Symantec Cyber Security Brief Podcast

Latest Episodes:

In-depth look at the ransomware attack on Ireland’s national health service, as major meat producer JBS also hit with ransomware Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Cyber Security Brief podcast, Dick O’Brien and Brigid O’Gorman are joined by Symantec threat researcher Gavin O’Gorman to discuss the Conti ransomware attack on Ireland’s national health service, how the response to this attack is going, and what the likely consequences of it may be. Elsewhere, another ransomware attack, this time on the world’s largest meat producer, JBS Foods, and Sweden’s Public Health Agency is also hit with some hack attempts. Meanwhile, the alleged leader of an ATM fraud gang responsible for stealing more than $1 billion from tourists, is arrested in Mexico.

Colonial Pipeline attack, Darkside ransomware gang, and crypto mining makes a comeback May 20, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s Cyber Security Brief, Dick O’Brien and Brigid O’Gorman discuss the implications of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the activities of the group behind it, Darkside. We also talk about what appears to be a reasonably new ransomware - Avaddon - that has been used in a string of attacks recently, while we also discuss an idea Brian Krebs wrote about that could potentially help deter ransomware actors from infecting your network. Away from the world of ransomware we talk about Lemon Duck and something of a resurgence in crypto mining, while we also discuss what CISOs are most worried about in 2021.

MFA causes headaches for attackers, and a look at living off the land activity May 06, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Cyber Security Brief podcast, Brigid O Gorman and Dick O’Brien discuss some research we have recently been working on at Symantec. First, we discuss a blog we published this week, which looks at multi-factor authentication and how it has become a headache for malicious actors, leading them to adopt new attack techniques in an attempt to bypass or avoid it completely. We also discuss a report that we shared with customers recently looking at living off the land attack techniques and the activity and trends in that area, as well as some steps you can take to try and protect your network from this kind of activity.

Pulse Secure VPN zero-day, SolarWinds and Exchange Server developments, and spies approach UK employees on social media Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Cyber Security Brief, Alan Neville joins Brigid O Gorman and Dick O’Brien to discuss the recent discovery of a zero-day vulnerability in popular VPN product Pulse Secure. We also discuss some recent developments in the SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange Server stories. Finally, we discuss a recent potential data breach at software testing company Codecov, and look at why UK authorities are warning government employees about potential approaches from foreign spies on social media.

Facebook data leak, cyber attack aimed at EU institutions, and cyber criminals use a call center to spread malware Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Cyber Security Brief, Brigid O Gorman and Dick O’Brien discuss the big Facebook data leak that has made headlines around the world this week, as well as a cyber attack aimed at European Union institutions, and a cyber incident impacting Australia’s parliament. We also discuss warnings from authorities in the U.S. about attackers attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in Fortinet FortiOS, while authorities in the UK have issued warnings about an increased risk of ransomware attacks targeting the education sector. Meanwhile, some cyber criminals have started using call centers to distribute malware, with the tactic reportedly proving quite successful for several cyber crime groups.

Ransomware attackers leverage the Microsoft Exchange Server vulns, WeLeakInfo users hit by data breach, and ransomware payments increase Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Cyber Security Brief podcast, Brigid O Gorman and Dick O’Brien discuss how ransomware attackers are now attempting to leverage the vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server. We also talk about an interesting interview given by one of the ReEvil ransomware gang to Recorded Future, evidence that ransomware payments increased over the last year, and the users of WeLeakInfo falling victim to their own data breach. Also, we warn U.S. taxpayers to be on the lookout for phishing campaigns at this time of year, and the hacker who made headlines a few weeks ago for hacking security cameras used in Tesla offices and elsewhere is indicted on numerous hacking charges in the U.S.

All you need to know about the Microsoft Exchange Server attacks, and some SolarWinds developments Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Cyber Security Brief podcast, Brigid O Gorman and Dick O’Brien are joined by Symantec threat researcher Alan Neville to discuss the biggest cyber security story of the last couple of weeks - the vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server. Alan gives a comprehensive overview of the vulnerabilities, what’s happened since they became public knowledge last week, and the steps you can take to keep your organization’s network safe. He also talks about some of the post-compromise activity that Symantec has seen. We also chat about some other topics: new research into the SolarWinds hack, and the arrest of an alleged GandCrab ransomware gang member.

Accellion product vulns, Equation group tool copied by Chinese APT, and software supply chain attacks in France Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Cyber Security Brief podcast, Dick O’Brien and Brigid O’Gorman discuss some of the biggest cyber security stories of the last few weeks. Among the stories up for discussion are the bugs in Accellion’s 20-year-old FTA product, which led to multiple companies worldwide reporting breaches related to it. We also talk about the reports saying the Sandworm group has been carrying out a long-running spying campaign against multiple French IT services providers by compromising an open-source IT monitoring tool called Centreon, and a Chinese APT group reportedly cloning an Equation group tool. Some interesting law enforcement activity in recent weeks is also up for discussion.

Emotet takedown, water plant cyber attack, and a SolarWinds update Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Cyber Security Brief podcast, Dick O’Brien and Brigid O’Gorman round up some of the biggest cyber security stories of the last two weeks. We bring you the latest developments in the SolarWinds hack investigation, and chat about the significance of the disruption to the Emotet botnet. We also discuss some other recent takedowns and arrests, as well as some of the biggest ransomware stories of the last couple of weeks. We also talk about the recently reported cyber attack on a water treatment plant in the Florida town of Oldsmar - was this just a one-off incident or do industrial control systems like water plants need to be on high alert?

Raindrop: How the additional tool was discovered in SolarWinds investigation Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

Old threats and new feature in this week’s Cyber Security Brief podcast. Dick O’Brien and Gavin O’Gorman discuss the latest developments in the SolarWinds hack investigation, including how Symantec investigators found Raindrop, an additional piece of malware used in the SolarWinds attacks against a select number of victims that were of interest to the attackers. We published a blog about Raindrop last week, and Dick and Gavin discuss how this new malware was discovered. Also, romance scams and DDoS attacks make a comeback.