Cyber Security Incidents Review in October
Cyber-security incidents are quite commonplace in today’s world. From top government office systems to ordinary homes desktops, any hardware might find itself a victim to cyber-security threats.
In this article, we discuss the major cyber-security incidents that have had a global impact in the month of October.
1. US President’s Campaign Website Hacked
Days before the United States goes to its 59th quadrennial Presidential election, the official website of the US President Donald Trump was hacked. A fake FBI notice displayed across the site read that the site had been seized, and claimed (without any proof) to have gained access to Trump’s private communications containing evidence of his wrongdoings.
The notice also claimed that the US administration was involved in the origin of COVID-19, and that the President has colluded with foreign actors in order to manipulate the 2020 elections. Furthermore, 2 cryptocurrency Monero wallet addresses were listed, asking visitors to send funds in order to vote on whether these documents should be released or whether they should be kept hidden.
Trump’s campaign team has announced that there has been no exposure to sensitive data, as none of it is actually stored on the website. The attack only lasted 30 minutes before the website was restored to its previous state. However, the failure of cyber-security on the part of the Trump campaign is being considered as a serious issue, and investigations are underway to nab the culprits.
2. Iranian Hacker Group Targets Universities in Multiple Countries
Iran-based hacker group ‘Silent Librarian’ has launched another phishing campaign targeting universities around the world. The threat group, also known as ‘TA407’ and ‘Cobalt Dickens’, has targeted tens of universities in multiple countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, over the last couple of years.
Silent Librarian launches low-volume, highly-targeted, and socially engineered phishing emails that trick victims into handing over their login credentials. The group aims to accumulate not just login details to sell online, but also proprietary university research and data. These emails are typically written to masquerade as messages from university library systems or other on-campus divisions.
Malwarebytes, an anti-malware software enterprise, claimed that these attacks represent Iranian interest and are well funded by the country. In March 2018, nine Iranians were indicted by the US Department of Justice for conducting attacks against universities and other organizations with the goal of stealing research and proprietary data.
Recently, researchers have observed a new spear-phishing campaign carried out by the group, that is expanding its target list to include more countries and universities. Silent Librarian seems to be hosting a series of phishing sites that are built to mimic legitimate university domains. Many of the threats have been identified and neutralized, but the group has built enough of them to continue with its campaign against staff and students alike.
3. Ransomware Attack on Australian Analytics Firm
iSentia, a media-monitoring and analytics firm used by the federal government of Australia, has been hit by a cyberattack. This has prompted the involvement of the nation’s leading cybersecurity agency in the investigation.
The company confirmed that the ransomware attack disrupted services within its SaaS platform Mediaportal, an all-in-one platform used by communications professionals to stay up-to-date across media coverage and to find journalists for stories. iSentia’s Chief executive Ed Harrison said in a statement that urgent steps were being taken to contain the incident and avoid a repeat. The company’s share price fell 2.7% following the official announcement.
It’s not known yet as to what sort of data has been compromised by the attackers, but multiple government departments have confirmed that their access to the service has been disrupted or limited. The list includes the Attorney General’s Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, and the Department of Social Services.
4. IT Services Giant Hit by Ransomware Attack
French based IT services giant Sopra Steria suffered a cyberattack that reportedly encrypted portions of their network with the Ryuk ransomware. Sopra Steria has over 46,000 employees in 25 countries worldwide, and provides a wide range of IT services, including consulting, systems integration, and software development.
The hacking group uses TrickBot and BazarLoader infections, that allow threat actors to access a compromised network and deploy the Ryuk or Conti ransomware infections. Once installed, BazarLoader allows the hackers to remotely access the victim’s computer and use it to compromise the rest of the network.
Sopra Steria has claimed that it was able to contain the virus to a limited portion of its infrastructure, and it has not identified any leaked data or damage to its customers’ information systems. The company is rebooting information systems and operations progressively and securely, and normal operations are expected to resume in a few weeks’ time.
Being an IT service provider to enterprises across the world, Sopra Steria now faces an uphill task of reassuring its customers that the virus has not found its way into their systems.
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