attack Organizations (Cyber Security News)

'Crocodilus' Android Banking Trojan Allows Device Takeover, Data Theft (SecurityWeek)

ClickFake Interview – Lazarus Hackers Exploit Windows and macOS Users Fake Job Campaign (Cyber Security News)

CISA Analyzes Malware Used in Ivanti Zero-Day Attacks (SecurityWeek)

How A Null Character Was Used to Bypass Payments (System Weakness on Medium)

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Alyssa Miller: We have to elevate others. [BISO] [Career Notes] Mar 30, 2025

Show notes

Please enjoy this encore episode of Career Notes.

Business Information Security Officer at S&P Global Ratings, Alyssa Miller, joins us to talk about her journey to become a champion to create a welcoming nature and acceptance of diversity in the cybersecurity community. Starting her first full-time tech position while still in college, Alyssa noted the culture shock being in both worlds. Entering as a programmer and then moving to pen testing where she got her start in security, Alyssa grew into a leader who is committed to elevating those around her. Some stumbling blocks along the way gave her pause and helped point her in her current role where Alyssa works to bring more diverse views to improve the problem-solving in the space, something she sees as a key to success for the industry. We thank Alyssa for sharing her story with us.

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Breaking barriers, one byte at a time. [Research Saturday] Mar 29, 2025

Show notes

This week, we are joined by Jon Williams, Vulnerability Researcher from Bishop Fox, discussing "Tearing Down (Sonic)Walls: Decrypting SonicOSX Firmware." Bishop Fox researchers reverse-engineered the encryption protecting SonicWall SonicOSX firmware, enabling them to access its underlying file system for security research.

They presented their process and findings at DistrictCon Year 0 and released a tool called Sonicrack to extract keys from VMware virtual machine bundles, facilitating the decryption of VMware NSv firmware images. This research builds upon previous work, including techniques to decrypt static NSv images and reverse-engineer other encryption formats used by SonicWall.

The research can be found here:

Tearing Down (Sonic)Walls: Decrypting SonicOSX Firmware

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New sandbox escape looks awfully familiar. Mar 28, 2025

Show notes

Mozilla patches Firefox flaw similar to actively exploited Chrome vulnerability. Russia-based RedCurl gang deploys ransomware for the first time. Ukraine's railway operator recovers from cyberattack. India cracks down on Google’s billing monopoly. Morphing Meerkat's phishing kit abuses DNS mail exchange records. 300,000 attacks in three weeks. Our guest is Chris Wysopal, Founder and Chief Security Evangelist of Veracode, who sits down with Dave to discuss the increase in the average fix time for security flaws. And Liz Stokes joins with another Fun Fact Friday.

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CyberWire Guest

Chris Wysopal, Founder and Chief Security Evangelist of Veracode, discussing increase in the average fix time for security flaws and percent of organizations that carry critical security debt for longer than a year.

Selected Reading

After Chrome patches zero-day used to target Russians, Firefox splats similar bug (The Register)

Microsoft fixes Remote Desktop issues caused by Windows updates (Bleeping Computer)

Firefox fixes flaw similar to Chrome zero-day used against Russian organizations (The Record)

RedCurl's Ransomware Debut: A Technical Deep Dive (Bitdefender)

Ukraine’s state railway restores online ticket sales after major cyberattack (The Record)

Google App Store Billing Policy Anti-Competitive, India Court Rules (Bloomberg)

Morphing Meerkat PhaaS Platform Spoofs 100+ Brands - Infosecurity Magazine (Infosecurity Magazine)

Fresh Grandoreiro Banking Trojan Campaigns Target Latin America, Europe (SecurityWeek)

Malware distributed via fake DeepSeek ads on Google (SC Media)

GorillaBot Attacks Windows Devices With 300,000+ Attack Commands Across 100+ Countries (Cyber Security News)

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FamousSparrow’s sneaky resurgence. Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

China’s FamousSparrow is back. A misconfigured Amazon S3 bucket exposes data from an Australian fintech firm. Researchers uncover a sophisticated Linux-based backdoor targeting industrial systems. Infiltrating the BlackLock Ransomware group’s infrastructure. Solar inverters in the security spotlight. Credential stuffing gets automated. CISA updates the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. The UK’s NCA warns of online groups involved in sadistic cybercrime and real-world violence. Authorities arrest a dozen individuals linked to the now-defunct Ghost encrypted communication platform. Our guest is Tal Skverer, Research Team Lead from Astrix, discussing the OWASP NHI Top 10 framework. Remembering our friend Matt Stephenson.

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CyberWire Guest

We are joined by Tal Skverer, Research Team Lead from Astrix, who is discussing the OWASP NHI Top 10 framework and how teams can use these as they implement NHIs into their systems.

Selected Reading

Chinese Spy Group FamousSparrow Back with a Vengeance, Targets US (Infosecurity Magazine)

Aussie Fintech Vroom Exposes Thousands of Records After AWS Misconfiguration (HackRead)

New Sophisticated Linux Backdoor Targets OT Systems via 0-Day RCE Exploit (GB Hackers)

Blacklock Ransomware: A Late Holiday Gift with Intrusion into the Threat Actor's Infrastructure (Resecurity)

Dozens of solar inverter flaws could be exploited to attack power grids (Bleeping Computer)

Threat Actors Using Powerful Cybercriminal Weapon 'Atlantis AIO' to Automate Credential Stuffing Attacks (Cyber Security News)

CISA Adds of Sitecore CMS Code Execution Vulnerability to List of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (Cyber Security News)

NCA Warns of Sadistic Online “Com” Networks (Infosecurity Magazine)

12 Cybercriminals Arrested Following Takedown of Ghost Communication Platform (Cyber Security News)

Matt Stephenson remembrance (LinkedIn)

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No click, all tricks. Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

Researchers uncover a new Windows zero-day. A covert Chinese-linked network targets recently laid-off U.S. government workers. Malicious npm packages are found injecting persistent reverse shell backdoors. A macOS malware loader evolves. DrayTek router disruptions affect users worldwide. A new report warns of growing cyber risks to the commercial space sector. CISA issues four ICS advisories. U.S. Marshals arrest a key suspect in a multi million dollar cryptocurrency heist. Our guest is Brian Levine, Co-Founder and CEO of FormerGov.com, speaking about creating a networking directory for former government and military professionals. The UK’s NCSC goes full influencer to promote 2FA.

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CyberWire Guest

Brian Levine, Co-Founder and CEO of FormerGov.com, speaking about the importance of networking and creating a directory for former government and military professionals.

Selected Reading

New Windows 0-Day Vulnerability Let Remote Attackers Steal NTLM Credentials - Unofficial Patch (cybersecuritynews)

Exclusive: Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers, research shows (Reuters)

New npm attack poisons local packages with backdoors (bleepingcomputer)

macOS Users Warned of New Versions of ReaderUpdate Malware (securityweek)

DrayTek Routers Vulnerability Exploited in the Wild – Possibly Links to Reboot Loop (cybersecuritynews)

ENISA Probes Space Threat Landscape in New Report (Infosecurity Magazine)

CISA Warns of Four Vulnerabilities, and Exploits Surrounding ICS (cybersecuritynews)

Crypto Heist Suspect "Wiz" Arrested After $243 Million Theft (hackread)

NCSC taps influencers to make 2FA go viral (The Register)

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