A article by cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt observes that intrusions into networks and systems are often made possible by employees’ poor choice of passwords at the targeted organization, rather than the sophisticated exploit of vulnerable code often suggested when attacks are disclosed. Troy notes that the tendency today is to imply that there is no responsibility on behalf of the victim.
According to cyber threat detection and hunting firm Vectra’s Spotlight Report on Energy and Utilities, utility companies are more likely to have hackers target their IT systems than attack critical infrastructure. It noted there is a difference between attacks that probe IT networks for information and access about critical infrastructure versus attacks against ICS. "The two are interconnected, but the targeted assets are different," the report’s authors said. "Cyber-criminals have been testing and mapping-out attacks against energy and utilities networks for years.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) has produced a new Security Tip, Website Security. Website security refers to the protection of personal and organizational public-facing websites from cyber attacks, and the Security Tip discusses their impacts and numerous methods for defending websites against them.
November 1, 2018
The NCCIC has updated this advisory with additional information on mitigation measures. NCCIC/ICS-CERT.
October 26, 2017
The NCCIC has released an advisory on an improper restriction of xml external entity reference vulnerability in Fr. Sauter AG Case Suite. Versions 3.10 and prior are affected. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to remotely retrieve unauthorized files from the system. Fr. Sauter AG recommends users apply Service Release 1 for the current CASE Suite Version 3.10. The NCCIC also recommends a series of defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities.
The NCCIC has released an advisory on authentication bypass using an alternate path or channel and insufficiently protected credentials vulnerabilities in Circontrol CirCarLife. All versions prior to 4.3.1 are affected. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow a remote attacker to retrieve credentials stored in clear text to bypass authentication, and see and access critical information. Circontrol has released a new version of the software. The NCCIC also recommends a series of defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities.
The NCCIC has released an advisory on a DLL hijacking vulnerability in Schneider Electric Software Update (SESU). All versions prior to 2.2.0 are affected. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system. Schneider Electric has created a fix for this vulnerability (Version 2.2.0). The NCCIC also recommends a series of defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities. NCCIC/ICS-CERT.
The NCCIC has released an advisory on stack-based buffer overflow and empty password in configuration file vulnerabilities in AVEVA InduSoft Web Studio and InTouch Edge HMI (formerly InTouch Machine Edition). InduSoft Web Studio versions prior to 8.1 SP2 and InTouch Edge HMI versions prior to 2017 SP2 are affected. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an unauthenticated user to remotely execute code. AVEVA recommends that users upgrade to InduSoft Web Studio v8.1 SP2 and InTouch Edge HMI (formerly InTouch Machine Edition) 2017 SP2 as soon as possible.
An article from IBM provides steps to build an immersive simulation when cultivating an organization’s cybersecurity culture. A cybersecurity culture can’t be built with training alone – it must also involve exercises to ensure the policies personnel have been trained to uphold are effective and that the training to ensure compliance with these policies was effective.
While many types of ransomware are spread indiscriminately, SamSam in used in a targeted fashion, with the threat actors spending time performing reconnaissance by mapping out the network before encrypting as many computers as possible. A successful SamSam attack will likely be highly disruptive. In the worst-case scenario, if no backups are available or if backups are encrypted by SamSam, valuable data could be lost permanently. Even if an organization does have backups, restoring affected computers and cleaning up the network will cost time and money and may lead to reputational damage.
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