63180399
submission
wiredmikey writes:
A team of researchers at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering say they have found a way to help organizations better protect even the weakest of passwords and make them almost impossible to crack.
Using an open-source password protection scheme dubbed PolyPasswordHasher, password information is never stored directly in a database; the information is used to encode a cryptographic "store" that cannot be validated unless a certain number of passwords are entered. In other words, an attacker would need to crack multiple passwords simultaneously in order to verify any single hash.
"PolyPasswordHasher divides secret information—in this case, password hashes—into shares, and just like a puzzle that is meaningless unless the pieces are assembled, no individual password can be validated unless a certain number of them are known and entered," explained Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Justin Cappos. "Even if the password file and all other information on disk were stolen, an attacker could not verify a single correct password without guessing a large number of them correctly."
Cappos estimated an attacker using a modern laptop could crack at least three six-character passwords in an hour if the computer was checking roughly a billion password hashes per second. With PolyPasswordHasher, the attacker would be required to compute these three passwords at the same time. The researchers estimate that in practice, all 900 million computers on Earth would need to work nonstop for longer than 13 billion years to compute the three passwords at the same time. According to the researchers' paper, the method is conceptually similar to encrypting the passwords with a key that is only recoverable when a threshold of passwords are known.
62132557
submission
wiredmikey writes:
China-based threat actors are using sophisticated malware installed on handheld scanners to target shipping and logistics organizations from all over the world. According to security firm TrapX, the attack begins at a Chinese company that provides hardware and software for handheld scanners used by shipping and logistics firms worldwide to inventory the items they're handling. The Chinese manufacturer installs the malware on the Windows XP operating systems embedded in the devices.
Experts determined that the threat group targets servers storing corporate financial data, customer data and other sensitive information. A second payload downloaded by the malware then establishes a sophisticated C&C on the company's finance servers, enabling the attackers to exfiltrate the information they're after. The malware used by the Zombie Zero attackers is highly sophisticated and polymorphic, the researchers said. In one attack they observed, 16 of the 48 scanners used by the victim were infected, and the malware managed to penetrate the targeted organization's defenses and gain access to servers on the corporate network.
Interestingly, the C&C is located at the Lanxiang Vocational School, an educational institution said to be involved in the Operation Aurora attacks against Google, and which is physically located only one block away from the scanner manufacturer, TrapX said.
62071109
submission
wiredmikey writes:
Whoops! The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has mistakenly released hundreds of documents, some of which contain sensitive information and potentially vulnerable critical infrastructure points across the United States, in response to a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request about a cyber-security attack.
The Operation Aurora attack was publicized in 2010 and impacted Google and a number of other high-profile companies. However, DHS responded to the request by releasing more than 800 pages of documents related to the 'Aurora' experiment conducted several years ago at the Idaho National Laboratory, where researchers demonstrated a way to damage a generator via a cyber-attack.
Of the documents released by the DHS, none were related to the Operation Aurora cyber attack as requested. Many of the 840 pages are comprised of old weekly reports from the DHS' Control System Security Program (CSSP) from 2007. Other pages that were released included information about possible examples of facilities that could be vulnerable to attack, such as water plants and gas pipelines.
When contacted by SecurityWeek, the DHS declined to comment about the situation.
61807661
submission
wiredmikey writes:
Security researchers have found a way to disable the protection systems provided by the latest version of Microsoft's Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET), a software tool designed to prevent vulnerabilities from being exploited by using various mitigation technologies. Others have managed to bypass EMET in the past, but researchers from Offensive Security have focused on disarming EMET, rather than on bypassing mitigations, as this method gives an attacker the ability use generic shellcodes such as the ones generated by Metasploit.
The researchers managed to disarm EMET and get a shell after finding a global variable in the .data section of the EMET.dll file. Initially, they only managed to get a shell by executing the exploit with a debugger attached, due to EMET's EAF checks. However, they've succeeded in getting a shell outside the debugger after disarming EAF with a method described by security researcher Piotr Bania in January 2012. The researchers tested their findings on Windows 7, Internet Explorer 8 and EMET 4.1 update 1.
61784997
submission
wiredmikey writes:
Researchers with RSA have discovered a Boleto malware (Bolware) ring that compromised as many as 495,753 Boleto transactions during a two-year period. Though it is not clear whether the thieves successfully collected on all of the compromised transactions, the value of those transactions is estimated to be worth as much as $3.75 billion USD.
