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Date: 09/06/2023
A new campaign has been discovered involving the exploitation of Microsoft SQL servers to deploy a variant of ransomware named FreeWorld. The observed campaign involves brute-forcing exposed SQL database services to establish a foothold and launch additional attacks.
Attackers may deploy remote-access trojans and other tools to perform reconnaissance, lateral movement, and credential harvesting. Legitimate tools such as AnyDesk may also be used for backdoor access. Attackers may also disable active defenses by stopping services or making registry modifications. Even when SQL services are not exposed to the Internet, they may be targeted by an attacker who manages to compromise an internal endpoint and is looking to move laterally and deploy malware. Note that initial access methods may not be limited to SQL servers.
Microsoft SQL service should not be exposed to the Internet. Additionally, such servers should be segmented on the internal network so that communications with only the necessary system are permitted. It is also best practice to restrict the use of xp_cmdshell. For a defense-in-depth approach, systems should be monitored with Endpoint Detection & Response tools.
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Social engineering campaigns targeting Okta customers where attackers perform vishing attacks against service desk personnel. The goal of these calls is to convince service personnel to reset enrolled multifactor authentication methods for privileged users. Attackers also launched phishing attacks with realistic authentication portals to harvest credentials and multifactor authentication codes.
Once a privileged account is compromised, attackers are observed abusing those privileges to impersonate users within the organization. Attackers could also reset/modify multifactor authentication settings for any user. From there, attackers could potentially authenticate any application where access is Okta-federated. Note that not just Okta customers could be targeted by such attacks.
To defend against these attacks, Okta recommends configuring re-authentication at every sign-in, strengthening service desk verification processes to include MFA challenges or manager/supervisor approval, Limiting Okta Super Administrator roles, and using custom groups to enforce least privilege. Additionally, train users on the risks of phishing campaigns prompting for MFA codes, as GreyCastle Security has seen a recent uptick in such attacks.
Sources
https://sec.okta.com/articles/2023/08/cross-tenant-impersonation-prevention-and-detection
https://thehackernews.com/2023/09/okta-warns-of-social-engineering.html
On August 29, 2023, Vmware released patches for its Aria Operations for Networks offering. One flaw (CVE-2023-34039) is an authentication bypass bug, and the other is an arbitrary file-write bug (CVE-2023-20890), which can be leveraged to achieve remote code execution (RCE).
For organizations using VMware Aria, attackers chaining of this authentication bypass flaw with RCE capabilities can manipulate victim infrastructure to launch a multitude of attacks.
Read the VMware publication in the link below on these flaws, and ensure that VMware Aria is upgraded to a version that is not vulnerable.
Sources
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2023-0018.html
Microsoft posted a message in their “Windows Message Center” on September 1, 2023, announcing that “future Windows operating systems will have TLS versions 1.0 and 1.1 disabled by default. The announcement specifies that Windows versions starting with Windows 11 Insider Preview in September 2023 will ship with TLS 1.0 and 1.1 disabled by default.
The announcement references an article in Microsoft’s Windows IT Pro blog, which provides details on some applications that are “expected to be broken” by this change. The applications include SQL Server 2012, 2014, and 2016.
Plan accordingly and upgrade systems as needed. The three links below will assist administrators with planning.
Sources
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/release-health/windows-message-center#3153
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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.
