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Date: 8/29/2022
GreyCastle Security’s incident response team has handled several incidents this summer involving some form of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) bypass. A review of recent media articles referencing MFA bypass suggests that such attacks are on the rise. Notably, a successful attack on Cisco Systems leveraged “MFA push notification exhaustion” to connect to Cisco’s VPN. Articles from Microsoft, Mandiant, and The Register describe “Attacker in The Middle” (AITM) scenarios in which sessions authenticated using MFA are hijacked and used for Business Email Compromise.
According to Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation Report for 2022, credential compromise is identified as the first link in 50% of security incidents. Credential compromises commonly lead to business email compromise and ultimately devastating ransomware attacks. As adoption of MFA increases, expect attackers to gain skill in bypassing this control.
Anti-phishing measures will assist in preventing credential compromise. Use MFA as a tool in the cybersecurity arsenal but understand that it is not foolproof. Usage of browser-based password managers can help users in detecting credential-phishing attempts. For example, if a user thinks they are logging into Office365 and their password is not automatically filled by their password manager (because the URL is not related to Office365), that should be a red flag that something is awry.
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On August 25, 2022, LastPass, a popular password manager, issued a press release indicating that some of the company’s source code was leaked due to a compromised developer account. Specific details about the leaked code are not yet available. LastPass has a history of transparency regarding security incidents; stakeholders can expect follow-up as incident responders learn more.
Because of LastPass’s zero-knowledge architecture, in which LastPass does not have access to user passwords or password vault content, there is currently little risk to LastPass users. Leaked source code, however, may lead to future zero-day exploitation. Therefore, impacted users must keep up to date on the latest LastPass threat intelligence. Generally speaking, the benefits outweigh the risk introduced by adopting synchronized, browser-based password managers. Applications, such as LastPass, combined with user awareness training, can help users increase password length and complexity and eliminate password reuse and storage on paper.
Keep an eye out for further information from LastPass regarding this incident, and act accordingly.
Review LastPass configurations to ensure that established controls meet your security requirements:
Sources
https://blog.lastpass.com/2022/08/notice-of-recent-security-incident/
https://support.lastpass.com/help/global-security-options
https://support.lastpass.com/help/additional-security-options
https://support.lastpass.com/help/does-lastpass-offer-audit-and-reporting
A new critical vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-36804 (CVSS score: 9.9), impacts all BitBucket Sever and Datacenter versions after 6.10.17. This vulnerability can be exploited by sending specially crafted HTTP requests that can result in command injection.
Attackers can potentially exploit this vulnerability with access to public repositories or an attacker with a user account. Successful exploitation will result in attackers executing malicious code on vulnerable systems, potentially leading to a lateral movement and a more impactful attack.
There is currently no evidence that this vulnerability is being exploited in the wild, but that may change quickly as attackers attempt to reverse engineer the released patches. Upgrading the software to the latest version is the primary mitigation. A temporary fix would be turning off global repositories so that attackers would require authentication before exploitation. Lastly, it is recommended that organizations perform external vulnerability assessments to identify vulnerabilities on public-facing systems and ensure that public access to unnecessary services and ports is removed.
Sources
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/atlassian-bitbucket-server-vulnerable-to-critical-rce-vulnerability/
https://thehackernews.com/2022/08/critical-vulnerability-discovered-in.html
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a warning about software running on Palo Alto firewalls (PAN-OS) being actively exploited. This vulnerability tracked as CVE-2022-0028, allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to carry out reflected and amplified Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks due to a misconfiguration with URL filtering policy.
Successful exploitation could result in attackers leveraging a vulnerable device to launch DoS attacks. In this scenario, the identity of the attacker would be obscured, and the vulnerable firewall device will show as the source of the attack. This vulnerability cannot be used to compromise the integrity, confidentially, or availability of vulnerable devices at the time of this writing.
Administrators are urged to apply the released patch as quickly as possible. PAN-OS versions vulnerable to attack, with patches available, include PAN-OS prior to 10.2.2-h2, PAN-OS prior to 10.1.6-h6, PAN-OS prior to 10.0.11-h1, PAN-OS prior to 9.1.14-h4, PAN-OS prior to 9.0.16-h3 and PAN-OS prior to 8.1.23-h1.
Sources
https://threatpost.com/firewall-bug-under-active-attack-cisa-warning/180467/
https://thehackernews.com/2022/08/cisa-warns-of-active-exploitation-of.html
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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.
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 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.
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.
