Malware

NASCAR Team Pays Ransomware Fee to Recover Its Critical Files

NASCAR team Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing (CSLFR) disclosed today a ransomware infection incident that took place in April and nearly caused losing access to critical files worth about $2 million. more

Canada Becoming the New Cybercrime Hub, Quickly Replacing China, Eastern Europe

A recently conducted analysis of Canada's cyber security risk profile by Websense has detected trends indicating Canada is becoming the new launchpad for cybercriminals. Sr. Manager, Security Research at Websense in a blog post writes: "Cybercriminals are on the move again. And, this time, Canada is the prime target. IP addresses in China and Eastern Europe are highly scrutinized and undergoing intense evaluation. So hackers are on a quest to move their networks to countries, like Canada, that have better cyber reputations." more

WikiLeaks Releases CIA Documents on Grasshopper Framework for Building Customized Malware Payloads

WikiLeaks on Friday released a new set of leaks -- Vault 7 "Grasshopper" -- containing 27 documents from the CIA's Grasshopper framework, a platform used to build customized malware payloads for Microsoft Windows operating systems. more

Duqu Reported as Precursor to a Future Stuxnet-Like Attack

Virus researchers at Symantec Corp. have revealed a variant of the Stuxnet worm, named Duqu, that is found to be stealing information about industrial control systems. Symantec reports: "Duqu's purpose is to gather intelligence data and assets from entities, such as industrial control system manufacturers, in order to more easily conduct a future attack against another third party. The attackers are looking for information such as design documents that could help them mount a future attack on an industrial control facility... Parts of Duqu are nearly identical to Stuxnet, but with a completely different purpose." more

Google Exec: ISPs Must Get Tough on Malware Infested Computers on Their Networks

Ryan Naraine reporting at Threatpost: "Head of Google's anti-malvertising team Eric Davis wants Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to look beyond profits and take a more proactive approach to dealing with malware-infested computers on their networks. During a keynote presentation at the Virus Bulletin conference here, Davis said competitors in the ISP space must look beyond profits and partner on new initiatives to deal with the "parasites" that have taken control of the Internet landscape." more

MAAWG Issues ISP Guidelines for End-User Bot Removal

Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) has issued the first best practices aimed at helping the global ISP industry work more closely with consumers to recognize and remove bot infections on end-users' machines. The paper outlines a three-step approach with recommendations for detecting bots, notifying users that their computers have been compromised, and guiding them in removing the malware. more

Gas Pipeline Firms Under Targeted Phishing Attacks

The United States Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) has issued a warning about an active "spear phishing" campaign targeting companies in the natural gas pipeline sector. In an advisory issued last week, ICS-CERT said it has received information about targeted attacks and intrusions into multiple organizations over the past several months. more

Eugene Kaspersky: We Need Interpol for Internet, Law Enforcement Agencies Have Jurisdictional Limits

Eugene Kaspersky, co-founder of Internet security software Kaspersky Lab, was recently interviewed PC World where he talked about his views regarding cybersecurity and the evolution of malware. In response to fixing the problems with malware on the Internet, Kapersky says: "The Internet was never designed with security in mind. If I was God, and wanted to fix the Internet, I would start by ensuring that every user has a sort of Internet passport: basically, a means of verifying identity, just like in the real world, with driver's licenses and passports and so on. The second problem is one of jurisdiction. The Internet has no borders, and neither do the criminals who operate on the Internet. However, law enforcement agencies have jurisdictional limits, and are unable to conduct investigations across the globe. ... There is no such thing as anonymity on the Internet, for the average user." more

MAAWG Overview of DNS Security - Port 53 Protection

J.D. Falk writes: Last week, MAAWG quietly published a new document titled "Overview of DNS Security - Port 53 Protection." [PDF] The paper discusses cache poisoning and other attacks on the local DNS, including likely effects of such a compromise and what access providers may be able to do to prevent it. more

Public-Private Cooperation Policy for Cyber Security Suggested by Commissioner Kroes

At a speech during the Security and Defense Agenda meeting on 30 January Vice-President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, showed how the Commission envisions public-private cooperation on cyber security. more

Documentary Balmes Israel for Stuxnet Malware Failure

Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney's "Zero Days" -- coming out on Friday -- investigates the story of the classified Stuxnet attack on Iran by the US and Israel. more

Microsoft Releases Patches to Fix Close to a Hundred Flaws, Including for Unsupported Windows XP

Microsoft has released security updates for close to a hundred security vulnerabilities in a number of Windows operating systems. more

Clothing Retailer Eddie Bauer Confirms Point-Of-Sale Malware, All US, Canadian Stores Infected

In a press release yesterday evening, retailer Eddie Bauer confirmed a point-of-sale malware infection suspected by some sources as early as beginning of last month. more

US Justice Department and FBI Dismantle Long-Running Russian State-Sponsored Cyber-Espionage Operation Targeting NATO

The United States Department of Justice has announced that it has neutralized a global network of computers compromised by malware called "Snake," which the U.S. government attributes to a unit within Center 16 of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). more

Our Nuclear Facilities are Cyberattack-Proof, Claims Iran

Iran's nuclear facilities are immune to cyber attack a senior Iranian military official has claimed today according to various reports. "Gholam Reza Jalali, who heads an Iranian military unit in charge of combatting sabotage, was quoted Monday by the official IRNA news agency as saying that Iran and its nuclear facilities possess the technology and knowledge to deal with malicious software." more