ZeroCleare Malware Wiping Systems

IBM researchers have been tracking the steady rise in ZeroCleare deployments throughout the last year, culminating in a significant rise in 2019. This malware is deployed on both 32 and 64-bit systems in highly targeted attacks, with the capability to completely wipe the system by exploiting the EldoS RawDisk driver (which was also used in prior targeted attacks). The malware itself appears to be spreading through TeamViewer sessions and, though the 32-bit variant seems to crash before wiping can begin, the 64-bit variant has the potential to cause devastating damage to the multi-national corporations being targeted.

FTC Scam Threatens Victims with Terrorism Charges

FTC officials recently made an announcement regarding scam letters purporting to be from the commission and the numerous complaints the letters have sparked from the public. Victims of the scam are told that, due to some suspicious activity, they will be personally and financially monitored as well as face possible charges for terrorism. These types of scams are fairly common and have been in use for many years, often targeting the elderly with greater success.

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Misreported Data Breach Costs Hospital Millions

Following an April 2017 complaint, the Office of Civil Rights has issued a fine of $2.175 million after discovering that Sentara Hospitals had distributed the private health information for 577 patients, but only reported eight affected. Moreover, it took over a year for the healthcare provider to take full responsibility for the breach and begin correcting their security policies for handling sensitive information. HIPAA violations are extremely time-sensitive and the slow response from Sentara staff could act as a lesson for other organizations to ensure similar events don’t reoccur.

Android Vulnerability Allows Hackers Easy Access

Researchers have identified a new Android exploit that allows hackers access to banking applications by quickly stealing login credentials after showing the victim a legitimate app icon, requesting additional permissions, and then sending the user to their expected app. Even more worrisome, this vulnerability exists within all current versions of AndroidOS and, while not found on the Google Play Store, some illicit downloaders were distributing it.

Smith & Wesson Hit by Magecart

In the days leading up to Black Friday, one of the largest retail shopping days of the year, malicious skimming code was placed onto the computer systems and, subsequently, the website of Smith & Wesson. In a slight break from the normal Magecart tactics, they attackers were masquerading as a security vendor to make their campaign less visible. The card-skimming code was initially placed onto the website on November 27 and was still active through December 2.

Shade Ransomware Takes Crown as Most Distributed Variant

Over the course of 2019, one ransomware variant, known as Shade, has taken over 50 percent of market share for ransomware delivered via email. Otherwise known as Troldesh, this variant receives regular updates to further improve it’s encrypting and methods of generating additional revenue from both cryptomining and improving traffic to sites that run ads. In just the first half of 2019, attacks using Troldesh dramatically rose from 1,100 to well over 6,000 by the second calendar quarter.

PayMyTab Leaves Customer Data Exposed

For more than a year sensitive customer data belonging to users of the mobile payment app PayMyTab has been publicly exposed in an online database using no security protocols. Even after being contacted multiple times regarding the data breach, the company has yet to fully secure customer data and may have to take drastic measures to fully secure their data storage after allowing virtually unlimited access to anyone with an interest in personal data.

Credentials Dump for Major Service Sites

Login credentials for two highly-trafficked websites were discovered in a data dump earlier this week. One dump belonged to GateHub, a cryptocurrency wallet with potentially up to 1.4 million user credentials stolen, including not only usernames and passwords, but also wallet hashes and keys used for two-factor authentication. The second dump contained information on 800,000 users of EpicBot, a RuneScape bot used to automate tasks in the skill-centric MMORPG. While both dumps appeared on dark web marketplaces on the same day, it also seems coincidental that both sites use bcrypt hashing for passwords, which should make them exceedingly difficult to crack assuming it was set up properly.

Louisiana Government Systems Hit with Ransomware

Multiple Louisiana state service sites were taken offline early Monday morning following a ransomware attack that affected mostly transportation services. All 79 of the state’s DMV locations were forced to close until systems were returned to normal, as they were unable to access DOT services to assist clients. While it is still unclear what variant of ransomware was used, the state of Louisiana did have a cybersecurity team in place to stop any further spread of the infection.

