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Goodbye to Flash - if you're still running it, uninstall Flash Player now

It's time to say a final "Goodbye" to Flash. (Or should that be "Good riddance"?) With earlier this week seeing the final scheduled release of Flash Player, Adobe has confirmed that it will no longer be supporting the software after December 31 2020, and will actively block Flash content from running inside Flash Player from January 12 2021. In...
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New Microsoft Spear-Phishing Attack Uses Exact Domain Spoofing Tactic

Security researchers detected a new spear-phishing attack that's using an exact domain spoofing tactic in order to impersonate Microsoft. On December 7, IRONSCALES revealed that it had spotted the campaign targeting Office 365 users. Those users primarily worked in the financial services, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, utilities and telecom...
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Phorpiex Botnet Named "Most Wanted Malware" in November 2020

The Phorpiex botnet earned the notorious designation of "most wanted malware" for the month of November 2020. In its Global Threat Index for November 2020, Check Point Research revealed that it had observed a surge in new Phorpiex botnet infections that had affected four percent of organizations globally. This threat activity enabled Phorpiex to...
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Lessons from Teaching Cybersecurity: Week 10

As I had mentioned previously, this year, I’m going back to school. Not to take classes, but to teach a course at my alma mater, Fanshawe College. I did this about a decade ago and thought it was interesting, so I was excited to give it another go. Additionally, after a friend mentioned that their kid wanted to learn Python, I developed an Intro to...
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VERT Threat Alert: December 2020 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Threat Alert addresses Microsoft’s December 2020 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-918 on Wednesday, December 9th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs There are no In-The-Wild or Disclosed CVEs patched this month. CVE Breakdown by Tag While historical Microsoft...
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Tripwire Patch Priority Index for November 2020

Tripwire's November 2020 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities from Microsoft, Adobe, and Oracle. First on the patch priority list this month are three vulnerabilities in Oracle WebLogic Server that have recently been included within the Metasploit exploit framework. Supported versions of Oracle WebLogic Server that...
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Ghidra 101: Cursor Text Highlighting

In this blog series, I will be putting the spotlight on useful Ghidra features that you may have missed. Each post will look at a different feature and show how it helps you save time and be more effective while reverse engineering. Ghidra is an incredibly powerful tool, but much of this power comes from knowing how to use it effectively. What is...
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BEC Scammers Struck Philadelphia Non-Profit Food Bank

Malicious actors used a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam to prey upon a Philadelphia non-profit food bank. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the scam occurred back in July when the hunger relief organization Philabundance was nearing the completion of its $12 million Philabundance Community Kitchen. ...
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Thoughts from the NCSC 2020 Annual Review

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) released its annual review of 2020. If you are unfamiliar with the NCSC, part of their mission is that they are “dedicated to making the United Kingdom the safest place in the world to live and work online.” This is a lofty goal, and since the first report, issued in 2016, the NCSC remains steadfast in...
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Egregor Ransomware Strikes Metro Vancouver's TransLink

The Egregor ransomware gang struck TransLink, the authority responsible for managing Metro Vancouver's transportation network. On December 1, TransLink announced that certain issues were affecting its phones, online services and payment systems. The authority later confirmed that it had suffered a ransomware attack and that those responsible for...
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Lessons From Teaching Cybersecurity: Week 9

As I had mentioned previously, this year, I’m going back to school. Not to take classes, but to teach a course at my alma mater, Fanshawe College. I did this about a decade ago and thought it was interesting, so I was excited to give it another go. Additionally, after a friend mentioned that their kid wanted to learn Python, I developed an Intro to...
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Global Phishing Campaign Sets Sights on COVID-19 Cold Chain

A global phishing campaign targeted organizations associated with the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) cold chain. Discovered by IBM Security X-Force, the operation began in September 2020 by targeting multiple entities that support the Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform (CCEOP). A program created by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, CCEOP aims to...
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How to Protect Your Business From Multi-Platform Malware Systems

The Lazarus Group (also known as Guardians of Peace or Whois) is a notorious cybercrime gang made up of unknown individuals. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations, the group is a North Korean “state-sponsored hacking organization.” However, some believe that their connections to North Korea might be a false flag intending...
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Notable Enhancements to the New Version of NIST SP 800-53

As an infosec professional, you’ve likely heard of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). If you are unfamiliar with NIST, it is an organization that produces many publications including the well-respected Special Publication SP 800-53r5 standard, titled “Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations.” ...
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Email Attackers Using Auto-Forwarding Rules to Perpetrate BEC Scams

U.S. law enforcement learned that email attackers are using auto-forwarding rules to help them to perpetrate Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams. In a Private Industry Notification published on November 25, the FBI revealed that some BEC scammers are now updating the auto-forwarding rules in the web-based client of an email account they've...
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A Look at the Computer Security Act of 1987

U.S. Federal Cybersecurity Today Computer security regulations have come a long way from their early beginnings. Even before the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), there was the Computer Security Act of 1987 (CSA). The Computer Security Act was enacted by the 100th United States Congress in response to a lack of computer security...
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FERC Releases Staff Report on Lessons Learned from CIP Audits

In October, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its “2020 Staff Report Lessons Learned from Commission-Led CIP Reliability Audits.” The report summarizes the Commission’s observations from Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) audits performed in conjunction with staff from Regional Entities and the North American Electric...
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Indian National to Spend 20 Years in Prison for Call Center Scheme

An Indian national received a prison sentence of 20 years for having created a call center scheme that preyed upon U.S. individuals. On November 30, U.S. District Judge David Hittner handed down a 20-year prison sentence to Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, aka Hitesh Hinglaj, 44, of Ahmedabad, India. The sentence stemmed from charges of wire fraud...