Independent – Page 37 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2023 19:11:33 +0000

The United Parcel Service (UPS) says fraudsters have been harvesting phone numbers and other information from its online shipment tracking tool in Canada to send highly targeted SMS phishing (a.k.a. “smishing”) messages that spoofed UPS and other top brands. The missives addressed recipients by name, included details about recent orders, and warned that those orders wouldn’t be shipped unless the customer paid an added delivery fee.

Independent Krebs

June 21, 2023 admin

Why Malware Crypting Services Deserve More Scrutiny

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2023 18:39:36 +0000

If you operate a cybercrime business that relies on disseminating malicious software, you probably also spend a good deal of time trying to disguise or “crypt” your malware so that it appears benign to antivirus and security products. In fact, the process of “crypting” malware is sufficiently complex and time-consuming that most serious cybercrooks will outsource this critical function to a handful of trusted third parties. This story explores the history and identity behind Cryptor[.]biz, a long-running crypting service that is trusted by some of the biggest names in cybercrime.

ComputerWorld Independent

June 20, 2023 admin

With one June Patch Tuesday update, Microsoft falls short

I’ve tracked Microsoft’s Windows patches for years and closely watched all of the changes the company has made. I remember when you had to install updates in a certain order — and watch for which one had to be installed first. I remember the arrival of automated patching using Software Update Services (later called Windows Server Update Services). I’ve seen how we went from a system where each vulnerability was patched individually to what we now have: cumulative patching.

The ideal patch is self-contained. Install, reboot, get back to your work. It causes no side effects. It protects the operating system. And you forget about it because it does what it’s supposed to do.

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ComputerWorld Independent

June 19, 2023 admin

Recent Teams, Office outages were caused by cyberattacks: Microsoft

Microsoft has confirmed that recent outages to its popular services, including Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and cloud computing platform Azure, were caused by a DDoS attack by a threat actor that the company tracks as Storm-1359.

Also known as Anonymous Sudan, Storm-1359 was first detected in January, targeting organizations and government agencies with DDoS attacks and efforts to exfiltrate data. The threat actor was initially assumed to be a “hacktivist” group protesting a controversial outfit at the Melbourne Fashion Week but has since been linked to the Russian state, according to several media reports.

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ComputerWorld Independent

June 19, 2023 admin

Apple beefs up enterprise identity, device management

Last week at WWDC, Apple introduced new capabilities related to Managed Apple IDs and to user identity overall.

Managed Apple IDs have been around for some time. They handle many of the same tasks as personal Apple IDs, but are owned by an organization rather than the end user and are typically created alongside a user’s enterprise identity through federated authentication with a company’s identity provider.

Managed IDs allow a user to activate and use an Apple device — whether company owned or personal BYOD— and create a business profile on employee devices. Additionally, they provide Apple services including some core iCloud functionality such as backing up the work-related content on the device and syncing app data from Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and Notes. They also allow IT to manage what resources and devices a user can access, reset passwords, and help with Apple device management.

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ComputerWorld Independent

June 16, 2023 admin

June's Patch Tuesday updates focus on Windows, Office

Microsoft released 73 updates to its Windows, Office, and Visual Studio platforms on Patch Tuesday, with many of them dealing with core, but not urgent, security vulnerabilities. That’s a welcome respite from the previous six months of urgent zero-days and public disclosures. With that in mind, the Readiness testing team suggests a focus on printing and backup/recovery processes to make sure they’re not affected by this update cycle.

For the first time, we see a (non-Adobe) third-party vendor added to a Patch Tuesday release, with three minor plugin updates to Visual Studio for AutoDesk. Expect to see more such vendors added to Microsoft’s updates in the near future. The team at Readiness has created a useful infographic that outlines the risks associated with each of the updates.

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ComputerWorld Independent

June 15, 2023 admin

How and why to use FIDO Security Keys for Apple ID

In a world that needs Apple’s recently-improved Lockdown Mode to protect good people against bad ones, high-risk individuals should consider using physical security keys to protect their Apple ID.

What are Security Keys and what do they do?

Security keys are small devices that look a little like thumb drives. Apple at WWDC 2020 confirmed plans to support FIDO authentication beginning with iOS 14 and macOS 11; now, with the release of iOS 16.3, iPadOS 16.3, and macOS Ventura 13.2, Apple lets you use them to verify your Apple ID, replacing a passcode. They become one of the two forms of identification you require with two-factor authentication (2FA).

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Independent Krebs

June 15, 2023 admin

CISA Order Highlights Persistent Risk at Network Edge

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2023 15:40:09 +0000

The U.S. government agency in charge of improving the nation’s cybersecurity posture is ordering all federal civilian agencies to take new measures to restrict access to Internet-exposed networking equipment. The directive comes amid a surge in attacks targeting previously unknown vulnerabilities in widely used security and networking appliances.