Magecart Targets Macy’s Online

Nearly a week after the initial breach, Macy’s officials noticed some unauthorized access between their main website and an undisclosed third-party site. The breach itself appears to have compromised payment card data for any customers who input their credentials during the first couple weeks of October. Macy’s has since removed the illicitly added code from their sites as well as contacted both payment card providers and affected customers regarding the breach.

Orvis Internal Credentials Leaked

A database containing login credentials for numerous internal systems belonging to Orvis, one of America’s oldest retailers, was found to be publicly available for an unknown amount of time. Why the database was publicly accessible at all is still unclear, but the retailer has determined that many credentials were for decommissioned devices. They managed to resolve the security dilemma for the remaining devices relatively quickly.

Mexican Oil Company Hit by Ransomware Attack

A few days ago, Pemex Oil was targeted by a ransomware attack that, according to reports, affected 5% of their computer systems. The demanded ransom, as displayed by the note left by the DoppelPaymer ransomware variant, was 565 bitcoins, or roughly $4.9 million. Fortunately, Pemex had a decent security strategy in place and was able to get their operations running normally by the following day.

Facebook Bug Turns on iPhone Cameras

The latest bug from Facebook is one that turns on the user’s iPhone camera when they open the Facebook app. It appears the bug only works on phones running iOS version 13.2.2, and for users who accepted permissions to allow the app to access the camera. Unfortunately for Facebook, many of its users are already wary of the company’s privacy policies, and so-called “bugs” like this one only serve to increase the level of distrust within its customer base.

PureLocker Ported to All Major Operating Systems

A new ransomware variant, PureLocker, has been successfully ported from Windows® operating systems to both MacOS® and Linux® systems with the typical capacity to fully encrypt all discovered files. Researchers have found that it encrypts files on compromised systems using .CR1 as the file extension, a tag which also appears in the text-based ransom note. This may be tied to a particular affiliate, as PureLocker is being distributed as Ransomware-as-a-Service.

Cyberattack on UK Labour Party

Officials for the UK Labour Party have issued a statement regarding a cyberattack on their computer systems, though it appears that the security they had in place was enough to repel the attack. While they are still unsure as to the origin of the attack, they were able to determine that it was a DDoS attack (Distributed Denial of Service), which floods the targeted systems with an overwhelming amount of cyber-traffic.

BEC Scam Takes Millions from Nikkei America

Officials for Nikkei are working to identify the perpetrators of a recent business email compromise (BEC) scam that took roughly $29 million from the company’s American subsidiary. The illicit transfer took place sometime during the end of September and, though they did make a public statement last week, the only clues they have are the Hong Kong bank account that the funds were sent to. While this is not the largest scam of this type to occur this year, it does serve to underscore the prevalence and continued success of these attacks.

Canadian Province Shuts Down After Ransomware Attack

Government networks for the Nunavut territory of Canada have been taken offline following a ransomware attack that appears to have been executed by an unwitting employee. Fortunately, even thought their security systems failed to block the infection, the affected offices keep regular backups to safeguard against this type of issue. However, even with these failsafe measures, it may still take about a week to get all of the official systems back to full operation.

Facebook API Allows Unauthorized Access to User Accounts

Several developer apps have been found retaining user info and photos from Groups for much longer than previously anticipated by Facebook. This is, by no means, the first time in recent years that Facebook has fallen under scrutiny; it comes nearly a year after the Cambridge Analytica findings, not to mention the more recent news about the company removing thousands of apps that had been misusing customer data. While the social media giant has made a number of changes to stop these types of data leaks, they clearly still have a lot more work to do to ensure their clients’ data is safe.

