(Clockwise from top left): Reps. James Comer, Bennie G. Thompson, John Katko and Carolyn Maloney led the joint committee hearing on Friday examining the supply chain attack that targeted SolarWinds.

House SolarWinds Hearing Focuses on Updating Cyber Laws

Scott Ferguson • February 26, 2021

A pair of U.S. House committees held their first public hearings into the SolarWinds attack, with lawmakers and witnesses offering support for expanding federal cybersecurity laws to address the security failures. This includes a larger role for CISA to conduct threat hunting.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Data Breaches: ShinyHunters' Dominance Continues

Latest

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Microsoft Releases Queries for SolarWinds Attack Detection

Prajeet Nair • February 26, 2021

Microsoft is making available the CodeQL queries it used to detect malicious implants in the massive supply chain attack that affected SolarWinds, tech firms and government agencies.

Cybercrime

Chinese Attack Tool Gains Gmail Access

Prajeet Nair • February 26, 2021

Proofpoint reports that Chinese state-sponsored hackers are using a new customized malicious Mozilla Firefox browser extension that facilitates access and control of victims’ Gmail accounts. So far, the hackers are targeting Tibetan organizations.

Breach Notification

Analysis: Feds Crack Down on Cryptocurrency Scams

Anna Delaney • February 26, 2021

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report features an analysis of a federal crackdown on ICO cryptocurrency scams. Also featured: An update on the SonicWall hack investigation and the use of digital IDs to verify COVID-19 testing.

Endpoint Security

Improving Connected Vehicle Cybersecurity

Jeremy Kirk • February 25, 2021

Connected vehicles are rife with cybersecurity risks. But Faye Francy of Auto-ISAC says automakers and suppliers are increasingly sharing critical information and strengthening supply chains.

Governance & Risk Management

6,000 VMware vCenter Devices Vulnerable to Remote Attacks

Prajeet Nair • February 25, 2021

Security firm Positive Technologies says more than 6,000 VMware vCenter devices worldwide that are accessible via the internet contain a critical remote code execution vulnerability. VMware has issued recommendations for patching the flaw.

Cybercrime

Researchers Show How Digitally Signed PDFs Can Be Manipulated

Akshaya Asokan • February 25, 2021

Hackers could manipulate certain digitally signed PDF documents to add malicious content, according to a study by researchers at Germany's Ruhr University of Bochum.

Cryptocurrency Fraud

Not 'Above the Law' - Feds Target ICO Cryptocurrency Scams

Mathew J. Schwartz • February 25, 2021

Authorities have accused Serbia-based scammers of capitalizing on the "initial coin offering" bubble that began in 2017, bilking global cryptocurrency investors out of $70 million via Bitcoiin2Gen and other supposed coins and hiring actor Steven Seagal to endorse them.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Senate SolarWinds Hearing: 4 Key Issues Raised

Scott Ferguson • February 24, 2021

The Senate Intelligence Committee's hearing about the supply chain attack that affected SolarWinds and dozens of other companies and federal agencies answered some questions about what went wrong but also raised four key issues.

Endpoint Security

Cybersecurity Agencies Warn of Accellion Vulnerability Exploits

Doug Olenick • February 24, 2021

The cybersecurity agencies of five countries have issued a joint advisory warning that hackers are exploiting vulnerabilities in the Accellion File Transfer Appliance to steal data and execute ransomware. Australia's Transport for New South Wales and Canada's Bombardier are the latest victims to be revealed.

Cybercrime

Russian Hacking Group Deploys IronPython Malware Loader

Akshaya Asokan • February 24, 2021

The Russian hacking group known as Turla is deploying a new IronPython-based malware loader called "IronNetInjector" as part of a new campaign, Palo Alto Networks' Unit42 reports. It comes with capabilities to obfuscate malware codes and encrypt and decrypt NET injector and payloads.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Updated Minebridge RAT Targets Security Researchers

Prajeet Nair • February 24, 2021

The operators behind the Minebridge remote-access Trojan have updated the malware, which is targeting security researchers by using a malicious payload disguised in an attached document, according to the security firm Zscaler.

Cybercrime

Ransomware Attack Cripples Finnish IT Provider TietoEVRY

Akshaya Asokan • February 24, 2021

Finnish IT giant TietoEVRY announced Tuesday that ransomware crippled its infrastructure, forcing it to take down affected systems to contain the spread of the malware.