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Weak Password
Cyber Security Data Encryption Data Theft Email Attacks Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) NSA and CISA Phishing Attacks VPNS Weak Password

Top 10 Cybersecurity Misconfigurations by NSA and CISA

Protecting your organization's data is more important than ever in an era where digital dangers are pervasive and cyberattacks are increasing in frequency and sophistication. Recognizing the pressing need for heightened cybersecurity, the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have joined forces to release a comprehensive list of the 'Top 10 Cybersecurity Misconfigurations.' As identified by the two agencies, these misconfigurations represent common vulnerabilities that malicious actors often exploit to infiltrate systems, steal data, or disrupt operations.

  • Weak Passwords: Passwords serve as the first line of defense against unauthorized access. Weak or easily guessable passwords are a major vulnerability.
  • Inadequate Access Controls: Failing to implement proper access controls can lead to unauthorized individuals gaining access to sensitive information.
  • Outdated Software and Patch Management: Neglecting software updates and patches can leave known vulnerabilities unaddressed, making systems susceptible to exploitation.
  • Misconfigured Cloud Storage: In the age of cloud computing, misconfigured cloud storage solutions can inadvertently expose sensitive data to the public internet.
  • Improperly Configured VPNs: Virtual Private Networks are vital for secure remote access. Misconfigurations can lead to unauthorized access or data leaks.
  • Lack of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Relying solely on passwords is no longer sufficient. Implementing MFA adds an extra layer of security.
  • Neglecting Security Event Monitoring: Without proper monitoring, suspicious activities may go unnoticed, allowing potential threats to escalate.
  • Inadequate Email Security: Email remains a common vector for cyber attacks. Misconfigurations in email security settings can lead to phishing attacks and malware infections.
  • Insufficient Data Backups: Failing to regularly backup critical data can result in significant data loss during a cyber incident.
  • Unencrypted Data Transmission: Failing to encrypt data in transit can expose it to interception by malicious actors.
Organizations should take a proactive approach to cybersecurity in order to reduce these risks. This entails carrying out frequent security audits, putting in place strict access controls, and keeping up with the most recent cybersecurity risks and best practices.

Programs for employee awareness and training are also essential. An organization's overall security posture can be significantly improved by training personnel on the value of using strong passwords, spotting phishing attempts, and reporting suspicious activity.

Misconfigured cybersecurity poses a serious risk in today's digital environment. Organizations may strengthen their defenses against cyber threats and protect their digital assets by resolving the top 10 misconfigurations identified by the NSA and CISA. Keep in mind that the best kind of defense in the world of cybersecurity is frequently prevention.

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Web Servers
CERT-In Government of India IP Address Nord Security Privacy VPNS Web Servers

Will VPN Providers and the Indian Government Clash Over New Rules on User Data Collection?


The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which administers CERT-in, has mandated all VPN providers and cryptocurrency exchanges save user records for five years. Some of the most well-known VPN providers, such as NordVPN and ExpressVPN, claim to collect only the most basic information about their customers and to provide ways for them to stay relatively anonymous by accepting Bitcoin payments. 

VPNs reroute users' internet connections through a separate network; this can be done for a variety of reasons, such as connecting to a workplace network that is not available from the general internet or accessing prohibited websites by using servers in other nations. 

Another characteristic of VPNs several VPN companies like Nord promote as a selling factor is privacy. They frequently claim to keep no logs; Nord's no-logs policy has been examined by PriceWaterhouseCoopers regularly. However, the IT Ministry's ruling would force the corporation to deviate from such a guideline for servers in India.

What sort of data does the government expect firms to preserve? 
  • Names of subscribers/customers who have hired the services have been verified.
  • Hire period, including dates.
  • IP addresses assigned to/used by members.
  • At the moment of registration/onboarding, the email address, IP address, and time stamp were utilized. 
  • Why are users hiring services? 
  • Validated contact information and addresses.
  • Subscriber/customer ownership patterns when hiring services.

Official orders from CERT-In, the government agency in charge of investigating and archiving national cybersecurity incidents, have generated controversy. It was announced in a press release for all "Data Centres, Virtual Private Server (VPS) providers, Cloud Service providers, and Virtual Private Network Service (VPN Service) providers" would be bound to maintain a variety of user data for at least five years after the service was canceled or discontinued. 

VPN industry's comment on user data?

