The latest episode of this series marks the halfway point in the third season and, in addition to some amazing camerawork there are several examples of actions related to IT security that crop up throughout the episode.
ESET researchers dicovered that Trojanized applications used to steal bitcoin were hosted inadvertently by the popular website download.cnet.com.
The attack itself unfolded within the span of two minutes on March 7. Hackers made a flurry of automated transactions that involved the digital currencies Viacoin (VIA) and Bitcoin (BTC).
To smuggle the backdoor onto a targeted machine, the group uses a two-stage attack whereby a dropper package first gains a foothold on the system and sets the stage for the backdoor itself. This process involves some trickery commonly associated with targeted operations of this kind.
Since being founded in 2003, the Italian spyware vendor Hacking Team gained notoriety for selling surveillance tools to governments and their agencies across the world. The capabilities of its flagship product, the Remote Control System (RCS), include extracting files from a targeted device, intercepting emails and instant messaging, as well as remotely activating a device’s webcam and microphone.
The problem was particularly acute among provider organizations, as opposed to payer organizations (21% vs. 12%). Also, and perhaps counterintuitively, staff with more frequent cybersecurity training were more inclined to such practices.
DDoS mitigation service Arbor Networks has announced that an undisclosed US company has suffered an attack fueled by internet-facing Memcached servers that clocked in at 1.7 terabits per second (Tbps), beating the previous record of 1.35 Tbps.
Tracing the evolution and subsequent revolution of ransomware
Tools for mining cryptocurrencies also fall into this category, as in many cases the websites cannot warn users since they have been compromised themselves, hence even the administrators may not be aware that they are contributing to mining for the benefit of an attacker.
More than three dozen cybercrime and digital forensics experts from 23 countries have investigated a simulated attack on a bank that had been carried out through an IoT device.
At its peak, inbound traffic reached a staggering 1.35 terabits per second (Tbps), outflanking the previously record-setting assault of 1 Tbps at French web hosting provider OVH in September 2016.
The experts urge policy-makers to work closely with technical researchers, computer scientists and the cybersecurity community to investigate, understand and prepare for possible malicious uses of AI.
The big challenge with IoT devices is that they are all different: Each manufacturer has its own firmware, uses different protocols, and designs its own architecture. So, the first step before carrying out any analysis is to understand the architecture, find out what components are involved, and how they interact and communicate among themselves.
If we look back at previous incarnations of mobile networks, 1G, 2G and so on, there have been major changes to the technology. The next generation, 5G, delivers greater speed and lower latency, but also has the advantage of being able to connect many more devices concurrently.
This document, which is described by its authors as a “real white paper on cyber-defense”, is divided into three parts, followed by approximately 20 priority recommendations summarizing the central elements of the document.
