Cybersecurity

A just released report from Recorded Future observes that eight out of ten vulnerabilities exploited via phishing attacks, exploit kits, or remote access trojans targeted Microsoft products. This was the second year in a row in which Microsoft was targeted the most. In 2017, seven of the top ten vulnerabilities affected Microsoft. The top exploited vulnerability on Recorded Future’s list, CVE-2018-8174, a Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerability nicknamed “Double Kill,” was included in four exploit kits (RIG, Fallout, KaiXin, and Magnitude).

All software products have a life-cycle. After January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or support for PCs running the Windows 7 operating system. After this date, this product will no longer receive free technical support for any issues, software updates, and security updates or fixes. Computers running the Windows 7 operating system will continue to work even after support ends. However, using unsupported software may increase the risks from viruses and other security threats.

The NCCIC has published an advisory on cross-site scripting, path traversal, improper authentication, improper input validation, and code injection vulnerabilities in Columbia Weather Systems MicroServer. Weather MicroServer firmware Version MS_2.6.9900 and prior are affected. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow disclosure of data, cause a denial-of-service condition, and allow remote code execution. Columbia Weather Systems has released a firmware update, Version: MS_2.7.9973, that addresses all of the vulnerabilities.

Malvertising – malicious online ads often requiring zero user interaction to infect unsuspecting website visitors. Cybersecurity firm Avast discusses how the current scourge of malvertising appears to be more dynamic, stealthy, and persistent than historically observed. Malicious ads are often invisible and embedded into well-known websites through online advertising networks.