Indian Education Firm Data Leak

A database belonging to an Indian tech firm may have exposed sensitive information for over 600,000 customers. Even more alarming than the high number of victims is that this leak seems to have begun back in July of this year, begging the question as to why it took so long for the firm to make an official announcement. Due to the sheer volume of exposed data, the company has already started contacting affected customers in hopes of preventing any further misuse of their information.

MegaCortex Ransomware Demos New Tactics

The latest variant of MegaCortex has brought with it a plethora of new features and functionality. While it does still perform RSA encryption on nearly every file on the machine, it now also has the ability to change the main system password, making it very difficult for the victim to access their own system at all. In addition to the typical ransom note that demands quick crypto-based payment, this variant also threatens victims in lurid detail as to how their encrypted files will be published to the masses.

Bed, Bath, & Beyond Data Breach

An official announcement made earlier this week acknowledged illicit access to customer data used in online accounts for Bed, Bath, & Beyond. While the breach didn’t affect payment card information, the retailer quickly began contacting affected customers and took steps to safeguard against future incidents.

Johannesburg Shutdown After Cyber Attack

Three months after a cyber attack hit Johannesburg, South Africa, the city is once again dealing with network outages. After a ransom note was posted to several social media outlets, city officials are still attempting to downplay the attacks by claiming they purposefully took down the sites rather than them being ransomed by hackers. In addition to the ransom note, hackers also posted screenshots proving their control over the city’s network systems and their expectation of payment.

UniCredit Financial Data Leak

Officials working for UniCredit, an Italian banking firm, announced that unauthorized access to their systems has left the sensitive information of nearly 3 million Italian exposed. Fortunately, the stolen information did not include any financial data, but did contain personally identifiable information such as names and contact details. It is unclear how hackers gained access to the data, though it appears the data may have even been taken years earlier in prior security breaches faced by the firm.

Ransomware Shuts Down New Mexico School District

Las Cruces Public Schools, a New Mexico school district, was forced to take their entire system offline following a ransomware attack. While email and other important services are still offline, students have still been attending classes as normal, though the process of fully remediating the incident has just begun. It is still unclear how the attack was initiated, but it’s the latest in a long line of educational institutions that have fallen victim to ransomware this year.

Malware Attack on Indian Power Plant

It has been confirmed that both an Indian nuclear power plant and another piece of infrastructure have fallen victim to a malware attack apparently tied to North Korean actors. Fortunately, the attacks did not allow unauthorized control of the systems, though this attack may have been only a test to determine security and response times in preparation for a larger, future attack. 

In my previous blog post, Why Healthcare Organizations are Easy Targets for Cybercrime, I discussed various reasons that hospitals and healthcare organizations make desirable and lucrative targets for hackers. In this second installment, I’ll go over how criminals are attacking these organizations, the methods they use, and also what needs to be done to begin to address this dangerous threat. 

Medical Device Compromise

As I mentioned in my first blog on this topic, there is a wide array of connected medical devices in a hospital environment. These devices can be classified into 5 broad categories:

• Consumer wearables, such as sleep pattern monitors, fitness trackers, etc.
• Patient monitoring devices, including insulin pumps, ECG, heart rate monitors etc.
• IVD, blood analyzers, etc.
• Embedded devices, such as pacemakers and implants
• In-house equipment, like medicine dispensing systems, MRI, CT, and X-ray machines, etc.

Devices like these can he hacked in an alarming number of ways. In addition to attacks that could endanger patients’ lives, such as remotely tampering with pacemakers or insulin pumps, these devices may be exploited to enable data theft or to gain access to other hospital infrastructure or systems. In one example from 2017, penetration tester Saurabh Harit managed to compromise a digital pen used for writing prescriptions, which gave him access to a patient database and scans of each prescription.

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Data Breaches

Medical data is a valuable commodity that is openly traded on the dark web. Although hackers and automated malware are often to blame, old-fashioned user error can play a major role in these types of compromises. Phishing remains a preferred method for stealing data and infiltrating networks.

