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Date: 03/07/2023
Fast food vendor Chick-fil-A announced in January 2023 that it was investigating suspicious activity related to customer accounts after some customers began posting on social media about fraudulent charges on their accounts. On March 2, 2023, in filings with multiple state attorneys general, the company confirmed that more than 71,000 customer accounts had been compromised.
Some customers impacted by this breach had money taken out of their bank accounts to replenish compromised Chick-fil-A accounts so that more fraudulent orders could be placed. It is still unclear whether attackers had access to payment card information.
As an individual, exercise caution when signing up for rewards programs or merchant applications. The convenience of mobile app ordering with the ability to replenish your account with a bank account or credit card number can become a major headache if your account gets compromised.
If you’re reading this as a corporate leader in any capacity, take note that Chick-fil-A did not announce it was investigating suspicious activity until after their social media feeds were filled with posts from victimized customers. This begs the question of whether the company’s security team had detected anything before customer complaints started arriving. Use this story as an example of why an effective information security program is critical to any business in today’s environment.
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On March 1, 2023, LastPass shared findings from its months-long breach investigation.
As long as it’s implemented correctly, the “Zero-Knowledge” approach advertised by LastPass, in which only users (and not LastPass) have access to master passwords, should keep items stored in customer vaults secure. Because LastPass has disclosed that encrypted customer vault data has been exposed,
LastPass users with weak master passwords may be at risk of having their vault decrypted. Leaked customer data includes phone numbers used for Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and MFA seed values. For reasons inexplicable to this author, apparently, LastPass does not encrypt URL data for customers, but only passwords and secure notes. Exposure of URLs and phone numbers can lead to future attacks against LastPass customers.The exposure of MFA seed values can allow attackers to defeat MFA, so ensure that you read the recommended actions below.
If you are a LastPass user and don’t have MFA enabled, enable it immediately. Consider using FIDO2 keys for MFA, especially for accounts with access to sensitive passwords. Take action according to the LastPass security bulletins in the links below. Pay close attention to the procedures for regenerating MFA Shared secrets.
Sources
https://support.lastpass.com/help/security-bulletin-recommended-actions-for-business-administrators
On February 7, 2023, OpenSSL released fixes for “one high and seven moderate severity fixes.”
The ubiquity of OpenSSL in operating systems and applications makes any significant OpenSSL vulnerability worth noting. Perhaps the most significant CVE, 2022-4203, was caused by a buffer overrun which, according to OpenSSL, could lead to “disclosure of private memory contents (such as private keys, or sensitive plaintext).” Because this buffer overrun occurs during certificate verification, exploitation will largely be limited to clients, not servers. OpenSSL also reports that they do not know of a working exploit for this vulnerability.
Ensure that operating systems are patched in a timely manner, and if you develop applications that utilize OpenSSL, ensure that OpenSSL libraries are up to date, according to the OpenSSL advisory in the link below.
Sources
Researchers at Sophos published a report on February 6, 2023, describing the spread of Qakbot malware by sending .one files from OneNote. The report describes spam campaigns whereby the malware injects malicious documents as attachments into email conversations on compromised hosts or sends malicious links in an impersonal spam message. The spam campaigns began on January 31, 2023.
Indicators:
The malicious attachments analyzed by Sophos were all named “ ApplicationReject_#####(Jan31).one or ComplaintCopy_#####(Feb01).one (where the ##### was a random, five-digit number)”. Emails from the spam campaigns all used the recipient’s last name in the subject line.
Qakbot infection allows attackers to control the infected host. It has been known to be used by several major ransomware groups.
Search email systems for the indicators referenced above, and consider including this information in end-user security training efforts.
Sources
https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2023/02/06/qakbot-onenote-attacks/
A spear-phishing campaign targeting the hospitality industry has been recently observed by Trend Micro researchers. The campaign focuses on hotel staff and sends phishing emails about booking reservations, assistance requests, and website help. Most of these emails contain links to Dropbox directories that harbor malware, with the links often shortened through Bitly to avoid detection.
The malware in the Dropbox directories is designed to download and install the RedLine information-stealing malware variant. RedLine can collect data from browsers, VPN applications, and specific installed applications such as Discord and Slack. It can also be used as a dropper to install additional malware strains.
To protect against spear-phishing campaigns like this, organizations should take a two-pronged security approach. First, having a well-configured email security tool to block out most phishing emails is crucial in reducing
the likelihood of phishing attacks. Second, organizations should conduct regular security awareness training to educate employees on how to identify and delete potentially malicious emails. Internal phishing campaigns can also be a valuable tool for training team members and exposing them to various phishing tactics.
Sources
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Ho Chin is Chief Financial Officer at GreyCastle Security. In this role, Ho leads Finance, HR, IT and Professional Development. As part of the executive leadership team, Ho works to establish the company’s overall strategy and ensure proper execution of the supporting initiatives pertaining to the above areas of responsibility.
Prior to joining GreyCastle Security, Ho led finance and administrative functions at multiple private equity and venture-backed portfolio companies across multiple industries. Ho holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University in Centre County, Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dan Kalil is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Board Chairman at GreyCastle Security. In this role, Dan provides vision, leadership and strategies that drive GreyCastle Security’s position as an industry leader. With an emphasis on customer success, Dan’s profitable growth model leverages a customer-centric business approach that balances employee wellbeing and social responsibility.
