Expert(s):
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STEALTHbits Technologies

Comments Dotted : 16
November 02, 2020

Security Expert Re: Microsoft Warns Again About Critical Zerologon Vulnerability
Because non-Windows or homegrown applications and resources may not be able to leverage secure connections via Netlogon at this time.
The continued exploitation of a vulnerability allowing attackers easy and unfettered access to the whole of an organization’s digital resources should come as no surprise. Threat actors will attempt to discover and exploit this vulnerability for as long as it continues to work. However, while sustained vulnerability doesn’t necessarily mean negligence on behalf of organizations that have fallen victim, the most likely excuse as to why they have fallen victim is because they have failed to.....Read More
The continued exploitation of a vulnerability allowing attackers easy and unfettered access to the whole of an organization’s digital resources should come as no surprise. Threat actors will attempt to discover and exploit this vulnerability for as long as it continues to work. However, while sustained vulnerability doesn’t necessarily mean negligence on behalf of organizations that have fallen victim, the most likely excuse as to why they have fallen victim is because they have failed to patch. Because non-Windows or homegrown applications and resources may not be able to leverage secure connections via Netlogon at this time, it has undoubtedly forced some organizations to weigh the risks between the possibility of compromise and the certainty of service downtime. For businesses stuck in this purgatorial state, understanding what is connecting insecurely and taking measures to update these resources via whatever means necessary is the best path forward towards mitigating the risk of this vulnerability both now and in the future.  Read Less
October 14, 2020

Experts On News That Intcomex Suffers Breach
Today it’s Intcomex. Tomorrow it’s anyone’s guess.
Today it’s Intcomex. Tomorrow it’s anyone’s guess. The bottom line is no company or industry is immune to cyberattack. While it seems more of an inevitability than anything else at this point, the probability of successful breach and compromise at tremendous scale like this is really what organizations are somewhat in control of. Focus on the basics and the common denominators in all these breach scenarios is where organizations need to hone their efforts. An overabundance of accounts.....Read More
Today it’s Intcomex. Tomorrow it’s anyone’s guess. The bottom line is no company or industry is immune to cyberattack. While it seems more of an inevitability than anything else at this point, the probability of successful breach and compromise at tremendous scale like this is really what organizations are somewhat in control of. Focus on the basics and the common denominators in all these breach scenarios is where organizations need to hone their efforts. An overabundance of accounts with persistent and privileged access rights to critical infrastructure, user accounts leveraging weak, well-known, and easily guessed passwords, over-provisioned and over-permissive access rights to sensitive information organizations don’t even know exists, misconfigurations, and unpatched vulnerabilities are to blame for the ease in which threat actors can infiltrate an organization and exfiltrate the data they seek. Without a solid foundation and a layered approach to security that forces threat actors to really want it or find easier prey, organizations will continue to find themselves in the headlines rather than the driver’s seat.  Read Less
September 29, 2020

KPMG poll: 4 in 5 consumers would abandon a co. that’s been breached, 9 in 10 “leery” of sharing data – experts perspective
Reputational damage and customer loss have long been used as talking points for those looking to convince powers.
It’s interesting to see consumers taking a more definitive stand on their expectations of corporate data security. It’s also encouraging to see them being more discerning in terms of their online activities. Reputational damage and customer loss have long been used as talking points for those looking to convince the powers that be that investment and attention is not only warranted but required to mitigate the risks of data breach and compliance failure. These statistics indicate the.....Read More
It’s interesting to see consumers taking a more definitive stand on their expectations of corporate data security. It’s also encouraging to see them being more discerning in terms of their online activities. Reputational damage and customer loss have long been used as talking points for those looking to convince the powers that be that investment and attention is not only warranted but required to mitigate the risks of data breach and compliance failure. These statistics indicate the warnings and potential consequences may be quite real and not merely a tactic to sway the conversation via fear, uncertainty, and doubt (aka FUD). That said, just as consumers have come to the realization that the security and privacy of their data are more important than they may have initially thought, they must also understand that the protection of their data is an increasingly difficult task for most organizations. The movement of data across hybrid infrastructures, the lack of funding, manpower, talent, and technological sophistication, and the competitive landscape that exists in the industry today are just a few significant factors in the data protection equation that organizations must wrestle with and that attackers only benefit from. It’s not hard to see the situation between consumers and businesses getting worse as consumer expectations and the difficulty in meeting those expectations increase simultaneously.  Read Less
September 29, 2020

