Microsoft Archives - AboutDFIR - The Definitive Compendium Project

24 Sep 2024

InfoSec News Nuggets 9/24/2024

Microsoft ends development of Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Microsoft has officially announced that Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is now deprecated, but plans to maintain current functionality and continue publishing updates through the channel. This move isn't surprising, as Microsoft first listed WSUS as one of the "features removed or no longer developed starting with Windows Server 2025" on August 13. In June, the company also revealed that it would also soon deprecate WSUS driver synchronization.…

29 Aug 2024

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 8/29/2024

Dick's Sporting Goods discloses cyberattack Dick's Sporting Goods, America's largest retail chain for outdoorsy types, has admitted that it suffered a cyberattack last week. In an SEC 8-K filing, the retailer told the regulator that on August 21, it found an unnamed third party was snooping around its servers, "including portions of its systems containing certain confidential information." However, the filing doesn't state exactly what information was targeted by the attackers. "The company has no knowledge…

31 Jul 2024

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 7/31/2024

Hacker USDoD: “I don't pick sides. I play both sides and always win” – interview Every black hat hacker has an origin story. Just as the hands of circumstances, seemingly woven by fate, shape anomalous incidents in history caused by powerful figures, a hacker is born in a similar vein. Meanwhile, influence is the shaping force that makes the hacktivist. This is an interview with the new leader of Black Forums, known by his alias…

14 Jun 2024

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 6/14/2024

Cylance clarifies data breach details, except where the data came from BlackBerry-owned cybersecurity shop Cylance says the data allegedly belonging to it and being sold on a crime forum doesn't endanger customers, yet it won't say where the information was stored originally. Saying very little about where the data came from, Cylance says it is related to company marketing between 2015 and 2018, before BlackBerry bought it, and it came from an undisclosed "third-party platform."…

10 Apr 2024

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 4/10/2024

Over 90,000 LG Smart TVs may be exposed to remote attacks Security researchers at Bitdefender have discovered four vulnerabilities impacting multiple versions of WebOS, the operating system used in LG smart TVs. The flaws enable varying degrees of unauthorized access and control over affected models, including authorization bypasses, privilege escalation, and command injection. Security researchers at Bitdefender have discovered four vulnerabilities impacting multiple versions of WebOS, the operating system used in LG smart TVs. The…

13 Dec 2023

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 12/13/2023

Recruiters, beware of cybercrooks posing as job applicants! Recruiters are being targeted via spear-phishing emails sent by cybercrooks impersonating job applicants, Proofpoint researchers are warning. “The tone and content of the emails suggest to the recipient the actor is a legitimate candidate, and because the actor specifically targets people who are involved in recruiting and hiring, the emails do not immediately seem suspicious,” they noted. Northern Ireland cops count human cost of August data…

07 Nov 2023

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 11/07/2023

Microsoft Discovers Chinese Cyber Group Spying on Guam, Other US Locations Microsoft has discovered a China-based hacking group targeting network systems and credential access in Guam and other US territories. Called Volt Typhoon, the criminals specialize in espionage and associated information-gathering activities aimed against critical infrastructure organizations. Documented exploits by the hackers show that they operate and maintain compromised access “without being detected for as long as possible.” Among the victims of attacks are the government, maritime, communications, manufacturing, transportation,…

19 Jun 2023

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 06/19/2023

SMS delivery reports can be used to infer recipient's location A team of university researchers has devised a new side-channel attack named 'Freaky Leaky SMS,' which relies on the timing of SMS delivery reports to deduce a recipient's location. SMS delivery reports are handled by the SMSC (short message service center) of the mobile network to inform when a message has been delivered, accepted, failed, is undeliverable, has expired, or has been rejected. While there are routing,…

24 Apr 2023

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 04/24/2023

Microsoft has a new way of naming security threats Microsoft is banking on our human obsession with the weather to help make identifying security threats easier with a shakeup(opens in new tab) to its taxonomy. As of April 2023, Microsoft will now be using weather events to help identify threats across five key groups, including financially motivated, private sector offensive actors (PSOAs), influence operations, groups in development, and finally nation states. The company hopes that…

