Category: Heimdal Security Blog

Drive-by Download Attack – What It Is and How It Works

In today’s digital age, cybersecurity is more important than ever before. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are constantly finding new ways to infiltrate networks and steal data. One of the most insidious methods they use is known as a drive-by download attack. This…

37M Subscribers Streaming Platform Lionsgate Exposes User Data

Cybersecurity researchers found that Lionsgate, an entertainment industry giant, exposed the IP addresses and viewing habits of its subscribers. The investigators from Cybernews uncovered that the video-streaming service Lionsgate Play had exposed user information via a publicly accessible ElasticSearch instance.…

Another Fake ChatGPT Extension Found in Google Chrome Store

Researchers discovered a new fake ChatGPT extension for Chrome in the official Chrome Store. This version steals Facebook session cookies, hijacking accounts. The malicious extension is a copy of “ChatGPT for Google”, a Chrome add-on, but with additional malicious code.…

HinataBot: The Latest Go-based Threat Is Launching DDoS Attacks

In January, a Go-based botnet named HinataBot (named after the character from the popular anime series Naruto) was discovered exploiting old vulnerabilities and weak credentials in HTTP and SSH honeypots. HinataBot Overview According to Akamai’s SIRT team, the botnet exploited arbitrary…

What Is Stack Smashing?

Stack smashing is a type of vulnerability that can lead to serious security breaches. This vulnerability occurs when a hacker exploits a flaw in a program’s memory allocation, causing the program to crash or execute arbitrary code. In this article,…

5 Ways Heimdal® Protects You From DNS Attacks

As cyber-attacks continue to proliferate, it’s essential for organizations to stay ahead of the game when it comes to security. One area that requires particular attention is the Domain Name System (DNS). DNS attacks are more common than one might…

Makop Ransomware: The Arsenal of Cybercriminals Becomes Known

In operation since 2020, the Makop ransomware gang is classified as a tier-B ransomware gang. The threat actor has successfully targeted companies in Europe and Italy with its hybrid arsenal of custom-developed and off-the-shelf software tools despite its low classification.…

Most Common Remote Work Security Risks

Remote work has become a highly popular and common practice around the world, especially now as companies allow a significant part of their employees to remain remote. However, while this practice increases flexibility, improves productivity, and enhances work-life balance, there’s…

5 Ways Heimdal® Protects Your Endpoints

In the book about cybersecurity, protecting your endpoints must be the first and one of the most important chapters. Once an endpoint is breached, there is no way of telling what a cybercriminal will do next. Hackers can decide to…

Top 5 Must-Watch XDR Videos from Heimdal®

As we have seen in our previous articles, news, and webinars, in this increasingly complex threat landscape, malicious actors employ more and more sophisticated techniques to exploit traditional security parameters, safeguards, and countermeasures implemented to safeguard corporate data and infrastructure.…

Red Team vs. Blue Team: What Is It?

With cyberattacks seemingly increasing at a high rate, companies have to make sure their details and information are secured and safe from threat actors creeping around. Today, we will talk about a popular approach used by companies to assess their…

Major Healthcare Data Breach Impacts U.S. House Members

Threat actors breached the DC Health Link network, the healthcare administrator that serves the U.S. House of Representatives. Researchers say the data breach impacted roughly 170,000 persons. Among those, there are hundreds of U.S. House members, their staff, top representatives,…

New Info Stealer SYS01 Targets Key Government Infrastructure

Cybersecurity researchers uncovered a new, highly-advanced information stealer, dubbed SYS01 stealer, that has been deployed in attacks on critical government infrastructure employees, manufacturing companies, and other industries since November 2022. Morphisec researchers discovered similarities between the SYS01 stealer and another…

PIM vs PAM vs IAM: What’s The Difference?

Identity management has become an essential aspect of cybersecurity as businesses struggle to protect their sensitive data from cyber threats. To shed some light on this topic, in this article, we’ll help demystify the key differences between PIM (Privileged Identity…

XDR vs EDR – A Comparison

Endpoint security seeks to protect every endpoint that connects to a network in order to prevent unauthorized access and other destructive behaviors at such entry points. The value of effective endpoint security solutions has expanded dramatically, partly as a result…

Hospital Clinic de Barcelona Suffered a Ransomware Attack

Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, one of the main hospitals in the Spanish city, suffered a ransomware attack that crippled its computer system, causing 3,000 patient checkups and 150 non-urgent operations to be canceled. The incident occurred on Sunday, the 5th…

Find Out More About the New HiatusRAT Router Malware

An ongoing campaign is targeting business routers using a new malware, the HiatusRAT router malware. The Hiatus campaign affects DrayTek Vigor router models 2960 and 3900. The hackers aim to steal data and transform the infected device into a covert…

Play Ransomware Starts Leaking Oakland City Data

The Play ransomware group has begun leaking data stolen in a recent cyberattack from the City of Oakland, California. The initial data leak consists of a 10GB multi-part RAR archive apparently comprising private documents, employee data, passports, and IDs, explains Bleeping Computer.…