Prior to becoming CEO, Dan served as the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, during which he supported multiple acquisitions and helped the organization achieve substantial sales growth. In addition to serving as CEO at GreyCastle Security, Dan continues to hold the position of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Assured information Security (AIS) in Rome, New York, a company he co-founded in 2001.
Over the course of the last 22 years, Dan has been committed to advancing the state of cybersecurity and has played an instrumental role in the identification and development of critical, next-generation cyber capabilities. He has held positions in almost every facet of cybersecurity, beginning as a computer forensic examiner and progressing through the management and executive leadership ranks. In addition to co-founding AIS, Dan has facilitated multiple cybersecurity startups, raised investment capital and has served in various lead and support roles toward the acquisition of five companies in the last eight years.
Dan has a bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity and a master’s degree in Cybersecurity from Utica College in Utica, New York.
Michael Stamas is an entrepreneur, board member, Vice President and a founder of GreyCastle Security. With more than two decades of experience in the technology sector, Mike pairs his management and business development skills with a deep understanding of cybersecurity. Mike brings a unique brand of risk-based advising to GreyCastle clients and prospects.
Mike holds certifications in numerous security and technology related areas, including the Department of Homeland Security and other security technologies like Symantec, Cisco and Microsoft.
Mike plays an active role in his community and serves as a board member and Vice President of InfraGard Albany as well as an advisory board position with the Capital Region YMCA.
Mike has been recognized for his numerous achievements through various honors including the Albany Business Review’s prestigious 40 Under 40 award.
Dan Maynard serves as GreyCastle Security’s Chief Operating Officer, where he currently leads Sales, Marketing and Legal.
Dan has enjoyed a 30+ year career in the Information Technology and Telecommunications industry, during which time he has held various leadership positions for organizations such as Rochester Tel/RCI, Citizens Communications (Frontier), PAETEC Communications, IntegraOptics, tw telecom/Level3 and Centurylink.
In addition to various voice and data technology platforms, he possesses a strong background in leadership development, sales and marketing leadership, transformational leadership and strategic planning. Dan has a thirst for knowledge and as a committed lifelong learner, he encourages and supports professional development initiatives for his teams and continues his involvement with Vistage International.
Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he was selected as a member of their Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
When not at work, Dan enjoys traveling, golfing, attending Utica Comets hockey games and relaxing in the Adirondacks on beautiful Canada Lake with family and friends.
Dan Didier is the Vice President of Solutions and board member at GreyCastle Security.
Dan has been a cybersecurity practitioner for more than 20 years and uses his knowledge and experience to develop cybersecurity solutions that ensure readiness and preparedness.
Dan received his bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications from SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica, New York, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a master’s degree in Information Assurance from Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.
Our Computer Incident Response Teams (CIRTs) have responded to hundreds of breaches, intrusions, malware infections, thefts, employee investigations, fraud cases and other incidents. Our highly-certified experts have extensive experience in command, coordination and correction of incidents in nearly every industry throughout North America, from local businesses to Fortune 500 international conglomerates.
800-403-8350Francesca LoPorto-Brandow is Director of Culture at GreyCastle Security. In this role, Francesca leads all social responsibility efforts and partnerships and develops effective strategies that promote organizational-wide behaviors and attitudes consistent with a culture of safety, inclusion, teamwork, motivation and high-performance.
Prior to this role, Francesca was Director of People & Culture at GreyCastle and with her leadership, the company’s culture has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as a Nationally recognized Best Workplace, Albany Business Review Best Places to Work and Albany Times Union Top Workplaces.
Before joining GreyCastle Security, Francesca worked as an OD consultant and focused on strategic culture change at The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc. for more than six years. There, she facilitated client education sessions, coached leaders and teams, developed and executed consulting interventions and served as strategy project leader on various client engagements. Her work has taken her into Fortune 100 companies and across borders including Panama, Singapore and beyond.
Francesca is a Lean Six Sigma–certified Green Belt, a proud YWCA-GCR board member and in 2013, she coordinated and emceed the inaugural TEDx Troy—a livestream of TEDCity 2.0. Since 2012, she has coordinated and emceed the Troy 100 Forum, a biannual forum for government, religious and community leaders to discuss issues vital to the future of Troy, New York.
Bilingual in English and Italian, Francesca holds a bachelor’s degree in Management and Technology from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management & Technology. She was awarded Cybersecurity Recruiter of the year North America in 2017 by the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards.
Jamie Aiello is Senior Vice President of Services and Product Management at GreyCastle Security. In this position, Jamie is responsible for leading a high performing and well-balanced team that is ultimately responsible for the identification, selection, execution and successful performance of our company’s diverse portfolio of cybersecurity offerings.
Prior to joining GreyCastle Security, Jamie has held leadership positions with Annese and Associates, ConvergeOne and BlueSky IT Partners with a focus on delivering cost effective information technology solutions for companies across multiple verticals.
Jamie holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, a master’s degree in Business Administration from Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina and a master’s degree in Computer Information Systems from University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona.