29 Mar 2023

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 03/29/2023

Tech Press Slowly Figuring Out That Banning TikTok Doesn’t Fix The Actual Problem The great TikTok moral panic of 2023 is largely a distraction. It’s a distraction from the fact we’ve refused to meaningfully regulate dodgy data brokers, who traffic in everything from your daily movement habits to your mental health diagnosis. And it’s a distraction from our corrupt failure to pass even a baseline privacy law for the internet era. Until the last few weeks, that’s been an oddly…

17 Nov 2022

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 11/17/2022

Russia’s cyber personnel has ‘underperformed’ in Ukraine: U.S. Defense official A senior Pentagon official on Wednesday said that Russia’s cyber personnel “underperformed” during the initial invasion of Ukraine, prompting it to ultimately rely less on digital attacks during the now months-long conflict than was expected. Speaking at the Aspen Cyber Summit, Mieke Eoyang, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy, said Moscow “was not prepared for the conflict to go on as long…

10 Oct 2022

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 10/10/2022

Microsoft publishes new report on holistic insider risk management The risk landscape for organizations has changed significantly in the past few years. The amount of data captured, copied, and consumed is expected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes through 2025.1 Traditional ways of identifying and mitigating risks don’t always work. Historically, organizations have focused on external threats; however, risks from within the organization can be just as prevalent and harmful. These internal risks include…

13 Sep 2022

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 09/13/2022

Microsoft investigates Iranian attacks against the Albanian government Shortly after the destructive cyberattacks against the Albanian government in mid-July, the Microsoft Detection and Response Team (DART) was engaged by the Albanian government to lead an investigation into the attacks. At the time of the attacks and our engagement by the Albanian government, Microsoft publicly stated that “Microsoft is committed to helping our customers be secure while achieving more. During this event, we quickly mobilized our…

09 Jun 2022

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 06/09/2022

Microsoft seizes 41 domains tied to 'Iranian phishing ring' Microsoft has obtained a court order to seize 41 domains used by what the Windows giant said was an Iranian cybercrime group that ran a spear-phishing operation targeting organizations in the US, Middle East, and India. The Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit said the gang, dubbed Bohrium, took a particular interest in those working in technology, transportation, government, and education sectors: its members would pretend to be job…

02 Mar 2022

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 03/02/2022

New Chinese hacking tool found, spurring U.S. warning to allies Security researchers with U.S. cybersecurity firm Symantec said they have discovered a “highly sophisticated” Chinese hacking tool that has been able to escape public attention for more than a decade. The discovery was shared with the U.S. government in recent months, who have shared the information with foreign partners, said a U.S. official. Symantec, a division of chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O), published its research about the tool,…

12 Jan 2022

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 01/12/2022

Undersea Cable Connecting Norway With Arctic Satellite Station Has Been Mysteriously Severed An undersea fiberoptic cable located between mainland Norway and the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean has been put out of action in a still-mysterious incident. The outage on the subsea communications cable — the furthest north of its kind anywhere in the world — follows an incident last year in which different cables linking an undersea surveillance network off the Norwegian coast…

16 Sep 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 09/16/2021

Ex-U.S. intel operatives admit hacking American networks for UAE Three former U.S. intelligence operatives who worked as cyber spies for the United Arab Emirates admitted to violating U.S. hacking laws and prohibitions on selling sensitive military technology, under a deal to avoid prosecution announced on Tuesday. The operatives - Marc Baier, Ryan Adams and Daniel Gericke - were part of a clandestine unit named Project Raven, first reported by Reuters, that helped the UAE spy on its…

30 Aug 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 08/30/2021

Microsoft warns thousands of cloud customers of exposed databases -emails Microsoft on Thursday warned thousands of its cloud computing customers, including some of the world’s largest companies, that intruders could have the ability to read, change or even delete their main databases, according to a copy of the email and a cyber security researcher. The vulnerability is in Microsoft Azure’s flagship Cosmos database. A research team at security company Wiz discovered it was able to…

16 Apr 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 04/16/2021

1 - Capcom: Ransomware gang used old VPN device to breach the network Capcom has released a final update about the ransomware attack it suffered last year, detailing how the hackers gained access to the network, compromised devices, and stole personal information belonging to thousands of individuals. In early November 2020, Ragnar Locker ransomware hit the Japanese game developer and publisher, forcing Capcom to shut down portions of their network. In typical fashion for human-operated…

