The FBI, CISA, and NSA issued a joint cybersecurity advisory about multiple APT groups that comprised a defense organization and exfiltrated sensitive data over a significant period.
Cyber Security
Cyber criminals, state-sponsored hackers and even the occasional disgruntled employee are constantly looking to gain unauthorized access for a variety of purposes: theft of money, cyber espionage, personal information for sale or for use in scams, and damage to critical infrastructure for just a few of the most common.
So how does an organization mitigate an entire world full of continual cyber attacks? Just as buildings have a number of necessary elements of physical security: access control, cameras, alarms and so on; there are similar key elements of cyber security that are absolutely vital for just about any modern business.
It starts with identifying and closing the most common doors that attackers use. For example, phishing attacks on employees are far and away the most common initial point of entry. The breach of even a low-level employee account can quickly turn into an escalation in access privileges and the ability to reach sensitive information. This is also true of smart devices, which are generally more poorly secured than computers and phones.
A joint advisory detailing LockBit ransomware’s tactics and mitigations disclosed that the cybercrime gang extorted $91 million from US companies since 2020 after 1,700 attacks.
Threat actors exploited Log4Shell vulnerability on unpatched VMware servers to gain access, move laterally, deploy malware, and exfiltrate sensitive information.
Microsoft says state-sponsored Chinese hackers exploited four Microsoft Exchange mail server zero-day vulnerabilities. CISA warned of potential widespread exploitation.
Recent guidance establishes best practices for development of coordinated vulnerability disclosure (CVD) programs. This comes as both public and private organizations are grappling with the prospect of near-term "machine speed" discovery of vulnerabilities by attackers wielding AI tools, and looking at potential major overhauls to their remediation and reporting processes.
CISA released its customized Log4Shell scanning solution and a list of other third-party scanners. However, all the Log4j scanners tested by Rezilion failed to detect all file formats.
CISA and the "Five Eyes" national intelligence agencies have issued their annual advisory on the top exploited vulnerabilities for the prior year, and its findings bolster some other recent reports that a successful attack is becoming increasingly likely to be the result of a zero-day.
CISA published an insight document for critical infrastructure organizations to prepare for the transition to new post-quantum cryptography standards that NIST will announce soon.
Ransomware attacks and cloud security are two of the most persistent cyber defense issues today. CISA is taking a major step in expanding public-private partnerships with a new initiative.
The reduction in CISA’s budget and workforce comes at a time when cyber threats are increasing in volume and sophistication. Private sector teams and state and local agencies must now take the lead in defending their assets.









