Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

On August 17th, 2023, Juniper Networks released out-of-band fixes for multiple vulnerabilities that could be chained together to achieve unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) on SRX and EX series devices. The vulnerabilities impact the J-Web component of Junos OS, the operating system running on the devices.

When it comes to analyzing your attack surface, you’re probably assessing vulnerabilities, monitoring your firewall, tracking email security, and managing your identity and access management. But there is one part of the attack surface that often gets overlooked, and for that reason threat actors are targeting it with increased frequency, causing it to jump to the top of the initial access methods list: the human element.

Today’s cybersecurity landscape can be challenging. Cyber attacks are rising every year (50% of organizations suffered a breach in 2022), the skills gap continues to widen, and hackers are taking advantage of new techniques and new criminal networks like ransomware-as-a-service to launch sophisticated attacks. For organizations, it’s become harder to stay secure. The internal security operations center (SOC) isn’t feasible for many.

On August 4, 2023, security researchers published a blog detailing a critical remote code (RCE) vulnerability in PaperCut NG/MF print management servers (CVE-2023-39143: CVSS 8.4). CVE-2023-39143 could allow unauthenticated threat actors to read, delete, and upload arbitrary files on compromised systems, which results in RCE. Additionally, this vulnerability does not require user interaction.

As organizations across the globe grapple with the growing issue of cyber attacks — 2023 cybercrime costs are expected to hit $8 trillion — organizations are realizing that more than technical tools are needed to stay ahead of mounting threats. Even one mistake by an untrained employee can have serious consequences and result in a data breach.

July was one of the hottest months in recent memory, and cybercriminals did their part to keep the heat cranked up for organizations around the globe. As organizations continued sorting through the wreckage of the massive MoveIT incident, new and ongoing threats continued to arrive from every corner. July’s notable breaches include attacks on healthcare providers, emergency services, government agencies, and free speech.

With the constant threat of cyber attacks against corporations of all sizes, last week the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced new cybersecurity disclosure rules to ensure greater transparency and accountability for publicly traded companies.