07 Apr 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 04/07/2021

Microsoft delays full reopening of its offices to at least September Microsoft is joining the chorus of tech companies pushing their office reopenings to late 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic potentially winds down. The Verge has confirmed a Business Insider report that Microsoft has delayed its full reopening from July to at least September 7th. The move is a response to "continued consultation with health and data experts," a spokesperson said. In an email to staff, executive VP Kurt DelBene said the delay gave "additional…

17 Mar 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 03/17/2021

Half of Americans Experienced Identity Theft During COVID-19 Pandemic, New Study Shows A new report uncovers a striking pervasiveness of identity theft perpetrated against U.S. consumers where half of respondents surveyed experienced such an occurrence during the pandemic. Developed by Aite Group and underwritten by GIACT, the study found that 47% of U.S. consumers experienced identity theft between 2019 and 2020. And over the past two years, 37% of Americans experienced application fraud (i.e., the unauthorized use…

05 Mar 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 03/05/2021

Real estate group in Las Vegas launches fully autonomous security robot A new spin to security. The Westland Real Estate Group has launched a fully autonomous security robot at its Liberty Village Apartments in northeast Last Vegas. The security robot is the first in the world to be used in a multi-family residence in an effort to improve the safety and security of residents. The security robot monitors the property through video and thermal-imaging cameras.…

24 Feb 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 02/24/2021

Cybersecurity and online gaming: Don’t be a victim The proliferation of technology and internet connectivity has made it possible for people to seek out most things online, and gaming and gambling are not exceptions. In addition to online video games, social media, music, and video streaming, there are also online casinos and gambling for real money. Well, for gambling in the USA there are state laws to mind, but in some states online gambling is…

19 Feb 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 02/19/2021

Apple will only approve COVID-19 vaccination apps verified by health authorities It may not be enough just to get vaccinated against COVID-19 -- you may also need proof that you've completed the vaccination course to be able to travel, to go to school or to enter establishments in the immediate future. That's why apps providing proof of vaccination you can easily take with you have started popping up, and why Apple has conjured up a rule to…

10 Feb 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 02/10/2021

Microsoft to alert enterprise security teams when nation-state attackers target their employees Microsoft will introduce this month a new security alert that will notify enterprise security teams when an employee is being targeted by suspected nation-state attackers. The notification will appear in the dashboard of Microsoft Defender for Office 365, a cloud-based email filtering service that protects enterprise Office 365 users against advanced and targeted threats (e.g., BEC, credential phishing, etc.), so that security teams…

29 Jan 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 01/29/2021

Arrest, Seizures Tied to Netwalker Ransomware U.S. and Bulgarian authorities this week seized the darkweb site used by the NetWalker ransomware cybercrime group to publish data stolen from its victims. In connection with the seizure, a Canadian national suspected of extorting more than $27 million through the spreading of NetWalker was charged in a Florida court. NetWalker is a ransomware-as-a-service crimeware product in which affiliates rent access to the continuously updated malware code in exchange for a…

21 Jan 2021

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 01/21/2021

Are you more likely to be murdered IRL or hacked online? The existential question of our times has been answered The pandemic has brought existential conversations to the forefront in recent months. However, in an increasingly virtual world, threats are no longer reserved for the physical universe we occupy and cybersecurity breaches are increasingly common. It turns out people are more concerned about being hacked compared to acts of physical violence a la being murdered…

28 Dec 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 12/28/2020

Five Solution Providers Breached By SolarWinds Hackers Deloitte, Stratus Networks, Digital Sense, ITPS and Netdecisions were breached via SolarWinds and then specifically targeted by the hackers for additional internal compromise, according to a cybersecurity consultancy. The Sweden-based firm, Truesec, analyzed the malware — as well as historical network data — to determine which firms were explicitly selected by the SolarWinds hackers for further activities, meaning that additional internal compromise could have taken place. Nearly 18,000 firms were…

21 Dec 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 12/21/2020

Nuclear weapons agency breached amid massive cyber onslaught The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networks as part of an extensive espionage operation that has affected at least half a dozen federal agencies, officials directly familiar with the matter said. On Thursday, DOE and NNSA officials began coordinating notifications about the breach to their congressional oversight bodies after being briefed by…

18 Dec 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 12/18/2020

Google sued by 10 states for alleged "anti-competitive conduct" in advertising Ten states on Wednesday brought a lawsuit against Google, accusing the search giant of "anti-competitive conduct" in the online advertising industry, including a deal to manipulate sales with rival Facebook. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the suit, which was filed in a federal court in Texas, saying Google is using its "monopolistic power" to control pricing of online advertisements, fixing the market in…