ExpressVPN stated, that their apps and VPN servers have been meticulously designed to completely erase sensitive data. As a result, ExpressVPN will never be forced to give non-existent client data.

"Our team is currently analyzing the latest Indian government decree to determine the best course of action. Because the law will not take effect for at least two months, we are continuing to work as usual. We are committed to protecting our clients' privacy, thus if no other options exist, we may withdraw our servers from India," Patricija Cerniauskaite, a spokesman for NordVPN stated.

If NordVPN leaves India, would you still be able to use it?

Users will most likely be able to connect to NordVPN's servers in other countries even if the company decides to leave India. According to reports, NordVPN has 28 servers in India which users in India and other countries can connect to. Surprisingly, NordVPN's Indian servers provide access to websites that are normally restricted in India.

India enters an unfortunate list of other large countries where Nord and other VPN providers have either pulled servers or never had a presence: Russia, where Nord and other VPN providers pulled servers just after the country ordered VPN firms to provide backdoor access to government on demand in 2019; and China, where VPN providers are subject to stringent controls. 

The Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital rights advocacy group, claimed in a comprehensive statement released Thursday afternoon, the requirements were "extreme" and would impair VPN users' "individual liberty and privacy."
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VPNS
Anonymous Email Russia Telegram Ukraine Ukraine Websites VPNS

Anonymous Rises Again Amid Russia Ukraine War

 

Anonymous, the international hacktivists collective has surfaced again, this time, the group claims to have hacked RoskoAmnadzor (known as Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media), a federal Russian agency. Anonymous has also claimed that it stole more than 360,000 files. You have mostly read about Russian banning VPNs, Telegram, or email services, however, there's a particular agency that bans these services. 

It's called Roskomnadzor, a major federal executive agency that is responsible for handling, managing, and censoring Russian media. "Anonymous also targeted and hacked misconfigured/exposed Cloud databases of Russian organizations. Tho shocking aspect of the attack was the fact that Anonymous and its affiliate hackers hacked 90% of Russian Cloud databases and left anti-war and pro Ukrainian messages," Hackread reports. 

Details about the attack 

The size of the leaked data is 820 GB, most of these database files in the database related to Roskomnadzor's data are linked to the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia's largest provinces. The full dataset is now available on the official website of Distributed Denial of Secrets (aka DDoSecrets), a non for profit whistleblower organization. However, it should be noted that initially started as an Anonymous affiliate shared Roskomnadzor's data with DDoSecrets and the agency itself is not responsible for the attack. Besides this, the first announcement of the data leak came from a journalist and co-founder of DDoSecrets Emma Best in March 2022. 

YourAnonNews, a famous representative of the Anonymous collective also tweeted about the attack. Anonymous has openly sided with Ukraine over the ongoing war with Russia, the Russian government has restricted all important sources of information, especially news and media outlets, and Roskomnadzor was told to block Facebook, Twitter, and other online platforms. 

Hackread reports, "While Twitter launched its Tor onion service, authorities in Russia have also amended the Criminal Code to arrest anyone who posts information that contradicts the government’s stance. Nevertheless, since Roskomnadzor is a major government agency responsible for implementing government orders Anonymous believes the Russian public must have access to information about what is going on within Roskomnadzor."
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WordPress
Acunetix vulnerability Cyber Attacks Cyber flaws FBI Iranian hackers Ransomware Threat SQL VPNS WordPress

FBI Issued a Warning to U.S Firms Concerning Iranian Hackers

 

The FBI issues a warning concerning Iranian hackers, posing as radical right organization Proud Boys during the 2020 presidential election, have now broadened operations, launching cyberattacks against a variety of industry divisions and spreading propaganda hostile to Saudi Arabia. 

"Over time, as Iranian operators have evolved both the strategic priorities and tradecraft, the hackers have matured into more proficient malicious attackers being capable of performing a whole spectrum of operations," read a Microsoft report.

Ransomware works by encrypting a device's data and making it inaccessible until the hacker receives a ransom payment. 

In a recent alert, the FBI stated, in addition to its election-related operation, the Emennet malicious attacker has been engaged in "conventional cyber exploitation activity," targeting industries such as news, transportation, tourism, oil and petrochemicals, telecoms, and financial services. It has been using VPNs to launch attacks on websites operated by certain software applications, such as WordPress, which cybercriminals can exploit to launch hacks in countries other than the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. 

