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DDoS attacks were a more serious threat in Q3 2021 than ever before

Link11 has released new data from its network on the development of the DDoS threat: The number of attacks remains at a very high level in Q3 2021. After Q2 2021 had already shown an increase of 19% compared to the same period of the previous year, the number of attacks rose by another 17% in Q3. Attack volume and complexity of attack patterns are on the rise In addition to the worsening of the … More ? The post DDoS attacks were a more serious threat in Q3 2021 than ever before appeared first on Help Net Security .

What retailers need to know about cybersecurity

Annual global costs tied to destruction of data, intellectual property theft, lost productivity and fraud are on pace to reach $6 trillion by 2021. Here’s how retailers can avoid becoming a statistic. Cybercrime is big business — and retailers are squarely in the crosshairs. Cybercrime — the catch-all term applied to an ever-expanding range of digital assaults from malware to theft of personal data to distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS, i.e. coordinated traffic onslaughts on servers, systems or networks designed to make the target difficult or impossible for legitimate users to access) — is rapidly growing more common, more dangerous and more complex. Service interruptions from DDoS attacks alone surged 162% in 2016. Cybercrime is also growing more lucrative: Nearly 90% of all cyberattacks now involve financial or espionage motivations, according to the Verizon 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report. Corresponding annual global costs related to damage and destruction of data, intellectual property theft, lost productivity and fraud are on pace to grow from $3 trillion in 2015 to $6 trillion by 2021. While the second half of 2016 brought to light three of the largest data breaches ever recorded (two raids on web platform Yahoo that impacted at least 1.5 billion accounts combined; the other affecting about 412 million accounts across social network Adult Friend Finder), retailers in fact experience the most cyberattacks of any industry sector — about three times as many as the previous top target, the financial industry — information and communications technology firm NPD Group reports. The list of victims is long and ignominious, and includes Target, Home Depot, Eddie Bauer and Vera Bradley. The question isn’t if and when yet another retailer will fall victim in the weeks and months ahead, experts say, but simply where the wheel of misfortune will land next. “You’ll never be able to put up perimeters and defenses to stop the behavior of malicious attackers. Organizations need to accept the fact that if they’re not breached today, they likely will be breached at some point in the point in the future,” Paul Truitt, vice president of cybersecurity services at managed network solutions firm SageNet, told Retail Dive. “Getting ahead of the criminal and stopping them before they do what they’re going to do is a losing battle. But acting quickly and having the processes in place to respond what it does happen is achievable, and if every organization had that in place, we could significantly shorten the average data breach notification and identification, and also create much less juicy targets for the bad guys.” Threat assessment Retailers are like catnip to cybercriminals because of the wealth of customer data stored on their networks. While hijacking credit card account data has long been the primary objective — about 42 million Target shoppers had their credit or debit information stolen when the retailer was breached in late 2013 — thieves are also keen to acquire personal data like names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. “There’s a lot of data around shopping habits and purchasing patterns now being stored by retailers — information they never had before,” Truitt said. “If you’re tying a loyalty program to a mobile payment program, those payment programs are bringing more sensitive data into the retail organization than in the past, and that’s what criminals are looking for.” The threat isn’t lost on retailers. Fully 100% of retail executives surveyed for the 2016 BDO Retail RiskFactor Report cited data privacy and security breaches as major business risks, up from 55% in 2011 and 26% in 2007. But according to Truitt, relatively few retailers have advanced their cybersecurity efforts beyond implementing the basic safeguards necessary to meet payment card industry (PCI) security standards. “[Cybersecurity] varies by retailer,” he said. “We still see a lot of retail organizations putting their eggs into the PCI basket. The feeling is that they’ve secured their organizations by meeting PCI compliance requirements, but in reality, the vectors of attack are outside what PCI mandates needs to be done. When you think about security programs focusing only on PCI at best, we’re going to see a lot of data continue to be exposed.” The media fallout and brand damage associated with past merchant data breaches (not to mention the legal costs and governmental penalties, which can run into the millions) are driving retailer cybersecurity