A Boleto is essentially a document that allows a customer to pay an exact amount to a merchant. Anyone who owns a bank account — whether a company or an individual — can issue a Boleto associated with their bank. The first signs of its existence appeared near the end of 2012 or early 2013, when it began to be reported in the local news media," according to the report (PDF). "The RSA Research Group analyzed version 17 of the malware, gathering data between March 2014 and June 2014. The main goal of Boleto malware is to infiltrate legitimate Boleto payments from individual consumers or companies and redirect those payments from victims to fraudster accounts."
61686631
submission
wiredmikey writes:
Symantec said on Monday that it has identified malware targeting industrial control systems which could sabotage electric grids, power generators and pipelines. Known as the "Dragonfly group" or 'Energetic Bear', the attackers are believed to have been in operation since at least 2011. Initially, its targets were in the defense and aviation industry in the United States and Canada. In early 2013, it shifted its focus to energy firms in the U.S. and Europe.
The attacks on the energy sector began with malware sent via phishing emails to targeted personnel. Symantec observed the spear phishing attempts hitting organizations in the form of PDF attachments between February 2013 and June 2013, mostly targeting the US and UK. They emails were disguised as messages about administration issues such as delivery problems or issues with an account.
Later on, the group added watering hole attacks into its repertoire by compromising websites likely to be visited by people working in the industry and redirecting them to sites hosting an exploit kit known as Lightsout. The Lightsout kit has been upgraded over time, and eventually became known as the Hello exploit kit.
The third phase of the campaign involved the Trojanizing of legitimate software bundles belonging to three different industrial control system (ICS) equipment manufacturers using malware detected as Backdoor.Oldrea (Havex), according to Symantec's report (PDF). "The Dragonfly group is technically adept and able to think strategically," the researchers noted. "Given the size of some of its targets, the group found a “soft underbelly” by compromising their suppliers, which are invariably smaller, less protected companies."
61597963
submission
wiredmikey writes:
Human Rights Watch on Friday demanded a clarification from Saudi Arabia over allegations from security researchers that the kingdom is infecting and monitoring dissidents' mobile phones with surveillance malware. The New York-based rights watchdog said surveillance software allegedly made by Italian firm Hacking Team mostly targeted individuals in Qatif district in Eastern Province, which has been the site of sporadic Shiite-led protests since February 2011.
"We have documented how Saudi authorities routinely crack down on online activists who have embraced social media to call out human rights abuses," said Cynthia Wong, HRW's senior Internet researcher. "It seems that authorities may now be hacking into mobile phones, turning digital tools into just another way for the government to intimidate and silence independent voices."
The accusations against the Saudi Government come days after researchers from Kaspersky Lab and Citizen Lab uncovered new details on advanced surveillance tools offered by HackingTeam, including never before seen implants for smartphones running on iOS and Android.
61270959
submission
wiredmikey writes:
Researchers at Dell SecureWorks have uncovered a massive Dogecoin mining operation using Synology Network Attached Storage (NAS) boxes.
The operation is believed to have netted a hacker more than $600,000 in the past two months. The situation came to light in February when users began reporting their Synology Network Attached Storage devices were performing poorly and had a high CPU usage. Eventually, an investigation revealed the situation was being caused by malware that had infected the systems.
In a comedic twist, the malware was stored in a folder named 'PWNED.' According to the researchers, a hacker took advantage of vulnerabilities in the DiskStation Manager (DSM), a custom Linux-based operating system for Synology NAS systems. The vulnerabilities allowed the attacker to breach the system and get administrative privileges.
61156069
submission
wiredmikey writes:
After saying earlier this week that it was investigating reports of a data breach related to payment cards used at its locations, P.F. Chang's China Bistro confirmed on Thursday that credit and debit card data has been stolen from some of its restaurants. What's interesting, and somewhat humorous, is that the company said that it has switched over to manual credit card imprinting systems for all of its restaurants located in the continental United States.
The popular restaurant chain said that on Tuesday, June 10, the United States Secret Services alerted the company about the incident. Admitting that it does not know the extent or current situation and impact of the attack, the company noted in a statement: “All P.F. Chang's China Bistro branded restaurants in the continental U.S. are using manual credit card imprinting devices to handle our credit and debit card transactions,” the company said. “This allows you to use your credit and debit cards safely.”
If it's not obvious, anyone who has visited a P.F. Chang’s and used a payment card in the last several months should monitor their accounts and report any suspected fraudulent activity to their card company.
61087261
submission
wiredmikey writes:
With the FIFA World Cup 2014 kicking off this week in Brazil, cybercriminals and scammers are working hard to take advantage of visitors to the World Cup in Brazil and those following the world soccer tournament online. In recent months, several security vendors have published advisories about the various scams, phishing and malware operations that target Internet users interested in the World Cup. While individuals from all over the world have been targeted, many of the malicious campaigns focus on Brazil and neighboring South American countries.
