Category: Heimdal Security Blog

Google Sued for Monopolizing the Online Ad Market

Google has been sued by the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) for exploiting its market dominance in online advertising. Tuesday, 24 January 2023, a lawsuit was filed by the DOJ along with eight states: Virginia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New…

App Spoofing Ad Fraud Affects 11 Million Devices

An “expansive” adware operation that spoofs over 1,700 apps from 120 publishers and affects around 11 million devices has been stopped by researchers. Dubbed VASTFLUX, the malvertising attack injected malicious JavaScript code into digital ad creatives and allowed threat actors…

What Is a Brute Force Attack?

Brute force attacks are a persistent security threat that has evolved over the years as technology advances. In this article, we’ll explore what a brute force attack is, its modus operandi and variants, and what prevention strategies you can use…

Major Companies Impacted by Ransomware [2022-2023]

The increasing frequency and size of ransomware attacks are becoming a huge concern for thousands of organizations globally. All over the world, threat actors take advantage of security vulnerabilities and encrypt data belonging to all sorts of organizations: from private…

T-Mobile API Data Breach Affects 37 Million Customers

T-Mobile announced a new data breach after a threat actor used one of its Application Programming Interfaces to steal personal data from 37 million active postpaid and prepaid customer accounts (APIs). 37 Million Accounts Impacted On Thursday, the telecommunication giant…

Ransomware Profits Declined by 40% in 2022

A total of $456.8 million was extorted by ransomware groups from their victims in 2022, down by almost 40% from the previous two years’ record-breaking total of $765 million. Chainalysis, a company that analyzes blockchain data, has found that the…

Russian Hackers Responsible for Attack on Samsung

Pro-Russian hacktivist group Genesis Day claims to have breached Samsung’s internal servers over South Korea’s collaboration with NATO. The attackers posted an ad on a popular hacking forum, claiming they found their way into Samsung’s internal FTP service. Because South Korea…

How Does Ransomware Spread? Here’s What You Need to Know

Wondering how does ransomware spread? We’re not surprised. There is no doubt that cybercriminals are constantly looking for new ways to hold your data hostage.  As a result, ransomware has emerged as one of the most serious cybersecurity threats to businesses in…

BackdoorDiplomacy Is Going after Iranian Government Entities

Between July and late December 2022, BackdoorDiplomacy has been associated with a new wave of attacks targeting Iranian government entities. At least since 2010, the Chinese APT group has conducted cyberespionage campaigns against government and diplomatic entities across North America,…

MailChimp Suffers Data Breach Due to Social Engineering Attack

MailChimp announced it has been victim to a social engineering attack that threat actors successfully performed on the company`s employees and contractors. Hackers managed to obtain employee credentials and gain access to an internal customer support and account administration tool.…

Git Patches Two Vulnerabilities With Critical Security Level

In their latest update, Git has patched two new security flaws, both of them with a critical level of security. If left unpatched, the vulnerabilities could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code after successfully exploiting heap-based buffer overflow weaknesses. Git…

CISA Warns of Critical Vulnerabilities on Industrial Control Systems

Sewio, InHand Networks, SAUTER Controls, and Siemens Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The advisories released on January 12th contain information on vulnerabilities, exploits, and other security flaws…

Heimdal Cyber-Security & Threat Intelligence Report 2023

Marked by significant geopolitical shifts and unrest, 2022 has galvanized the cybersecurity landscape as well; war-profiteering fueled by endless media disputes has allowed the threat actors not only to operate unhindered but also to find safe harbor with states that…

CIA’s Hive Attack Kit Has Been Pirated by Hackers

A version of the Hive cyberattack kit created by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was spotted in the wild. The pirated malicious code acts as spyware, secretly exfiltrating data from victims. The variant was nicknamed xdr33 after its digital certification…

What Is Malware? Definition, Types and Protection

Fewer words are more used in cybersecurity than malware. The one that gives IT specialists nightmares, makes companies ramp up security tools, and constantly challenges software creators, malware targets every aspect of our daily used technologies and devices. Being so…

Major Companies Impacted by Ransomware [2022-2023]

The increasing frequency and size of ransomware attacks are becoming a huge concern for thousands of organizations globally. All over the world, threat actors take advantage of security vulnerabilities and encrypt data belonging to all sorts of organizations: from private…

What Is Mutual Authentication?