17 Dec 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 12/17/2020

Microsoft and industry partners seize key domain used in SolarWinds hack Microsoft and a coalition of tech companies have intervened today to seize and sinkhole a domain that played a central role in the SolarWinds hack, ZDNet has learned from sources familiar with the matter. The domain in question is avsvmcloud[.]com, which served as command and control (C&C) server for malware delivered to around 18,000 SolarWinds customers via a trojanized update for the company's Orion app. According…

29 Sep 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 09/29/2020

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump's TikTok Ban A federal judge Sunday granted TikTok's request for a temporary injunction to block the Trump administration's order that would have banned the Chinese social media app from the U.S. starting Monday. Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued his decision Sunday - a few hours before the Trump administration's ban would have forced Apple and Google to remove the TikTok video-sharing app from…

24 Sep 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 09/24/2020

A tip from a kid helps detect iOS and Android scam apps’ 2.4 million downloads Researchers said that a tip from a child led them to discover aggressive adware and exorbitant prices lurking in iOS and Android smartphone apps with a combined 2.4 million downloads from the App Store and Google Play. Posing as apps for entertainment, wallpaper images, or music downloads, some of the titles served intrusive ads even when an app wasn’t active.…

18 Aug 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 08/18/2020

U.S. spirits and wine giant hit by cyberattack, 1TB of data stolen Brown-Forman, one of the largest U.S. companies in the spirits and wine business, suffered a cyber attack. The intruders allegedly copied 1TB of confidential data; they plan on selling to the highest bidder the most important info and leak the rest. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, the company holds world-known whiskey and scotch brands like Jack Daniel's, Woodford, Old Forester, Collingwood, Glenglassaugh, and Glendronach;…

10 Aug 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 08/10/2020

TikTok threatens to sue the Trump administration over the executive order barring US firms from doing business with its parent TikTok has threatened to sue the Trump administration over Thursday's executive order that bans US citizens and companies from doing business with its Chinese parent company ByteDance. TikTok responded to the order on Friday, saying it was issued "without any due process." The executive order prohibits US individuals and companies from making "any transactions" with…

29 Jun 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 6/29/2020

TikTok caught copying iOS users' clipboard contents, claims it's an anti-spam feature As the Telegraph notes, TikTok was one of several applications discovered to be reading users’ clipboards back in March. A couple of developers found popular applications such as AccuWeather, Overstock, AliExpress, Call of Duty Mobile, Patreon, and Google News were all snooping on both Android and iOS. ByteDance told Forbes this was related to the use of an outdated Google advertising SDK that was being replaced. At…

15 Jun 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 6/15/2020

Microsoft Joins Ban on Sale of Facial Recognition Tech to Police Microsoft is joining Amazon and IBM when it comes to halting the sale of facial recognition technology to police departments. In a statement released Thursday by Microsoft President Brad Smith, he said the ban would stick until federal laws regulating the technology’s use were put in place. “We will not sell facial recognition tech to police in the U.S. until there is a national…

04 Jun 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 6/4/2020

Ransomware gang says it breached one of NASA's IT contractors The operators of the DopplePaymer ransomware have congratulated SpaceX and NASA for their first human-operated rocket launch and then immediately announced that they infected the network of one of NASA's IT contractors. In a blog post published today, the DopplePaymer ransomware gang said it successfully breached the network of Digital Management Inc. (DMI), a Maryland-based company that provides managed IT and cyber-security services on demand. According to…

19 May 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 5/19/2020

Crooks are using realistic-looking webpage templates to trick you into handing over personal data Cyber criminals are still attempting to exploit the coronavirus pandemic for their own gain and they're being helped by website templates that allow them to mimic government agencies and companies. Researchers at cybersecurity company Proofpoint have identified over 300 phishing campaigns designed to steal personal information and bank details from victims – and many are using sites that are indistinguishable from the real thing, complete…

15 May 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 5/15/2020

Chrome will soon block resource-draining ads. Here’s how to turn it on now Chrome browser users take heart: Google developers are rolling out a feature that neuters abusive ads that covertly leach your CPU resources, bandwidth, and electricity. The move comes in response to a swarm of sites and ads first noticed in 2017 that surreptitiously use visitors’ computers to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. As the sites or ads display content, embedded code performs the resource-intensive…

