Cyber Defense Advisors

Year: 2024

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  • February 20, 2024

New Malicious PyPI Packages Caught Using Covert Side-Loading Tactics

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered two malicious packages on the Python Package Index (PyPI) repository that were found leveraging a technique called DLL side-loading to circumvent detection by security software and run malicious code. The packages, named NP6HelperHttptest and NP6HelperHttper, were each downloaded 537 and 166 times, respectively, before they were taken down. “The latest discovery […]

Cyber News
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  • February 20, 2024

Microsoft Is Spying on Users of Its AI Tools

Microsoft announced that it caught Chinese, Russian, and Iranian hackers using its AI tools—presumably coding tools—to improve their hacking abilities. From their report: In collaboration with OpenAI, we are sharing threat intelligence showing detected state affiliated adversaries—tracked as Forest Blizzard, Emerald Sleet, Crimson Sandstorm, Charcoal Typhoon, and Salmon Typhoon—using LLMs to augment cyberoperations. The only […]

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  • February 20, 2024

New Report Reveals North Korean Hackers Targeting Defense Firms Worldwide

North Korean state-sponsored threat actors have been attributed to a cyber espionage campaign targeting the defense sector across the world. In a joint advisory published by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), the agencies said the goal of the attacks is to plunder advanced […]

Cyber News
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  • February 20, 2024

Learn How to Build an Incident Response Playbook Against Scattered Spider in Real-Time

In the tumultuous landscape of cybersecurity, the year 2023 left an indelible mark with the brazen exploits of the Scattered Spider threat group. Their attacks targeted the nerve centers of major financial and insurance institutions, culminating in what stands as one of the most impactful ransomware assaults in recent memory. When organizations have no response […]

Cyber News
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  • February 20, 2024

SaaS Compliance through the NIST Cybersecurity Framework

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework is one of the world’s most important guidelines for securing networks. It can be applied to any number of applications, including SaaS. One of the challenges facing those tasked with securing SaaS applications is the different settings found in each application. It makes it […]

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  • February 20, 2024

Critical Flaws Found in ConnectWise ScreenConnect Software – Patch Now

ConnectWise has released software updates to address two security flaws in its ScreenConnect remote desktop and access software, including a critical bug that could enable remote code execution on affected systems. The vulnerabilities are listed below – CVE-2024-1708 (CVSS score: 8.4) – Improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory aka “path traversal” CVE-2024-1709 […]

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  • February 20, 2024

WordPress Bricks Theme Under Active Attack: Critical Flaw Impacts 25,000+ Sites

A critical security flaw in the Bricks theme for WordPress is being actively exploited by threat actors to run arbitrary PHP code on susceptible installations. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2024-25600 (CVSS score: 9.8), enables unauthenticated attackers to achieve remote code execution. It impacts all versions of the Bricks up to and including 1.9.6. It has […]

Cyber News
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  • February 20, 2024

Iran and Hezbollah Hackers Launch Attacks to Influence Israel-Hamas Narrative

Hackers backed by Iran and Hezbollah staged cyber attacks designed to undercut public support for the Israel-Hamas war after October 2023. This includes destructive attacks against key Israeli organizations, hack-and-leak operations targeting entities in Israel and the U.S., phishing campaigns designed to steal intelligence, and information operations to turn public opinion against Israel. Iran accounted […]

Cyber News
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  • February 20, 2024

LockBit Ransomware’s Darknet Domains Seized in Global Law Enforcement Raid

Update: The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) has confirmed the takedown of LockBit infrastructure. Read here for more details. An international law enforcement operation has led to the seizure of multiple darknet domains operated by LockBit, one of the most prolific ransomware groups, marking the latest in a long list of digital takedowns. While the […]

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