Cyberattack

Defending Networks Against DNS Rebinding Attacks

DNS rebinding attacks are real and can be carried out in the real world. They can penetrate through browsers, Java, Flash, Adobe and can have serious implications for Web 2.0-type applications that pack more code and action onto the client. Such an attack can convert browsers into open network proxies and get around firewalls to access internal documents and services. It requires less than $100 to temporarily hijack 100,000 IP addresses for sending spam and defrauding pay-per-click advertisers. Everyone is at risk and relying on network firewalls is simply not enough. In a paper released by Stanford Security Lab, "Protecting Browsers from DNS Rebinding Attacks," authors Collin Jackson, Adam Barth, Andrew Bortz, Weidong Shao, and Dan Boneh provide ample detail about the nature of this attack as well as strong defenses that can be put in place in order to help protect modern browsers. more

Cybersecurity, an Essential Weapon in the Cyberwarfare to Protect Our Democracy

We see the problems that we are facing within an increasingly digital society and economy. We cannot go backward; the only way forward is to ensure that this new digital environment is made as safe as possible from a personal, social, political and economic perspective. We are currently struggling on these fronts. Unfortunately, we have now clearly entered a situation of cyber warfare. States now use digital technologies to impose and undermine ideologies. more

CircleID’s Top 10 Posts of 2014

Here we are with CircleID's annual roundup of top ten most popular posts featured during 2014 (based on overall readership). Congratulations to all the participants whose posts reached top readership and best wishes for 2015. more

Phishing Attacks Surge Despite Increased Awareness, New Strategies Needed

The alarming rise of phishing attacks has been underscored by a recent study "Phishing Landscape 2023: An Annual Study of the Scope and Distribution of Phishing conducted" by the Interisle Consulting Group, revealing a tripling of such attacks since May 2020. Despite efforts by companies and policymakers to combat this cybercrime, the data suggests that the prevailing strategies are ineffective and worsening each year. more

CircleID’s Top 10 Posts of 2016

The new year is upon us and it's time for our annual look at CircleID's most popular posts of the past year and highlighting those that received the most attention. Congratulations to all the 2016 participants and best wishes to all in the new year. more

What Are the Connections to Identified Hafnium Malicious IP Addresses?

Cyber attackers are very skilled at infiltration. They'd find ways into a house through cracks and holes that the homeowner doesn't know about. Analogically speaking, that's what the new cyber attack group dubbed "Hafnium" did when they identified several zero-day Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities to get into target networks. With thousands of users for every Microsoft Exchange server, the attack has far-reaching implications. First, it establishes the presence of a new threat actor group in town. What else could they be up to? more

New Research Indicates Nearly 80% of Top US Energy Companies Are at Serious Risk for Cyberattacks

In light of the Biden administration's recent efforts in protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats, new research from CSC indicates that a majority of the top energy companies in the U.S. are vulnerable to attack due to shortcomings in their online operations. Specifically, these organizations are vulnerable to domain name and domain name system (DNS) hijacking and phishing attacks based on their lack of effective domain security. more

Most Abusive Domain Registrations are Preventable

As the WHOIS debate rages and the Top-Level Domain (TLD) space prepares to scale up the problem of rogue domain registration persists. These are set to be topics of discussion in Costa Rica. While the ICANN contract requires verification, in practice this has been dismissed as impossible. However, in reviewing nearly one million spammed domain registrations from 2011 KnujOn has found upwards of 90% of the purely abusive registrations could have been blocked. more

Millions of Smart Toothbrushes Hijacked in Cyberattack on Swiss Firm

Hackers have commandeered approximately three million smart toothbrushes, transforming them into a botnet for launching a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack against a Swiss company's website, causing significant financial losses. more

78% of Cybersecurity Professionals Expect an Increase in DNS Threats, Yet Have Reservations

A recent survey conducted by the Neustar International Security Council confirmed the heightened interests on domain name system (DNS) security. The survey reveals that over three-quarters of cybersecurity professionals anticipate increases in DNS attacks, especially with more people shopping online amid the pandemic. Yet, close to 30% have reservations about their ability to respond to these attacks. more

New CSC Research Finds Significant Lack of Redundancy for Enterprise DNS

As outlined in CSC's recent 2020 Domain Security Report: Forbes Global 2000 Companies, cybercriminals are disrupting organizations by attacking the protocol responsible for their online presence -- their domain name system (DNS). When a DNS is overwhelmed with traffic due to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack or configuration error, content and applications become inaccessible to users, affecting both revenue and reputation. more

Endpoint Rollbacks & Data Shadow Copies

Recently I was asked by a customer how they can easily set up rollback capabilities on the endpoints in their corporate network. They had seen the marketing hype by various security technology providers that their products included rollback capabilities they could utilize if/when one of their workstations or servers was infected by malware. Having gotten this question more than once, I thought it would be a good subject to share with a broader audience. more

3 Most Scary Attacks that Leaked Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of Millions of Users

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting Personally Identifiable Information (PII). The reason being "data is the new gold" in this digital world, and the more sensitive some data is, the more value it has. There is no more sensitive data than personally identifiable information because it contains enough information to identify you digitally. Examples of personally identifiable information include name, email, contact number, address, social security number, tax file number, banking or financial information, and more such data that helps identify you. more

Global Law Enforcement Strikes Major Blow Against LockBit Ransomware Operation

In a significant global operation, law enforcement agencies from 10 countries have severely disrupted the LockBit ransomware group, recognized as the most prolific and harmful cyber threat worldwide. more

Sorry, Not Sorry: WHOIS Data Must Remain Public

In March, I posted a call to action to those of us in the community who have the inclination to fight against a movement to redact information critical to anti-abuse research. Today, I felt compelled to react to some of the discussions on the ICANN discussion list dedicated to the issue of WHOIS reform: Sorry, not sorry: I work every working hour of the day to protect literally hundreds of millions of users from privacy violating spam, phish, malware, and support scams. more