awareness and investment, says Robert Horn, associate director at insurance and risk management solutions provider Crystal & Co. “Retailers have been forced to increase their cybersecurity because of the breaches we’ve had in the last several years. Your public perception takes a hit, there’s customer churn, and the fines and penalties are increasing,” Horn told Retail Dive. “Cybersecurity is getting much more attention from the C-suite. Before, just the IT director was involved. Now you’ve got legal, you’ve got corporate governance, you’ve got the CFOs and the CEOs wanting to know what’s going on.” But knowing what’s going on is easier said than done, because cybercrime evolves with mind-boggling speed. What began two decades ago with relatively simple viruses and website attacks hatched by malcontents seeking internet notoriety has rapidly mutated into discrete, laser-targeted and highly sophisticated offensives masterminded by thieves, hackers and extortionists motivated by financial gain. “There isn’t a single organization that can say they’re 100% secure,” Maarten Van Horenbeeck, vice president of security engineering at content delivery network Fastly, told Retail Dive. “But there are organizations that have the maturity and the smart people to say, ‘We understand what is happening, and we believe we know how to defend against it and how to protect our customer data.’” Personnel and protection Understanding what’s happening begins with identifying potential cracks in your armor. Verizon found that most attacks exploit known vulnerabilities that businesses failed to patch, despite software providers making patches available months or even years prior to the breach taking place. In fact, the top 10 known vulnerabilities account for about 85% of all successful exploits each year. Avoiding disaster also depends on recognizing the warning signs and criminal patterns: 95% of breaches and 86% of security incidents fall into nine established exploit patterns. Building a more secure retail business begins with smart personnel decisions. “The single biggest thing an organization can do today is hire the right people. There are so many technologies out there,” Van Horenbeeck said. “It’s like putting together a puzzle of the correct pieces to make sure you’re defending yourself against attack. You need to hire the right people who understand that puzzle, and who know how to make the organization as safe as possible.” Perhaps no retail security solution has generated more headlines and discussion than the fall 2015 shift from traditional “swipe-and-signature” credit and debit cards to chip-enabled EMV cards, a move designed in part to better protect consumers from escalating transaction fraud. While EMV (which takes its name from Europay, MasterCard and Visa, the three companies that created its chip-integrated standard) effectively blocks card cloning and other commonplace criminal tactics, its security innovations are limited to transactions where the physical card is present, meaning many cyberthieves are shifting their focus from brick-and-mortar stores to the web. That means retailers dependent on e-commerce must embrace software solutions including end-to-end software encryption, a method of secure communication that prevents hackers, internet service providers or any other third party from accessing, stealing or damaging cardholder data or other information during its transfer from one system or device to another. “Organizations that have made investments in EMV but did not invest in end-to-end encryption have a risk misperception,” said SageNet’s Truitt. “They believe they are secure, but they’ve only accomplished authentication of credit cards. They’ve accomplished nothing related to the security of the actual transaction. Many retailers that don’t have security teams internally, or that outsource their security fully and don’t have anyone with that knowledge in-house, has misinformed themselves about what EMV is doing. We’re going to see more organizations put fewer security controls in place and reduce some spend, because they think they have put the right security in place. But they’ve left themselves more exposed than they used to be.” Beyond the basics, retailers should also consider adopting data loss prevention solutions to help monitor, manage and protect confidential data wherever it’s stored or used, as well as emerging tools like advanced behavioral authentication (methodologies that monitor headquarters and store employees’ attributes and behaviors to prevent imposters from accessing infrastructure and data), data-mining and visualization techniques, and security response automation. There’s no time to waste. Experts anticipate cybercrime to continue to increase in the months to come, and warn that emerging technologies like the Internet of Things and advances in artificial intelligence present a multitude of new opportunities for attack. Only the strong will survive. “It’s hard to predict what new threats will come about,” said Horn. “[Security] all comes down to putting resources into cybersecurity teams. A bad breach can put you out of business.” Source: http://www.retaildive.com/news/what-retailers-need-to-know-about-cybersecurity/435567/