Mutual authentication, also known as two-way authentication or website-to-user authentication, is a security mechanism that requires the two sides of a communications channel to authenticate each other’s identities (instead of just one side verifying the other) before moving forward with…

High Severity Vulnerability Discovered in the JsonWebToken Library

The open-source JsonWebToken (JWT) library has been confirmed to be affected by a high-severity security flaw that could lead to remote code execution. While investigating the popular open-source project, Unit 42 researchers discovered a new vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-23529.This flaw has…

Vidar Malware Pushed Through Sites Impersonating AnyDesk

Threat actors launched a massive malware campaign that spoofs the AnyDesk site to infect endpoints with Vidar stealer. More than 1,300 domains that impersonate the official AnyDesk site were found to redirect users to a Dropbox folder that pushes information-stealing…

Altered Zoom App Found Delivering Banking Malware

A malicious IcedID malware campaign was identified recently. According to researchers, threat actors are actively spreading malware using modified versions of the Zoom application that have been trojanized. Zoom has become increasingly popular in recent years since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged…

Best Practices Check List for Flawless Container Security

While containers and microservices keep gaining popularity among developers, it`s no wonder the interest in container security best practices has also grown. Although container-based architecture comes with a series of advantages: portability, lightweight, easy maintenance, and scalability, it also rises…

US Nuclear Research Labs Hit by Russian Hackers

Cold River, a Russian hacking collective, targeted three US nuclear research laboratories. Brookhaven, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories were all hit. Between August and September Cold River targeted the Brookhaven (BNL), Argonne (ANL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL), according…

Backdoor Malware: Definition, Risks, and Protection

When it comes to malware, knowing what types of malicious software lurk out there can help you enable efficient cybersecurity measures and stay protected. Backdoor malware is just one of many kinds of threats that you have to take into…

What Is Network Segmentation?

When it comes to network security, there are a lot of methods to help strenghten it. One such method, that will not only increase the overall security of your enterprise, but it will also simplify the monitorization and response to…

Apple Fined $8.0M in France for Data Collecting Issues

Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), the French data protection authority, fined Apple €8,000,000 ($8.5M) for collecting user data without the user’s consent. The data was used to better target advertising in the App Store. These actions are…

Blind Eagle Is Back with New Tools and a Complex Infection Chain

Blind Eagle, a financially-motivated threat actor previously observed launching operations against organizations in Colombia and Ecuador, has reemerged with a sophisticated toolset and a complex infection chain. The latest findings from Check Point shed light on the group’s methods, such…

Warning! Spyware Attacks Targeting Banks Are on the Rise

The number of attacks targeting banks grew after the source code for CypherRat, a new SpyNote malware version, was offered for free on hacker groups. CypherRat has both spyware and banking trojan features impersonating banking institutions. It was initially sold…

Confidential Computing: What Is It and What Are Its Benefits?

In recent years, data has become a valuable asset that every business sector shouldn’t neglect. However, information exists in different states and constantly crosses numerous networks and devices, which can result in data breaches. Because of this, organizations should be…

Cricket Platform Exposed over 100k Customer Data Entries

Over 100k user entries and administrative credentials were leaked from a cricket community social network. Cybernews researchers discovered that cricketsocial[.]com left an open database containing emails, phone numbers, names, hashed user passwords, dates of birth, and addresses. Most of the…

Critical Vulnerabilities Expose Automotive Giants to Cyberthreats

Ferrari, BMW, Toyota, Ford, and other automotive companies have been found to have severe vulnerabilities. The disclosed vulnerabilities varied based on the manufacturer and their specifics. Researchers revealed that an AT&T system was fully compromised and, if exploited by threat actors,…

Wabtec U.S. Rail Company Under Ransomware Attack

Wabtec Corporation announced that it was the victim of a ransomware attack. The attack caused a data breach, exposing personal and sensitive information. Wabtec Corporation is a U.S. company that produces locomotives and rail systems. With 25,000 employees in 50…