Some examples of stolen medical data include:

• Patient data. Identity and insurance fraud are relatively easy when you have access to the kinds of data medical organizations store about their patients. Additionally, this information can be used to charge expensive medical procedures, claim prescription drugs, or be exploited to breach other organizations outside of the healthcare industry. It can even be used for personal extortion and a host of other crimes.
• Administrative paperwork. Criminals may target medical licenses to forge prescriptions and commit other types of fraud or extortion.
• Prescription information. Criminals may forge prescriptions or drug labels and use them for purposes like fraud and even drug smuggling.
• Biometric data. As biometrics are increasingly used in security measures and law enforcement practices, records of fingerprints, ocular scans, and even heartbeats could be stolen and used for nefarious purposes. 

Ransomware

Because the services that medical facilities provide are essential and often cannot be disrupted without serious risk to patients, ransomware is a weapon of choice. Many organizations have no choice but to pay the ransom, and some health facilities have had to shut down permanently due to these attacks.

Medical facilities worldwide have turned patients away, curtailed or suspended services, and even closed as a result of ransomware attacks. The groups that carry out these attacks have typically done recon on their targets to discover exactly how to breach them and which systems to encrypt to cause maximum disruption. 

Of course, when we talk about ransomware affecting healthcare organizations, one attack stands out above them all: WannaCry. This nasty threat spread like wildfire across the world in 2017 and crippled many organizations through a combination of lateral wormlike propagation and machine-wrecking encryption. One of the largest and most publicized victims was the U.K.’s National Health Service. The attack “disrupted services across one-third of hospital trusts and around 8% of GP practices,” according to a report published by the NHS a year later. On top of that, ambulance services were affected and over 19,000 appointments were cancelled. 

Despite the financial gains to be had when attacking healthcare organizations, WannaCry was actually an example of a cyber-weapon spreading far beyond its intended targets; the attack was not specifically aimed at the NHS or other health orgs affected. 

Ultimately, WannaCry really highlighted the poor security practices prevalent in so many healthcare organizations. The NHS fell under a lot of scrutiny in the aftermath of the attack, particularly as Microsoft had issued a Windows® update that would have fixed the exploited vulnerability months before. Since then, the health service has undertaken a number of changes to shore up defenses.

The Stats

According to a survey of industry Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) by Carbon Black, the state of cybersecurity in healthcare is somewhat bleak, if unsurprising.

• 83% of surveyed healthcare organizations said they’ve seen an increase in cyberattacks over the past year.
• Two-thirds (66%) of surveyed healthcare organizations said cyberattacks have become more sophisticated over the past year.
• With increased adoption of medical and IoT devices, the surface area for healthcare attacks is becoming even larger. 
• Limited cybersecurity staffing and stagnant cybersecurity budgets in the industry further compound the issues.

Other reports by security companies Thales and Fortinet paint a similar picture. A recent report in the HIPAA Journal puts data breaches at record levels in 2019.

What Needs to Happen

Healthcare’s poor track record when it comes to updates, patching and obsolete operating systems needs to be addressed—no question. Below are some of the other things that need to happen to improve security all around at hospitals and other healthcare practices.

• All staff members should be trained on security risks and best practices to avoid them.
• Medical device designers need to adopt security as a design principle ASAP.
• Hospitals and other facilities need to better audit and patch their devices, operating systems, applications, firmware, etc. to help eliminate vulnerabilities.
• Government initiatives and coordination are essential, not just for the public facilities they run but also for private practices.
• All healthcare practices should have antivirus and other cybersecurity solutions and should have access to security teams who can investigate any breaches to identify and address vulnerabilities.
• Access to devices, middleware, and APIs should be restricted where possible and secured.

And, finally, the “blame game” culture that pervades healthcare needs to be seen for what it really is: an obstacle to progress. Cybersecurity is a group effort that we should all share. From governing bodies to businesses to individual users, each of us has a role to play in creating a more secure connected world.