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What retailers need to know about cybersecurity

?The top 5 least-wanted malware in any corporate IT infrastructure

Ask a group of people to define malware, and you’re likely to get a range of different answers. The term has become a catch-all description for a broad collection of different cyber threats that keep IT managers awake at night. Categories falling under the malware banner include viruses and worms, adware, bots, Trojans and root kits. Each category is different but all can cause disruption and loss if not detected and quickly removed. Of the malware types in the wild, the top five are: 1. Remote Access Trojans (RATs) RATS comprise malicious code that usually arrives hidden in an email attachment or as part of a downloaded file such as a game. Once the file is open, the RAT installs itself on the victim’s computer where it can sit unnoticed until being remotely trigged. RATs provide attackers with a back door that gives them administrative control over the target computer. This can then be used to steal data files, access other computers on the network or cause disruption to business processes. One of the first examples, dubbed Beast, first appeared in the early 2000s. It was able to kill running anti-virus software and install a key logger that could monitor for password and credit card details. Sometimes it would even take a photo using the target computer’s web cam and send it back to the attacker. 2. Botnets Some liken botnets to a computerised ‘zombie army’ as they comprise a group of computers that have been infected by a backdoor Trojan. Botnets have similar features to a RAT, however their key difference is that they are a group of computers being controlled at the same time. Botnets have been described as a Swiss Army knife for attackers. Linked to a command-and-control channel, they can be instructed to forward transmissions including spam or viruses to other computers in the internet. They can also be used to initiate distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks similar to the one suspected to have disrupted the Australian census. Some attackers even rent their botnets out to other criminals who want to distribute their own malware or cause problems for legitimate websites or services. 3. Browser-based malware This type of malware targets a user’s web browser and involves the installation of a Trojan capable of modifying web transactions as they occur in real time. The benefit for malware of being in a browser is that it enables it to avoid certain types of security protection such as packet sniffing. Some examples of the malware generate fake pop-up windows when they know a user is visiting a banking web site. The windows request credit card details and passwords which are then sent back to the attacker. Security experts estimate that there have been around 50 million hosts infected by browser-based malware and estimated financial losses have topped $1 billion. 4. Point-of-sale (POS) Malware This is a specialised type of malware that seeks out computers specifically used for taking payments in retail outlets. The malware is designed to infect the computer to which POS terminals are attached and monitor it for credit card details. One example, called Backoff, appeared in late 2013 and managed to infect more than 1000 businesses including the large US-based retailer Dairy Queen. 5. Ransomware This category of malware is designed to take over a computer and make it or the data stored on it unusable. The code usually encrypts data and then the attacker demands payment from the user before providing the encryption key. One of the more prevalent ransomware versions is called Locky and appeared in early 2016. It has already infected a large number of individuals, companies and public facilities such as hospitals. While early examples used poor encryption techniques, ransomware has quickly evolved to the point where many varieties now use industry-standard 256-bit encryption which is effectively impossible to crack without the private key. The best anti-malware steps to take While the impact of a malware infection can be significant for individuals or an organisations, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of infection. They include: General awareness It’s important for users to be aware of the threats that malware brings. Staff should be educated about phishing attacks and to be cautious when downloading files or opening attachments from unfamiliar parties. Regular backups Regular back-ups of critical data are a vital part of any security strategy. In larger organisations, a global share drive can be created in which all important files should be stored. This drive can then be backed up as often as is needed. Copies of backups should also be kept offline as an additional layer of protection. Defence in depth In a complex IT infrastructure, there should be multiple layers of security designed to stop attacks. While no single defence can protect completely, creating a defence in depth strategy will ensure systems and data are as secure as they can be. Layered protection should range from firewalls and anti-virus software through to network intrusion and advanced persistent threat tools. By taking a comprehensive and multi-layered approach to security, organisations can reduce the likelihood they will fall victim to malware attacks and avoid the disruptive and potentially costly problems they can cause. Source: http://www.cso.com.au/article/605901/top-5-least-wanted-malware-any-corporate-it-infrastructure/

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?The top 5 least-wanted malware in any corporate IT infrastructure

What are the DoS and DDoS attacks that brought down the census?

Experts believe that the electronic assault on the census site was a DDoS attack – a kind of electronic army that attacks an enemy’s website on every flank using millions of computers as soldiers. About 2000 of these attacks occur every day across the world, said DigitalAttackMap, a website that monitors such attacks. Only days ago, this type of attack shut down US Olympic swimming Michael Phelps’ commercial website, SCMagazine , which specialises in IT security, said. It said the attack happened fresh after Phelps’ gold medal-winning performance in the men’s 4×100 metre freestyle relay at the Rio Games. One hacking expert told Time magazine that any celebrity or high-profile site should expect these attacks. “Each celebrity on our target list will be either hacked or DDoSed,” a representative of hacking group New World Hackers said. Xbox, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and the BBC have been among New World Hackers’ recent targets. DigitalAttackMap, a joint venture between Google Ideas and network security firm Arbor Networks, said these attacks had hit online gaming sites, newspapers and banks; Greek banks were crippled this year. Yet its site doesn’t show a DDoS attack on the ABS census site on Tuesday, bolstering claims by some that the attack didn’t take place. The DigitalAttackMap tracks DDoS attacks on a daily basis. The red flare over Brazil shows a serious DDoS attack. Photo: DigitalAttackMap.com The Australian Bureau of Statistics said its census site was hit four times by denial of service (DoS) attacks. A DoS is a broad term for attacks that attempt to crash an online system so that users cannot access it. Some IT and cybersecurity professionals speculated that a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack was to blame. A DDoS is a type of DoS attack in which hackers attempt to crash a system by flooding it with bots – or Trojan – accounts. DigitalAttackMap said attackers cripple websites, such as the ABS’ census site, by building networks of infected computers, known as botnets, by spreading malicious software through emails, websites and social media. Once infected, these machines can be controlled remotely, without their owners’ knowledge, and used like an army to launch an attack against any target. Some botnets are millions of machines strong. DigitalAttackMap says these botnets can generate huge floods of traffic to overwhelm a target. “These floods can be generated in multiple ways, such as sending more connection requests than a server can handle, or having computers send the victim huge amounts of random data to use up the target’s bandwidth. Some attacks are so big they can max out a country’s international cable capacity.” Adding to many people’s fears about the security of the census website before the attack, the information gained from these sites during an attack is sold on online marketplaces that specialise in information gained from these DDoS attacks, DigitalAttackMap said. “Using these underground markets, anyone can pay a nominal fee to silence websites they disagree with or disrupt an organisation’s online operations. A week-long DDoS attack, capable of taking a small organisation offline, can cost as little as $150,” the website said. Source: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/what-are-the-dos-and-ddos-attacks-that-brought-down-the-census-20160809-gqowwp.html