In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, software supply chain security has emerged as a critical concern for organizations worldwide. Among the countless security threats, ‘secret leaks’ stand out as a predominant issue, posing significant risks to the integrity and confidentiality of software systems. This blog post delves into the intricacies of secret leaks, exploring why they are a pervasive problem and what steps can be taken to mitigate this threat.

With tens of thousands of potential threats lurking in remote corners of the deep and dark web, organizations are increasingly at risk of being targeted by cyber attackers or having their sensitive information traded or leaked online. Deep and dark web monitoring enables businesses to safeguard their digital assets and accelerate visibility of online threats, protecting their brand and reputation.

As cyber threats continue to grow more sophisticated, the demand for dynamic, scalable security solutions has led to the increasing adoption of Security Operations Center as a Service (SOC as a Service, or SOCaaS). The SOC as a Service model offers a significantly more cost-effective alternative for organizations without the resources to establish full-scale, in-house security operations centers (SOCs).

The education sector proved to be a key target for threat actors in Q2 2024, particularly for ransomware groups. FOG ransomware was a significant threat to the sector this quarter, with clear seasonal cycles in incidents impacting educational institutions, possibly due to perceived reduction in IT staffing around the summer months or the belief that schools may be more likely to pay a ransom during peak periods.

In Q2 2024, the Kroll Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) Team observed an increase in activity around a new ransomware group named FOG. FOG was initially observed in May 2024, and since then has been heavily targeting higher educational institutions in the U.S. by exploiting compromised VPN credentials. Kroll's review of a recent FOG binary (1.exe) found no exfiltration or persistence mechanisms directly integrated.