Experts Reacted On Universal Healthcare Services Cyber Attack
Cyberattacks that so directly impact human life are particularly sinister and shameful.
Cyberattacks that so directly impact human life are particularly sinister and shameful. Especially in the thick of a global pandemic, targeting healthcare institutions undoubtedly puts these sorts of cybercriminals on a different level than even those who have impacted hundreds of millions of consumers in a single act, like we’ve seen at organizations like Equifax, MySpace, and eBay in recent years. Frustratingly, these cybercriminals – whether small hacker groups or well-resourced.....Read More
Cyberattacks that so directly impact human life are particularly sinister and shameful. Especially in the thick of a global pandemic, targeting healthcare institutions undoubtedly puts these sorts of cybercriminals on a different level than even those who have impacted hundreds of millions of consumers in a single act, like we’ve seen at organizations like Equifax, MySpace, and eBay in recent years. Frustratingly, these cybercriminals – whether small hacker groups or well-resourced nation-states – are but 1’s and 0’s in the ether and will likely never be brought to justice for their crimes. As insurmountable as some of these cybersecurity challenges may seem, however, it’s important to remember that cybercriminals most often take the paths of least resistance, and focus on foundational security concepts like privileged access controls, configuration management, end-user education, and patch management can have a tremendous impact on an organization’s resiliency to cyberattacks of all kinds.  Read Less
August 11, 2020

ProctorU Breach: Expert Commentary
Sadly, this breach event looks indistinguishable from virtually any other.
One of the more interesting fields of information buried in the schema details of the Proctoru.com database is “eu_citizen”. While one can’t say for certain based on the information provided, this field almost undoubtedly exists because of the groundbreaking EU GDPR data privacy regulation, which aims to hold all organizations collecting and storing the information of EU residents accountable for violations of that data’s privacy and security. Sadly, this breach event looks.....Read More
One of the more interesting fields of information buried in the schema details of the Proctoru.com database is “eu_citizen”. While one can’t say for certain based on the information provided, this field almost undoubtedly exists because of the groundbreaking EU GDPR data privacy regulation, which aims to hold all organizations collecting and storing the information of EU residents accountable for violations of that data’s privacy and security. Sadly, this breach event looks indistinguishable from virtually any other. However, the element of Data Privacy adds an even more frightening twist to the keepers of this stolen data, as it’s not just reputational damage, breach recovery costs, and the seemingly obligatory free credit monitoring fees for the breach victims that they need to worry about. Harsh fines and even market-restricting measures that prevent violators from doing business with EU entities could be the death knell for many businesses that suffer a breach, especially those that demonstrate an inability to comply with the requirements of regulations like GDPR or California’s CCPA.  Read Less
March 17, 2020

U.S. Health Agency Suffers Cyber-Attack – Expert Reaction
Just DDoS style attacks aimed at bringing down critical infrastructure.
We’d like to think that in a world where everyone is effectively in the same boat, a sense of togetherness, an unwritten code of conduct, or even a sense of morality would prevent bad actors from doing bad things – even if just temporarily. This obviously is not the case and if anything should serve as a reminder to organizations that one threat hasn’t been traded for another. To the contrary, individuals and groups that prey on the weak will likely look to take advantage of this dire.....Read More
We’d like to think that in a world where everyone is effectively in the same boat, a sense of togetherness, an unwritten code of conduct, or even a sense of morality would prevent bad actors from doing bad things – even if just temporarily. This obviously is not the case and if anything should serve as a reminder to organizations that one threat hasn’t been traded for another. To the contrary, individuals and groups that prey on the weak will likely look to take advantage of this dire situation, causing more disruption to organizations already reeling from the financial distress, business disruption, and human resource nightmare the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted in just a short period of time. What’s particularly disturbing about this latest incident at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department is that the intent of the attack appears to be driven entirely by malice, seeking only to prevent the men and women trying desperately to protect millions of American citizens from harm from doing their jobs, as well as spread false information in order to generate more panic and uncertainty. No mention of stolen data or compromised credentials. Just DDoS style attacks aimed at bringing down critical infrastructure. It’s among the more cowardly acts we’ve seen lately, especially when compared to the heroic efforts of scientists, doctors, nurses, law enforcement and other front-liners across the world.  Read Less
February 20, 2020

