World's biggest meat supplier, JBS, suffers cyber attack
The world's largest meat supplier, JBS, says that it has suffered a cyber attack against its IT systems in North America and Australia impacting its ability to "process" thousands of cattle, sheep, and pigs. The security incident, first spotted on Sunday, has not been officially confirmed to a be a ransomware attack - but I think anyone hearing the news would not be surprised if a ransomware gang was to blame. READ MORE...
Swedish Health Agency shuts down SmiNet after hacking attempts
The Swedish Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) has shut down SmiNet, the country's infectious diseases database, on Thursday after it was targeted in several hacking attempts. SmiNet, which is also used to store electronic reports with statistics on COVID-19 infections, was shut down on Thursday to investigate the attacks and was brought back online on Friday evening. READ MORE...
Hackers Exploit Post-COVID Return to Offices
With COVID-19 restrictions lifting and workers trickling back to offices, threat actors are sharpening their spear phishing ploys. The latest scam includes pelting recipients with emails purportedly from their CIOs welcoming employees back into offices. The emails outline a company's post-pandemic cubicle protocols, at the same time attempt to steal company and personal credentials. READ MORE...
HPE Fixes Critical Zero-Day in Server Management Software
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has fixed a critical zero-day remote code execution (RCE) flaw in its HPE Systems Insight Manager (SIM) software for Windows that it originally disclosed in December. HPE SIM is a tool that enables remote support automation and management for a variety of HPE servers, including the HPE ProLiant Gen10 and HPE ProLiant Gen9, as well as for storage and networking products. READ MORE...
On the Taxonomy and Evolution of Ransomware
Given the frequency with which "ransomware" appears in news articles, it may be worthwhile to take a step back and actually consider what the term means. Any malware or attack that culminates in extorting ransom from the victim is commonly referred to as ransomware. The general idea is to encrypt the victims' data and to promise to deliver the key needed to decrypt it in return for a paid ransom. READ MORE...
Krebs on Security: Boss of ATM Skimming Syndicate Arrested in Mexico
Florian "The Shark" Tudor, the alleged ringleader of a prolific ATM skimming gang that siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from bank accounts of tourists visiting Mexico over the last eight years, was arrested in Mexico City on Thursday in response to an extradition warrant from a Romanian court. Tudor, a native of Craiova, Romania, moved to Mexico to set up Top Life Servicios, an ATM servicing company which managed a fleet of relatively new ATMs based in Mexico branded as Intacash. READ MORE...
US nuclear weapon bunker security secrets spill from online flashcards since 2013
Details of some US nuclear missile bunkers in Europe, which contain live warheads, along with secret codewords used by guards to signal that they're being threatened by enemies, were exposed for nearly a decade through online flashcards used for education, but which were left publicly available. The astonishing security blunder was revealed by investigative journalism website Bellingcat, which described what it found after "simply searching online for terms publicly known to be associated with nuclear weapons." READ MORE...
- ...in 1779, the court-martial of Benedict Arnold convenes in Philadelphia, PA.
- ...in 1812, President Madison asks Congress to declare war on England.
- ...in 1958, During a French political crisis over the military and civilian revolt in Algeria, Charles de Gaulle is called out of retirement to head a new emergency government.
- ...in 1980, CNN (Cable News Network), the world's first 24-hour television news network, makes its debut.