The hackers employed multiple free source and commercial tools in activities, including SQLmap, Acunetix, DefenseCode, Wappalyzer, Dnsdumpster, Netsparker, wpscan, and Shodan, to mask location. The threat actor picked possible victims during the discovery phase of the hacking operations by browsing the web for prominent corporations representing various sectors. For initial access, the hackers would try to locate flaws in the program. 

"In certain cases, the goal may have been to target a large assortment of networks/websites inside a specific sector rather than a specific target company. Emennet would also attempt to discover hosting/shared hosting services in other scenarios," according to the FBI. 

Users must keep personal anti-virus and anti-malware products up to date, patch obsolete software, and make use of reliable web hosting companies, according to the authorities. In any case, Iran's state-sponsored hacker organizations aren't the only ones who have exploited the BIG-IP flaw.
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VPNS
Apps Cring Cyber Crime Ransomware Sophos VPNS

Cring Ransomware Attacks Industrial Organisations Using Outdated VPNs and Apps

 

The Cring ransomware group is constantly making a name by attacking outdated Coldfusion servers and VPNs after surfacing earlier in 2021. According to experts, what makes cring different is, as of now, it appears in specific targeting of outdated vulnerabilities in their campaigns. In an earlier incident, Cring threat actors abused a two year old Fortigate VPN vulnerability exploit "end-of-life" or different incompatible devices, exposed to the web in the wild. Meanwhile Cring has threat actors using Mimikatz on devices to get credentials, and there's also proof that native windows process work blending in other authorotized activities. 

ZDNet reports "positive Technologies head of malware detection Alexey Vishnyakov added that the group gets its primary consolidation through the exploitation of 1-day vulnerabilities in services at the perimeter of the organization like web servers, VPN solutions and more, either through buying access from intermediaries on shadow forums or other methods." It can often lead to more complex problems for network hunters and cybersecurity agents to find anything suspicious by the time it's already too late. 

The current and earlier campaigns have shown continuous implementation and exploit of Cobalt Strike beacons used by several threat actors, mostly using it for post-exploit phase that is easier for hackers to operate. Sophos did a research in September emphasizing one particular case where Cring threat actors exploited an 11 year old Adobe Coldfusion 9 installation 9 to take remote command over Coldfusion server. 

Sophos managed to link the group using Cring ransomware to threat actors in Belarus and Ukraine, these hackers used automated tools to hack into unnamed company servers in the service sector. "In the incident we researched, the target was a services company, and all it took to break in was one internet-facing machine running old, out-of-date and unpatched software. The surprising thing is that this server was in active daily use. Often the most vulnerable devices are inactive or ghost machines, either forgotten about or overlooked when it comes to patching and upgrades," said Andrew Brandt, chief researcher at Sophos.
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VPNS
Google Play Protect Google Play Store Mobile Security VPNS

Criticism against Google Play Store on the Rise about Malware-Laced Apps




Google Play Store has come in for a serious criticism as of late, with various alerts about malware-laced apps which have frequently been on the store for quite a long time, or even years, and which have been installed by a huge number of users.

This most recent cautioning concerns four VPNs and two selfie apps, with in excess of 500 million installs between them, all of which contain harmful adware and which look for hazardous system permissions that can exact serious harm.

Regardless of significant efforts to clean house the issue stays pervasive and users stay in danger.

Google Play Protect is therefore one storefront intended to make preparations against application vulnerabilities and, in 2018, Google “detected and removed malicious developers faster, and stopped more malicious apps from entering the Google Play Store than ever before. The number of rejected app submissions increased by more than 55%, and we increased app suspensions by more than 66%."
However, once more the warnings still remain that dangerous applications are as yet accessible for install on Google's official store.

First was a notice from security researcher Andy Michael around four Android VPNs that are 'bombarding devices' with false ads—creating income for their operators to the detriment of the organizations setting the advertisements.

Second, was a notice from security researchers at Wandera that two camera filter apps with more than 1.5 million installs between them have been tainting devices with adware.

In any case Google's Android (and Apple's iOS) is making it progressively simple for users to track permissions granted and application misuse now and every user has been informed to take advantage of every one of the protections set up, clicking with caution and keeping their smartphones protected from the would-be-intruders to every extent they can.

This is all in light of the fact that the clever malware attacks still exist out there—and they can be very difficult to detect.

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