Personal Details Of 10.6M MGM Hotel Guests Posted On A Hacking Forum – Cybersecurity Experts React
This is a great example of how these breaches and their fallout can continue to haunt businesses for quite some time.
This is a great example of how these breaches and their fallout can continue to haunt businesses for quite some time. It’s likely MGM thought this incident was far in the rear view, but the value of their particular dataset continues to have appeal, despite its age and the potential staleness in certain spots. Something every organization can do to mitigate the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data is to proactively seek its whereabouts. Knowing where it is should and often does.....Read More
This is a great example of how these breaches and their fallout can continue to haunt businesses for quite some time. It’s likely MGM thought this incident was far in the rear view, but the value of their particular dataset continues to have appeal, despite its age and the potential staleness in certain spots. Something every organization can do to mitigate the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data is to proactively seek its whereabouts. Knowing where it is should and often does lead to another series of important questions such as who has access to it, who is accessing it, how often is it being accessed, and is it even needed in the first place? This sort of practice is becoming much more commonplace due to regulations such as the EU GDPR and California’s CCPA, which is a good direction for organizations to be headed in to avoid situations like these.  Read Less
January 16, 2020

49 Million User Records Leaked From US Data Broker LimeLeads – Experts Reactions
proactive security measures like vulnerability assessment and desired state configuration are so important as part of a layered security program
A missing password is a misconfiguration. It’s a mistake. Mistakes can be incredibly costly though and the truth is they’re quite easy to make when it comes to staying on top of the literally thousands of settings that can be so easily exploited and manipulated by threat actors. This is exactly why proactive security measures like vulnerability assessment and desired state configuration are so important as part of a layered security program though. Achieving the discipline to ensure even .....Read More
A missing password is a misconfiguration. It’s a mistake. Mistakes can be incredibly costly though and the truth is they’re quite easy to make when it comes to staying on top of the literally thousands of settings that can be so easily exploited and manipulated by threat actors. This is exactly why proactive security measures like vulnerability assessment and desired state configuration are so important as part of a layered security program though. Achieving the discipline to ensure even just the most critical configurations are set properly across every resource would drastically improve any organization’s security posture. The discipline is unfortunately the hardest part.  Read Less
December 17, 2019

Comment: New Orleans Government Shut Down By Massive Cyber Attack
The focus on cities and local government entities feels predatorial though.
Modern ransomware variants are incredibly sophisticated and highly difficult to defend against. Gone are the spray and pray days of ransomware. Now it’s about complete compromise, where the ransom aspect is more so a demonstration of just how deep the compromise is. The focus on cities and local government entities feels predatorial though. These types of organizations often provide important services to large numbers of people, yet commonly lack the capabilities needed to defend themselves .....Read More
Modern ransomware variants are incredibly sophisticated and highly difficult to defend against. Gone are the spray and pray days of ransomware. Now it’s about complete compromise, where the ransom aspect is more so a demonstration of just how deep the compromise is. The focus on cities and local government entities feels predatorial though. These types of organizations often provide important services to large numbers of people, yet commonly lack the capabilities needed to defend themselves due to lack of funding, talent, and tools. Perhaps an unintended consequence of focus on these types of organizations will not just be a heightened level of awareness amongst the general public, but the desire for the general public to push for the resources their local governments need to match up with these highly motivated adversaries.  Read Less
November 23, 2019

Comment: Notorious Iranian Hacking Crew Is Targeting Industrial Control Systems
APT33’s or any other group’s focus on manufacturers and ICS-related industries.
Sadly, one can only hope - at least for the time being - that APT33’s or any other group’s focus on manufacturers and ICS-related industries is limited to reconnaissance and espionage. The damage of identity or IP theft would pale in comparison to the catastrophic failure of a power plant in the dead of winter or any number of unthinkable scenarios. In a world where there general public has grown largely desensitized to the daily occurrence of data breach, it’s likely that attacks on.....Read More
Sadly, one can only hope - at least for the time being - that APT33’s or any other group’s focus on manufacturers and ICS-related industries is limited to reconnaissance and espionage. The damage of identity or IP theft would pale in comparison to the catastrophic failure of a power plant in the dead of winter or any number of unthinkable scenarios. In a world where there general public has grown largely desensitized to the daily occurrence of data breach, it’s likely that attacks on ICS would jolt us all back into reality.  Read Less