Cyber Defense Advisors

Year: 2024

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  • September 27, 2024

How to Plan and Prepare for Penetration Testing

As security technology and threat awareness among organizations improves so do the adversaries who are adopting and relying on new techniques to maximize speed and impact while evading detection. Ransomware and malware continue to be the method of choice by big game hunting (BGH) cyber criminals, and the increased use of hands-on or “interactive intrusion” […]

Cyber News
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  • September 27, 2024

Microsoft Identifies Storm-0501 as Major Threat in Hybrid Cloud Ransomware Attacks

The threat actor known as Storm-0501 has targeted government, manufacturing, transportation, and law enforcement sectors in the U.S. to stage ransomware attacks. The multi-stage attack campaign is designed to compromise hybrid cloud environments and perform lateral movement from on-premises to cloud environment, ultimately resulting in data exfiltration, credential theft, tampering, persistent backdoor access, and ransomware […]

Cyber News
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  • September 27, 2024

NIST Recommends Some Common-Sense Password Rules

NIST’s second draft of its “SP 800-63-4“—its digital identify guidelines—finally contains some really good rules about passwords: The following requirements apply to passwords: lVerifiers and CSPs SHALL require passwords to be a minimum of eight characters in length and SHOULD require passwords to be a minimum of 15 characters in length. Verifiers and CSPs SHOULD […]

Cyber News
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  • September 27, 2024

Cybersecurity Certifications: The Gateway to Career Advancement

In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, cybersecurity has become a cornerstone of organizational resilience. As cyber threats grow increasingly sophisticated, the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals has never been higher. Whether you’re a seasoned cyber professional or just starting your journey, signing up for the GIAC Newsletter ensures you’re always informed and equipped for the evolving […]

Cyber News
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  • September 27, 2024

New HTML Smuggling Campaign Delivers DCRat Malware to Russian-Speaking Users

Russian-speaking users have been targeted as part of a new campaign distributing a commodity trojan called DCRat (aka DarkCrystal RAT) by means of a technique known as HTML smuggling. The development marks the first time the malware has been deployed using this method, a departure from previously observed delivery vectors such as compromised or fake […]

Cyber News
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  • September 27, 2024

U.S. Sanctions Two Crypto Exchanges for Facilitating Cybercrime and Money Laundering

The U.S. government on Thursday sanctioned two cryptocurrency exchanges and unsealed an indictment against a Russian national for his alleged involvement in the operation of several money laundering services that were offered to cybercriminals. The virtual currency exchanges, Cryptex and PM2BTC, have been alleged to facilitate the laundering of cryptocurrencies possibly obtained through cybercrime. The […]

Cyber News
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  • September 27, 2024

Critical NVIDIA Container Toolkit Vulnerability Could Grant Full Host Access to Attackers

A critical security flaw has been disclosed in the NVIDIA Container Toolkit that, if successfully exploited, could allow threat actors to break out of the confines of a container and gain full access to the underlying host. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-0132, carries a CVSS score of 9.0 out of a maximum of 10.0. It […]

Cyber News
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  • September 26, 2024

Hackers Could Have Remotely Controlled Kia Cars Using Only License Plates

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a set of now patched vulnerabilities in Kia vehicles that, if successfully exploited, could have allowed remote control over key functions simply by using only a license plate. “These attacks could be executed remotely on any hardware-equipped vehicle in about 30 seconds, regardless of whether it had an active Kia Connect […]

Cyber News
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  • September 26, 2024

U.S. Indicts 2 Top Russian Hackers, Sanctions Cryptex

The United States today unveiled sanctions and indictments against the alleged proprietor of Joker’s Stash, a now-defunct cybercrime store that peddled tens of millions of payment cards stolen in some of the largest data breaches of the past decade. The government also indicted and sanctioned a top Russian cybercriminal known as Taleon, whose cryptocurrency exchange […]

Cyber News