12 May 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 5/12/2020

Google expects its staff to work from home until 2021 and it's not alone According to a Bloomberg report, Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, told Google employees on Thursday to be ready to work remotely through October and possibly to the end of the year. Actually, a Google spokeswoman said most Google workers are expected to work from home until 2021. So, life's going back to normal? Not at this tech giant. It's not just Google. Facebook has also told…

11 May 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 5/11/2020

South Dakota's Official Coronavirus App Shows Limits of Contact Tracing Tech One of the first official contact tracing apps from U.S. state Departments of Health doesn't reliably record location data, which it is supposed to do in order to help state governments monitor coronavirus infections and warn other residents if they may have been exposed to the virus. This is not to say that app is not working as intended, but the news shows the…

28 Apr 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 4/28/2020

Microsoft Word now flags double spaces as errors, ending the great space debate Microsoft has settled the great space debate, and sided with everyone who believes one space after a period is correct, not two. The software giant has started to update Microsoft Word to highlight two spaces after a period (a full stop for you Brits) as an error, and to offer a correction to one space. Microsoft recently started testing this change with…

24 Mar 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 3/24/2020

1 - FBI SEES RISE IN FRAUD SCHEMES RELATED TO THE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) PANDEMIC Scammers are leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic to steal your money, your personal information, or both. Don’t let them. Protect yourself and do your research before clicking on links purporting to provide information on the virus; donating to a charity online or through social media; contributing to a crowdfunding campaign; purchasing products online; or giving up your personal information in order to…

18 Mar 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 3/18/2020

1 - List of Free Software and Services During Coronavirus Outbreak In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, many organizations are asking their employees to work remotely. This, though, brings new challenges to the workplace as users adapt to video meetings, screen sharing, and the use of remote collaboration tools. To assist a new wave of remote works and get some publicity at the same time, many software developers and service providers have started to…

12 Mar 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 3/12/2020

1 - What to expect from the Cybersecurity Solarium Commission report A bipartisan congressional committee is urging the federal government to enact a sweeping set of cybersecurity upgrades in order to modernize American defenses on issues ranging from 5G security to stopping intellectual property theft and mitigating ransomware attacks. The Cybersecurity Solarium Commission on Wednesday released 75 recommendations that call for changes in the way that Congress and the Trump administration oversee crucial security issues that, if…

06 Mar 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 3/6/2020

1 - Backdoor malware is being spread through fake security certificate alerts Backdoor and Trojan malware variants are being distributed through a new phishing technique that attempts to lure victims into accepting an "update" to website security certificates. Certificate Authorities (CAs) distribute SSL/TLS security certificates for improved security online by providing encryption for communication channels between a browser and server -- especially important for domains providing e-commerce services -- as well as identity validation, which…

27 Jan 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 1/27/2020

1 - Canadian teen calls cops after fake ID doesn’t arrive, prompts police warning on identity theft scams A Canadian teen’s bizarre call to police on Tuesday to report that the fake ID they ordered online never arrived has authorities stepping up efforts to warn of potential identity theft scams. Const. Ed Sanchuk, of the Ontario Provincial Police, West Region, shared in a video message Wednesday that an unnamed Norfolk County teenager reported the fraud. An investigation determined the teen found an online seller who…

08 Jan 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 1/8/2020

1 - Cybercriminals Fill Up on Gas Pump Transaction Scams Ahead of Oct. Deadline Gas stations are gearing up for a major change in credit-card fraud liability in October, when they will find themselves on the hook for card-skimming attacks at the pump. In the meantime though, cybercriminals will be targeting pay-at-the-pump point-of-sale mechanisms with a vengeance, researchers say. Fuel pumps represent a last bastion of non-encrypted transactions. Unlike when customers pay inside, the pump…

02 Jan 2020

By Mary

InfoSec News Nuggets 1/2/2020

1 - Secure New Internet-Connected Devices During the holidays, internet-connected devices—also known as Internet of Things (IoT) devices—are popular gifts. These include smart cameras, smart TVs, watches, toys, phones, and tablets. Although this technology provides added convenience to our lives, it often requires that we share personal and financial information over the internet. The security of this information, and the security of these devices, is not guaranteed. For example, vendors often store personal information in…