While news that cybercriminals are zoning in on a large global event is no surprise, the scale and tactics being used is quite wide in scope, ranging from malware distribution and phishing scams, to fraudulent ticket sales, spam and other promising yet fraudulent schemes.For those visiting Brazil to watch the games in person, the cyber threats also include rogue wireless access points, ATMs rigged with card skimmers and Point-of-Sale malware.
61052611
submission
wiredmikey writes:
Target Corp. announced on Tuesday that it has hired Brad Maiorino as senior vice president and chief information security officer (CISO). Maiorino will join the retailer on June 16 and will be responsible for the company's information security and technology risk strategy and report to CIO Bob DeRodes who was hired by the company in April.
Maiorino comes to Target from General Motors (GM) where he was the company’s CISO and information technology risk officer. Prior to GM, Maiorino was the chief information security officer at General Electric.
61046177
submission
wiredmikey writes:
A new banking Trojan being promoted in underground forums as an alternative to the popular and widely used Zeus Trojan has the potential to become a pervasive threat, experts have said.
Called Pandemiya, the new Trojan is similar to Zeus in that it allows cyber-criminals to steal form data, login credentials, and files from infected computers, according to RSA’s Fraud Action team. Much like Zeus, Pandemiya also has a modular design, making it quite easy for cyber-criminals to expand and add functionality, Uri Fleyder, cybercrime research lab manager at the RSA Research Group, told SecurityWeek. What sets Pandemiya apart from all other banking Trojans is the fact that it has been written from scratch without sharing any source code with Zeus, Fleyder said.
The developer behind Pandemiya—or a team of developers—spent "close to a year" developing this latest threat, which has more than 25,000 lines of original C code, according to a RSA Fraud Action blog post on Tuesday.
Pandemiya is currently available at prices ranging from $1,500 for the core application to $2,000 for the core application and additional plugins. This places Pandemiya solidly in the expensive category, considering that Zeus is available for mere hundreds of dollars, Fleyder said. The higher price tag would likely limit Pandemiya's spread and popularity as criminals will be deterred from paying so much for what is fairly standard set of capabilities, he said.
60910257
submission
wiredmikey writes:
Microsoft has released a new report that aims to show the technology industry and policymakers how technology, economic, and social policy decisions could influence cyberspace in the next 10 years.
In the report, “Cyberspace 2025: Today’s Decisions, Tomorrow’s Terrain”, Microsoft presented three future scenarios that are meant to show governments the relationship between cybersecurity and socio-economic conditions. The potential cyber trends outlined by Microsoft are based on the Cyber 2025 Model, an econometric model that builds on historical data of 80 countries from 1990 through 2012.
“Risks are not just from the commonly recognized sources — such as criminals, malware, or even state-sponsored cyberattacks; they can emerge from policies as well. Societal responses to immigration challenges, education and workforce needs, trade liberalization, as well as international cooperation to resolve cyberconflict, will shape the future of cyberspace for both developed and emerging economies,” Paul Nicholas, senior director at Microsoft Global Security Strategy and Diplomacy, noted in the report.
Earlier this year, a report released by the World Economic Forum during its famous annual meeting, outlined different scenarios for how things could look in 2020 based on the “conceivable value created from innovations in technology” that could be affected by global organizations’ ability to defend against cyber attacks.
60750853
submission
wiredmikey writes:
While most organizations have patched the Heartbleed bug in their OpenSSL installations, a security expert has uncovered new vectors for exploiting the vulnerability, which can impact enterprise wireless networks, Android devices, and other connected devices. Dubbed “Cupid,” the new attack method was recently presented by Portuguese security researcher Luis Grangeia, who debunked theories that Heartbleed could only be exploited over TCP connections, and after the TLS handshake.
Unlike the initial Heartbleed attack, which took place on TLS connections over TCP, the Cupid attack happens on TLS connections over the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), an authentication framework typically used in wireless networks and peer-to-peer connections.
The researcher has confirmed that default installations of wpa_supplicant, hostapd, and freeradius (RADIUS server implementation) can be exploited on Ubuntu if a vulnerable version of OpenSSL is utilized. Mobile devices running Android 4.1.0 and 4.1.1 also use wpa_supplicant to connect to wireless networks, so they’re also affected.
Everything that uses OpenSSL for EAP TLS is susceptible to Cupid attacks. While he hasn’t been able to confirm it, the expert believes iPhones, iPads, OS X, other RADIUS servers besides freeradius, VoIP phones, printers, and various commercial managed wireless solutions could be affected.
