Ransomware, Backups, and Testing your Plan
The news headlines seem to be filled with ransomware attacks of late. Business owners are taking note and asking their Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT departments to improve their …
Pegasus Spyware
NSO, the Israeli technology company has been working with governments around the world by selling them robust surveillance systems. The tool, named Pegasus, unlocks the contents of a victim’s cellphone …
Microsoft’s PrintNightmare Vulnerability
Microsoft’s released an Out-Of-Band (OOB) emergency patch, affecting windows systems’ print-spooler subsystem. These printing issues are being called PrintNightmare by the media. The vulnerabilities are being tracked in CVE-2021-1675 and …
Nextdoor App Security
A new social media service, Nextdoor, is gaining steam as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform is used to share trusted information about one’s neighborhood, to give …
Kaseya RMM Spreads Ransomware
Update and Correction – 3:30pm 7/3/21: CyberHoot has confirmed from Kaseya and other cybersecurity news sources that Webroot was not and is not a risk from this Kaseya ransomware event. Only Kaseya …
How Secure Are Payment Apps?
Cash is King, for now. The use of electronic payment applications has been steadily growing, according to a recent survey by the US Federal Reserve, cash payments accounted for only …
Bipartisan Cybersecurity Bill Impending
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are scrambling to introduce legislation addressing overwhelming spikes in ransomware and other cyberattacks on critical organizations like Colonial Pipeline and JBS. Until recently, the US federal …
FBI Recovers Colonial Bitcoin Payment
In May of 2021, the United States’ largest pipeline, Colonial Pipeline, halted operations due to a ransomware attack. At the time, Colonial Pipeline carried 45% of the fuel used on the …
JBS Ransomware Attack Shows Importance of Backups
[Update on JBS Ransomware attack: June 10, 2021 CyberHoot learned that backups and a strong disaster recovery plan weren’t responsible for a quick ransomware recovery at JBS meats as was …
FBI: Watch Out For Fake Job Listings
Fake Job listings are collecting PII by the thousands of applicants. Be wary of offers too good to be true. Demand in person or video-based interviews and ask lots of questions.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) In A Nutshell
A phrase that has been making waves in the financial world is Decentralized Finance (aka: DeFi). DeFi uses cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to manage financial transactions outside the control of …
Pipeline Breach Prompts Texas To Require Cybersecurity Training
May 17, 2021: Following the Ransomware Attack on the Colonial Pipeline, Texas Governor Greg Abbott took action and announced that he was signing a new cybersecurity law that penalizes those …
Ransomware Shuts Down Largest U.S. Pipeline
The United States’ largest pipeline, Colonial Pipeline, halted operations due to a ransomware attack. Colonial Pipeline carries 45% of the fuel used on the U.S. East Coast, running from Texas …
Apple Zero-Day – Cybersecurity Advisory
May 4th, 2021: Apple has released IOS updates for 4 critical issues that impact all Mac, iOS, iPad, and Watch products. “Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary …
Apple AirDrop Vulnerability
Security researchers in Germany have put out a press release about research findings to be presented at Usenix 2021. They presented findings proving that “Apple AirDrop shares more than files”. …
What Was 2020’s Most Expensive Cybercrime?
Reading the latest FBI report might convince you that Business Email Compromise was the largest cybercrime in 2020. Ransomware proves them wrong by a factor of at least 5 if not more. Both are scourges that SMBs need to protect themselves from. Become more aware to become more secure.
Israel Launches ‘Stuxnet 3.0’ On Iran
Iran announced that a blackout occurred at its uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. Iran blamed Israel for a sabotage attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges. Israel …
Booking.com Fined Following Vishing Attack
Summary Message: Working out your Breach Notification during a Breach is a recipe for disaster. Back in December of 2018, Booking.com experienced a breach, where the company was exploited through …
Facebook Exploit – Cybersecurity Advisory
April 2021: CyberHoot received notification of a hacking forum publishing the stolen phone numbers and personal data of 533 million Facebook users. The data was initially part of a breach …
UK Census Smishing Attack
As many know, the United States had its decennial (every ten years) census in 2020, helping determine and record population statistics all over our country; questions around race, sex, and …
Instagram Scams: How To Avoid Them
Since Instagram’s official launch in 2010, it’s seen more than 1 billion accounts opened with users sharing close to 100 million photos every day. Instagram’s popularity skyrocketed since its launch …
Twitter Steganography Risks
Steganography is the interesting but potentially dangerous technique of hiding data or malware code secretly within an ordinary, non-secret file or message to avoid detection. The use of steganography can …
Why NFTs Are The Future
The popular musician Grimes sold some animations she made with her brother Mac on a website called ‘Nifty Gateway’. Some were one-offs, while others were authentic limited editions, all were …
US Treasury Bans Ransomware Payments
Oct.1st, 2020: The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) warned organizations that making ransomware payments is illegal. These payments violate US economic sanctions banning the support of …
Apple’s New Privacy Initiative
Apple’s tracking-optional iOS 14.5 update provides privacy-preserving features, giving users the ability to opt-out of being followed around the Internet via “trackers” in their apps. This privacy-driven iOS 14.5 update …
FTC Warns of ‘Romance Scammers’
