Security News

Microsoft has started the forced rollout of Windows 11 22H2 to systems running Windows 11 21H2 that are approaching their end-of-support date on October 10, 2023. The automated feature update rollout phase comes after Windows 11 22H2 has also become available for broad deployment today to users with eligible devices via Windows Update.

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Security researchers discovered a new ransomware strain they named Mimic that leverages the APIs of the 'Everything' file search tool for Windows to look for files targeted for encryption. Mimic ransomware attacks begin with the victim receiving an executable, presumably via email, which extracts four files on the target system, including the main payload, ancillary files, and tools to disable Windows Defender.

Proof-of-concept (Poc) code has been released for a now-patched high-severity security flaw in the Windows CryptoAPI that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.K. National Cyber...

Akamai researchers have published a PoC exploit for a critical vulnerability in Windows CryptoAPI, which validates public key certificates. "An attacker could manipulate an existing public x.509 certificate to spoof their identity and perform actions such as authentication or code signing as the targeted certificate," Microsoft said in October 2022, when they announced fixes for vulnerable Windows and Windows Server versions.

Proof of concept exploit code has been released by Akamai researchers for a critical Windows CryptoAPI vulnerability discovered by the NSA and U.K.'s NCSC allowing MD5-collision certificate spoofing. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this bug in low-complexity attacks.

Over several weeks in October of 2022, Specops collected 4.6 million attempted passwords on their honeypot system. Though the examples given here focused on RDP connections, a honeypot is not limited to that type of connection, and any remote access system is subject to attacks, like SSH. What should an organization do to minimize the potential damage?

A new Python-based malware has been spotted in the wild featuring remote access trojan capabilities to give its operators control over the breached systems. The PY#RATION malware is distributed via a phishing campaign that uses password-protected ZIP file attachments containing two shortcut.

Microsoft has confirmed an issue causing the Windows Start menu to become unresponsive and some applications to no longer launch. The newly acknowledged issue affects only client platforms, including Windows 10 20H2, 21H2, and 22H2, and Windows 11, version 22H2. "The Start menu, Windows search, and Universal Windows Platform apps might not work as expected or might have issues opening," Redmond said.

Microsoft's move last year to block macros by default in Office applications is forcing miscreants to find other tools with which to launch cyberattacks, including the software vendor's LNK files - the shortcuts Windows uses to point to other files. The files are also helping criminals gain initial access into victims' systems before running such threats as the Qakbot backdoor malware, malware loader Bumblebee, and IcedID, a malware dropper, according to the Talos researchers.