Security News
Microsoft has fixed a known issue blocking the Windows 11 2022 Update from being offered on systems with printers using Universal Print Class or Microsoft IPP Class drivers because of compatibility issues. In late September, Redmond added a compatibility hold to block Windows 11 22H2 on affected systems because some installed printers might only allow customers to use the default settings with features like color, 2-sided printing, or higher resolutions.
October is Security Awareness Month, an exciting time as organizations around the world train people how to be cyber secure, both at work and at home. Security awareness goes by many other names, depending on the organization: security influence, culture, engagement, training, education, etc.
China appears to have upgraded its Great Firewall, the instrument of pervasive real-time censorship it uses to ensure that ideas its government doesn't like don't reach China's citizens. Great Firewall Report, an organization that monitors and reports on China's censorship efforts, has this week posted a pair of assessments indicating a crackdown on TLS encryption-based tools used to evade the Firewall.
An extensively updated version of the Exmatter data exfiltration tool was seen last month being used with Noberus in ransomware infections, and at least one affiliate using Noberus was detected using Eamfo, the info-stealing malware that connects to the SQL database where a victim's Veeam backup software installation stores credentials, according to researchers in Symantec's Threat Hunting Team. Coreid has continuously updated Noberus since it first emerged in November 2021, shortly after BlackMatter was retired in a suspected move by the ransomware gang to stay ahead of law enforcement.
The BlackCat ransomware isn't showing any signs of slowing down, and the latest example of its evolution is a new version of the gang's data exfiltration tool used for double-extortion attacks. BlackCat is considered a successor to Darkside and BlackMatter and is one of the most sophisticated and technically advanced Ransomware-as-a-service operations.
Apple strengthens security and privacy in iOS 16Apple announced additional security and privacy updates for its newest mobile operating system. Government guide for supply chain security: The good, the bad and the uglyJust as developers and security teams were getting ready to take a breather and fire up the BBQ for the holiday weekend, the U.S.'s most prestigious security agencies dropped a 60+ page recommended practice guide, Securing the Software Supply Chain for Developers.
PQShield published a white paper that lays out the quantum threat to secure end-to-end messaging and explains how post-quantum cryptography can be added to the Signal secure messaging protocol to protect it from quantum attacks. The company is offering to license its end-to-end encrypted messaging IP to the Signal Foundation pro bono - if/when they plan to upgrade their system - to support the non-profit behind the free encrypted messaging app, Signal, in its mission to make secure communication accessible to everyone.
The operators of the Hive ransomware-as-a-service scheme have overhauled their file-encrypting software to fully migrate to Rust and adopt a more sophisticated encryption method. "With its latest variant carrying several major upgrades, Hive also proves it's one of the fastest evolving ransomware families, exemplifying the continuously changing ransomware ecosystem," Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center said in a report on Tuesday.
Microsoft has released the optional KB5014668 cumulative update previews for Windows 11 with fixes for issues leading to game crashes and failed upgrades to the latest Windows version. This cumulative update is part of Microsoft's scheduled June 2022 monthly "C" updates that enables Windows customers to test upcoming fixes before they're released for all users on July 12th as part of the next Patch Tuesday.
The Gallium group, believed to be a Chinese state-sponsored team, is going on the warpath with an upgraded remote access trojan that threat hunters say is difficult to detect. The backdoor, once in a compromised system, comes in three variants, each of which can communicate with the command-and-control system in one of three protocols: ICMP, HTTPS and raw TCP. All three PingPull variants have the same functionality, but each creates a custom string of code that it sends to the C2 server, which will use the unique string to identify the compromised system.