Security News
The big news in critical infrastructure security is the ransomware-triggered shutdown of the Colonial gasoline pipeline - the largest such pipeline in the USA. The attack has been attributed to the DarkSide ransomware group. Even without evidence that the attack has migrated into ops, the organization might shut everything down in an abundance of caution, like they did in the Norsk Hydro attack in 2019.
Cybersecurity expert discusses the many ways attackers could have gotten access to the Colonial Pipeline company and reminds us why the threat always looms. TechRepublic's Karen Roby spoke with Vyas Sekar, a professor in electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, about the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack by the hacker group Darkside.
Microsoft's monthly security patch release for May 2021 includes cover for 55 documented vulnerabilities, some serious enough to expose Windows users to remote code execution attacks. Microsoft on Tuesday shipped another massive Patch Tuesday bundle with cover for at least 55 documented security vulnerabilities affecting products in the Windows ecosystem.
VMware has patched another critical vulnerability reported by Positive Technologies, a Russian cybersecurity firm that was sanctioned recently by the United States. Positive Technologies is one of the several Russian tech firms sanctioned in April by the U.S. for allegedly supporting Kremlin intelligence agencies.
USENIX, the not-for-profit advanced computing association, has decided to put an end to its beloved LISA sysadmin conferences, at least as a standalone event. In an online announcement, the LISA steering committee said that after 35 years of producing the "Best systems engineering content" the event "Will no longer be scheduled as a standalone conference."
Networking equipment major Cisco has rolled out software updates to address multiple critical vulnerabilities impacting HyperFlex HX and SD-WAN vManage Software that could allow an attacker to perform command injection attacks, execute arbitrary code, and gain access to sensitive information. The HyperFlex HX command injection vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2021-1497 and CVE-2021-1498, affect all Cisco devices running HyperFlex HX software versions 4.0, 4.5, and those prior to 4.0.
Cisco has addressed two critical security vulnerabilities in the SD-WAN vManage Software, one of which could allow an unauthenticated attacker to carry out remote code execution on corporate networks or steal information. The networking giant also disclosed a denial-of-service issue in vManage; and locally exploitable bugs that would allow an authenticated attacker to escalate privileges or gain unauthorized access to applications.
The bug listed here is what's known as a Universal Cross-site Scripting vulnerability, which means it's a way for attackers to access private browser data from website X while you are browsing on booby-trapped website Y. That's definitely not supposed to happen. Your browser is supposed to stop data such as cookies "Leaking" between websites, or else site Y could peek at data such as your login details for site X, and abuse that site-specific data to masquerade as you on site X and hijack your account.
Cisco on Wednesday released patches to address tens of vulnerabilities across its product portfolio, including critical flaws in SD-WAN software and the HyperFlex HX data platform. Two critical vulnerabilities were patched in the SD-WAN vManage software, alongside three high-severity issues.
VMware has released security updates to address a critical severity vulnerability in vRealize Business for Cloud that enables unauthenticated attackers to remotely execute malicious code on vulnerable servers. vRealize Business for Cloud is an automated cloud business management solution designed to provide IT teams with cloud planning, budgeting, and cost analysis tools.