BetterHelp Accused of Sharing Mental Health Data with Advertisers

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused BetterHelp online counseling service of sharing customers’ mental health data with advertisers. The authorities want to ban the online platform from disclosing information to third parties like Facebook and Snapchat. After the accusations, FTC…

Chinese Hackers Are Using a New Backdoor to Deploy Malware

This year, the Chinese cyberespionage group Mustang Panda began deploying a new custom backdoor named ‘MQsTTang’ in attacks. This advanced persistent threat (APT), also known as TA416 and Bronze President, targets organizations worldwide with customized versions of PlugX malware. In January…

How Royal Ransomware Could Wreak Havoc on the U.S. Digital Economy

Earlier this year, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released an advisory regarding the Royal Ransomware gang. The Royal Ransomware group first appeared in the United States in September 2022—the U.S. Health and Human Services Cybersecurity Coordination Center…

WSUS Alternative for Patch Management

We already know that patching is a practice of the utmost importance when it comes to the security of businesses. WSUS has been for a long time a great solution for patching Windows machines and apps inside the Microsoft ecosystem…

KPI Examples for Patch and Vulnerability Management

Vulnerability and patch management are vital cogs in an organization’s cyber-hygiene plan. According to a recent Verizon cyber-safety report, more than 40% of all data breaches recorded in 2022 stem from unpatched (i.e. vulnerable) Internet-facing applications. Moreover, the rate of…

Food Giant Dole, Victim of a Ransomware Attack

Dole Food Company, one of the world’s largest suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables, has revealed that it has been hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted its operations. The company is still looking into “the scope of the incident,”…

What Is Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)?

The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is a protocol built into the IP suite whose main function is to allow IP-based devices to communicate error messages and exchange information about network conditions. Network administrators mainly use ICMP for network traffic…

Rackspace Ransomware Attack Update: What You Need to Know

During the recent Rackspace ransomware attack, the company confirmed hackers accessed customer data. Rackspace staff and cybersecurity researchers have been investigating the incident since it occurred, and new information has emerged. The attack, which Rackspace first confirmed on December 6, 2022, …

Activision Breached: Here Is What Happened

Game developer Activision confirms that it suffered a data breach in December 2022. The threat actors gained access to the company’s internal systems by tricking an employee with an SMS phishing text. The company declared that the incident has not…

What Is Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR)?

Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) is yet another step toward the perfect security solution. Researchers designed MXDR with two major vectors in mind. First, it had to keep up with the latest internal and external threats. Second, to protect…

Warning! New Malware Hijacks YouTube and Facebook Accounts

A new S1deload Stealer malware campaign infects YouTube and Facebook users as hackers try to use their devices for cryptocurrency mining. After they get S1deload Stealer on the victim`s device and obtain a connection to the command-and-control server, threat actors…

RailYatri Data Breach Leaves Over 30 Million Users Exposed

Over 31 million people’s personal information was exposed as a result of a massive data breach at RailYatri, India’s government-approved online travel agency. An online database of private information has been released, and it is thought the breach occurred late…

Companies Affected 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…

Indian Government Agencies Targeted by Updated ReverseRAT Backdoor

An updated version of a backdoor called ReverseRAT is being deployed through spear-phishing campaigns targeting Indian government entities. Cybersecurity firm ThreatMon attributed the activity to a threat actor called SideCopy. Known for copying the infection chains associated with SideWinder to deliver…

Europol Shuts Down a Franco-Israeli CEO Fraud Group

Europol put an end to the operations of a Franco-Israeli CEO fraud group. The threat actors used business email compromise (BEC) attacks to steal money. This led to €38,000,000 stolen in just a few days from one organization. Details About…

GoDaddy Discloses Data Breach Spanning Multiple Years

GoDaddy, a major provider of web hosting services, claims that a multi-year attack on its cPanel shared hosting environment resulted in a breach where unidentified attackers stole source code and installed malware on its servers. While the attackers had access…

FBI Investigates NYC Network Security Incident

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating potential cyber activity on their network. The agency stated that they have already contained the issue and are currently assessing the extent of the damage. The FBI has not released any…

What Is SSO? Single Sign-On Explained

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication method that allows a user to securely authenticate with multiple applications and websites by using solely one set of login information (eg. username & password). In a nutshell, SSO simplifies the user authentication process.…

What Are Deepfakes and How to Spot Them

In the age of technological advancement, it’s not just tech-savvy online bad actors that you have to watch out for – fake videos created using AI-driven software known as “deepfakes” are becoming increasingly hard to spot. In this article, we’ll…

Five Ways Heimdal® Can Help You Against Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware attacks affect everyone, from local governments to large corporations, therefore ransomware protection is critical. It is up to all of us to help prevent them from being jeopardized. Unfortunately, many victims are paying the ransom, and despite efforts to…

CISA Warns About Four New Vulnerabilities Exploited as Zero-Days

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added four new vulnerabilities, exploited as zero-day vulnerabilities, to its KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities) catalog. The vulnerabilities affect Windows and iOS devices. New Vulnerabilities Discovered As also mentioned by BleepingComputer, two…