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Date: 9/26/2022
The Chinese state-sponsored threat actor group APT41 has been seen conducting spear phishing campaigns specifically targeting supply chain and healthcare organizations. (“Spear Phishing” is an email or electronic communications scam targeted towards a specific individual, organization or business.) Since 2012, APT41 has been actively targeting these two domains, however, there has been a noticeable rise in activity from 2020 to present. APT41 uses a wide array of tactics to gain access to organizations, including spear-phishing campaigns, water hole attacks, and a mix of both public and private malware. Unlike most other threat actors today who deploy additional malware such as ransomware, APT41 primarily focuses on data exfiltration and espionage.
Groups like APT41 can hide in victim networks for extended periods of time due to their slow and stealthy actions. APT41 focuses on hiding evidence of its presence and ‘blending in’ with normal traffic. Therefore, groups like APT41 can exfiltrate massive amounts of corporate data and conduct thorough espionage campaigns.
Advanced threat actor groups such as APT41 still utilize well-known tactics to breach targeted networks. As previously discussed, this includes a heavy emphasis on social engineering via specially crafted spear-phishes. Organizations can defend themselves with up-to-date security awareness training to help prevent employees from falling victim to these attacks. Additionally, organizations should focus on proactive threat hunting to search for stealthy adversary groups such as APT41. Organizations can visit the MITRE ATT&CK framework to investigate the common tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of different adversary groups that might target them.
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According to BleepingComputer, American Airlines began investigating a potential data breach after receiving reports of suspicious emails from the company. The phishing emails were found to come from a compromised American Airlines employee.
The GreyCastle Security Incident Response team commonly sees phishing campaigns in which a compromised account is used to send credential-stealing phishing emails. Successful credential theft results in additional incidents of successful credential theft, in what can be described as self-propagating phishing campaigns.
While American Airlines reports small impact in this incident (1700 customers), the impact of these self-propagating phishing campaigns leads to all levels of cybercrime, from low-impact gift card scams to devastating ransomware attacks. Compromised email accounts are highly desired by cybercriminals, as they facilitate the abuse of trust relationships between the compromised user and all of that user’s contacts. Attackers often take the time to read email conversations, inject malicious messages into threads, and configure mailbox rules to redirect messages to seldom-used folders, (like the “RSS Subscriptions” folder in Microsoft email products), or just delete messages so victims are unaware.
Train users to never trust an email that seems suspicious, even if it’s from a trusted contact. Also train users to always stop and think before entering credentials into a website. A simple phone call or other means of verification can save a great deal of hardship.
Sources
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/american-airlines-learned-it-was-breached-from-phishing-targets/
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/american-airlines-discloses-data-breach-after-employee-email-compromise/
Sophos has released a patch after discovering that threat actors were exploiting a critical zero-day vulnerability. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2022-3236 (CVSS score: 9.8) and impacts Sophos Firewall version 19.0MR1 (19.0.1) and older. CVE-2022-3236 is a code injection vulnerability in the User Portal and administrative interfaces that could result in remote code execution.
CVE-2022-3236 has only been used to target a limited set of organizations in the South Asia region. However, exploitation may become more widespread as CISA has added the vulnerability to the catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities. Successful exploitation could result in the exposure of sensitive information that could aid a threat actor in more sophisticated attacks.
There is no action required for customers who have the setting “Allow automatic installation of hotfixes” enabled. Customers running unsupported versions will need to upgrade. Workarounds include removing Internet access for the User Portal and Webadmin interface. Periodic external vulnerability scanning would ensure administrators are aware of vulnerabilities and risky ports/services on Internet facing systems.
Sources
https://www.sophos.com/en-us/security-advisories/sophos-sa-20220923-sfos-rce
https://thehackernews.com/2022/09/hackers-actively-exploiting-new-sophos.html
Microsoft has released a warning to hosted Exchange customers about threat actors using rogue OAuth applications to leverage Exchange services in spam campaigns. To achieve this, threat actors are launching credential stuffing attacks against high-risk Microsoft 365 accounts that do not have multifactor authentication enabled and have administrative privileges, allowing them to register malicious OAuth applications.
Attackers have been observed using these malicious OAuth applications to modify Exchange Server settings as a means of routing emails from specific sources through Exchange. As of now, attackers have only been observed leveraging this tactic to send phishing emails, but unauthorized administrative access to cloud tenants could result in more severe attacks, such as stealing credentials or deploying malware.
To reduce the risk of this threat actor tactic, ensure all accounts are secured with multifactor authentication and that users are aware to never approve an MFA request that was not initiated by them. Furthermore, periodic configuration review of Microsoft 365 instances would ensure malicious or unwanted changes do not go unnoticed for long periods. Lastly, administrators should ensure that only a very limited number of accounts have administrative privileges in Microsoft 365.
Sources
https://thehackernews.com/2022/09/hackers-using-malicious-oauth-apps-to.html
https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2022/09/22/malicious-oauth-applications-used-to-compromise-email-servers-and-spread-spam/
The active ransomware gang BlackCat have been deploying a recently upgraded version of their post-exploitation exfiltration tool, codenamed Exmatter. Security researchers from Symantec published a report detailing the new capabilities of the malware, including updated targeted files, automated reporting of exfiltrated files, and the ability to corrupt or delete files if the malware detects it is being ran in a non-valid environment.
This new variant of Exmatter is significantly stealthier and more efficient with its ability to exfiltrate large amounts of data and deploy anti-analysis tactics. BlackCat has also heavily refactored the existing code of Exmatter to bypass current antivirus/antimalware detections for this specific strain of malware.
As organized crime units like BlackCat get more sophisticated, organizations must keep their security posture up to date. This includes verifying the security of internet-facing access systems and conducting routine security awareness training of employees in an effort to prevent social engineering attacks. Organizations must also practice defense-in-depth layering to continue to detect and respond to threats at all levels of the environment.
Sources
https://cyware.com/news/blackcats-exmatter-upgraded-with-new-info-stealing-stealth-capabilities-811a6e88
https://stairwell.com/news/threat-research-report-exmatter-future-of-data-extortion/
Security researchers from ASEC have been tracking malware related to Microsoft SQL Servers (MSSQL). On September 23, 2022, ASEC researchers reported the “distribution of FARGO ransomware” on MSSQL Servers. Their research suggests that threat actors employ password-guessing attacks against exposed MSSQL services to gain initial access. In February 2022, ASEC reported on attackers scanning for MSSQL services exposed to the internet on TCP port 1433. They suspect that the actors behind Fargo ransomware are employing the same tactic.
If your company exposes MSSQL directly to the internet, determine whether it’s necessary. If it is, restrict inbound traffic as much as possible. Ensure that MSSQL servers are patched. Configure MSSQL server passwords with complex passwords greater than 15 characters in length. Conduct regular vulnerability scans and mitigate vulnerabilities as soon as possible after discovery. Note: for most vulnerability scans, TCP Port 1433 will show as “informational” and not garner immediate attention; this is among the many reasons that vulnerability scan information should be interpreted only by trained professionals.
Sources
https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/39152/
https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/31811/
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mike has been recognized for his numerous achievements through various honors including the Albany Business Review’s prestigious 40 Under 40 award.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.