Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

The latest cyber claims report from Coalition, a digital risk insurance provider, finds a 12% increase in cyber insurance claims in the first half of 2023 over the second half of 2022, due to surging attack frequency and severity. No industry or company size is immune as the increase was seen across all organizations, however companies with $100 million in revenue saw the largest increase in number of claims (+20%), as well as staggering losses resulting from attacks (+72%).

Securonix is tracking a phishing campaign that’s targeting the Ukrainian military with malware-laden attachments posing as drone instruction manuals. The threat actor is using Microsoft help files (.chm) to deliver the malware.

I am a strong believer that understanding cybersecurity as part of an organization-wide process is of the utmost importance. Cybersecurity awareness professionals are critically aware that to improve the security posture of an organization, one must involve many stakeholders, e.g., management, HR, IT, legal and compliance. Higher education is making important strides in improving cybersecurity readiness, but much is yet to be done.

Deepfakes have emerged as a serious concern in the digital landscape, presenting a significant threat to truth and trust. While it can be fun to swap your face with the Mona Lisa, there are some significant concerns around how these can be used to deceive us. Let’s take a look at some of the methods used, and ways to spot red flags.

ZeroFox warns that phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) offerings are increasingly including features to bypass multi-factor authentication. “In 2023, ‘in-the-middle’ techniques are some of the most frequently-observed methods used to gain access to MFA-secured networks,” the researchers write. “They enable threat actors to intercept or bypass MFA protocols by stealing communications without the victim’s knowledge.

A new report uncovers the scope and sophistication found in just one cybercrime vendor’s business that has aided credential harvesting and impersonation attacks for the last 6 years. Normally when we talk about a Cybercrime-as-a-Service malware, toolset, or platform being behind a string of attacks, we rarely know anything more than the malicious tools that were used.

Security researchers at Check Point have discovered yet another attack that leverages legitimate web applications to host attacks in order to bypass security scanners. One of the easiest ways for a security solution to spot a phishing attack is to evaluate the webpage a malicious link takes the recipient to.

Recent findings in a SpyCloud report shows companies are starting to recognize and shift their priorities to defend against ransomware attacks, but the use of infostealer malware still has a high success rate for cybercriminals. According to SpyCloud's analysis, 76% of infections that preceded these ransomware events involved Raccoon infostealer malware.

The hospitality sector is seeing a new wave of phishing attacks. These new attacks are more plausible because they begin with compromised credentials and move to fraudulent emails sent from within a trusted network. The compromised systems are legitimate booking sites; the victims are the guests. Akamai, which has described the trend, outlines a three-step attack chain.

Researchers at Barracuda describe how attackers use legitimate email inbox rules to control compromised accounts and evade detection. “In order to create malicious email rules, the attackers need to have compromised a target account, for example, through a successful phishing email or by using stolen credentials seized in an earlier breach,” the researchers write.