For people searching for love online, it has become a little difficult due to scammers’ hell-bent on catfishing vulnerable people. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning about such …
Canada Rules Clearview AI’s Illegal
Clearview AI has created one of the broadest and most powerful facial recognition databases in the world. Their application allows a user (law enforcement we hope) to upload a photo of …
Emotet Operation Takedown
In January of 2021, law enforcement and judicial authorities across the globe disrupted one of the most notable botnets of the past decade: Emotet. Investigators have taken control of its …
Security Advisory – Apple and Linux/Unix
February 1st, 2021 Update: All Apple MacOS products are also at risk for the sudo privilege escalation vulnerability details in CVE-2021-3156. Patch these operating systems as soon as you have …
WordPress Site Risks
WordPress websites account for more than one-third of all websites on the Internet. WordPress is both flexible and powerful and runs some of the most used Internet sites such as …
Ubiquiti Security Breach
Ubiquiti, a large vendor of cloud-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as Wi-Fi Access Points, Video Recorders, and Security Cameras recently faced a security incident. Ubiquiti stated an incident …
Chrome Extension Privacy Concerns
Browser extensions are tools that help with spelling/grammar, finding deals, storing passwords, or blocking ads; users don’t consider helpful tools being malicious in any form at all. Have you installed …
PayPal Smishing Attack
A PayPal text message phishing campaign was discovered that attempts to steal your account credentials and other sensitive information. This form of phishing attack, through text messages, is called Smishing. Hackers …
Ransomware Task Force Forming
The damaging effects of ransomware hit $11.5 billion in 2019, and doubled in 2020 as new, more damaging strains of ransomware (Maze, Sodinokibi, Ryuk, Dharma) hit companies even harder. Older …
IRS Impersonation Attack
Fake IRS Tax Forms This week, AbnormalSecurity reported an attack on an estimated 15-50 thousand email inboxes with a phishing attack. The attack’s purpose was to gain personal information that …
IRS Pin Protection in 2021
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced this week that in January 2021 taxpayers can apply for an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN). This single-use code is designed to …
Close Proximity iPhone Hack
Google’s Project Zero cybersecurity researcher (and white-hat hacker) Ian Beer published an article in December of 2020, outlining how hackers can break into nearby iPhones to steal personal data. The …
‘Smart’ Doorbell Vulnerabilities
The holiday season is officially upon us. Now is a good time to find great deals but proceed with caution: be wary of “too good to be true” deals. CyberHoot …
HTTPS-Only Mode Introduced by Firefox
For those that don’t know, the webpage you’re reading this article on features the security protocol of ‘HTTPS’ for example, https://cyberhoot.com/; meaning all data leaving this webpage to and from your …
Vishing, A Threat You Haven’t Thought About
During COVID19 Hackers have upped their attacks to even circumvent two-factor authentication measures. Learn how they are using Vishing to by-pass your best VPN security measures and steal and ransom your data.
11 Reasons to Upgrade Hardware and Software
The pyramids in Egypt and the Great Wall of China were built to last forever. Computer hardware and software? Not so much. IT departments typically replace their workstations, servers, and …
Building A Human Firewall
Most cybersecurity experts believe people are the weakest link but at CyberHoot we view people as the strongest line of defense known as the Human Firewall. Through training, policy guidance, and technical protections, people can go from weakest link to cybersecurity tour-de-force in protecting your company. Give them a fighting change and help them become more aware and in so doing, more secure personally and professionally.
Securing Remote Workers
COVID19 has forced many workers into work from home conditions. This has introduced new risks that are more easily addressed by cloud-enabled companies than more traditional on-premises application using companies. This article seeks to identify tips for both in securing businesses whether cloud-enabled or on-premise is your primary application source.
vCISOs, Keeping Your Business Secure
There seems to be a news report every day about the latest security breach. Securing the privacy of company information, user information, and customer data is a top priority for …
Cyber Insurance: What You Need To Know – Part 2
Cyber Insurance is a developing market with businesses regularly purchasing cyber coverage in addition to liability, errors and omissions, fire and flood. With so many attacks and data breaches happening …
Cyber Insurance: Why It’s Needed – Part 1
Cyber Insurance is a developing market with businesses regularly purchasing cyber coverage in addition to liability, errors and omissions, fire, and flood. With so many attacks and data breaches happening …
ALERT: Microsoft Releases “Zerologon” Patch
CyberHoot’s Chief Information Security Officer constantly monitors the cybersecurity threats MSPs and SMBs face. Recently, a critical vulnerability was patched by Microsoft in August 2020. This vulnerability was so severe, …
Smishing, The New Phishing
Many people know about Phishing, a form of social engineering to deceive individuals into doing a hacker’s bidding. Hackers convince users to click on malicious links in an email resulting …
State & Local Government Cyberattacks Up 50%
Cybersecurity firm BlueVoyant published a report on August 27, 2020, finding that State and Local Governments have seen a 50% increase in cyberattacks since 2017. The report outlined the cyberattacks …
The New & Improved Wi-Fi 6 Standard
Do you ever get frustrated with your Internet speeds and find yourself saying “there’s no way this is as fast as it can go”? Well luckily for you, there’s a …