Cyber security update, April

SoftwareOne believes there is a need for additional information when it comes to cyber security, as organisations have made it clear that investment in a proper security strategy is paramount. SoftwareOne’s monthly “Cyber security update” provides information on the most recent threats, the latest breaches and how to react to them in order to stay on top of malware and ransomware threats. We’ve rounded up the latest security headlines to keep you up to speed and prepared.

Latest security breaches

The breach of Space-Eyes, a geospatial intelligence firm, has compromised sensitive data from critical US government agencies, posing a significant national security risk. IntelBroker, a prominent hacker from the CyberNiggers threat group is responsible for the breach, exposing highly confidential documents and personal information of government officials.

Chipmaker Nexperia confirmed a significant data breach after a ransomware gang leaked data. Hackers accessed some of its systems and potentially stole sensitive information, including the company’s intellectual property. The company disclosed a data breach that forced it to shut down IT systems and launch an investigation to determine the scope of impact.

Hoya Corporation, one of the largest global manufacturers of optical products, disclosed "system failure" caused servers at some of its production plants and business divisions to go offline. Hoya is currently investigating whether the hackers accessed or extracted any confidential or personal information stored on the compromised systems.

In another data breach, Telecom giant Frontier Communications, an optic-fiber Internet provider, was forced to temporarily shut down its information systems due to a Cyber-attack. Frontier Communications told the SEC it has launched an investigation with external cybersecurity experts and notified law enforcement authorities of the cyber-attack.

A massive cyber-attack has taken down local government services in several French municipalities. The cyber assault targeted shared servers. It took down business systems, email, and phone lines, forcing the impacted local authorities to communicate via social media and websites.

In another major data breach, Pandabuy exposed personal information of over 1.3 million customers, leading to concerns about the security of the online shopping platform. The hackers exploited critical API vulnerabilities to access internal systems and exposed user IDs, names, phone numbers, emails, and other details.

Home Depot, a home improvement retailer with over 2,300 stores in the US, Canada and Mexico suffered a data breach that exposed the corporate information belonging to 10K employees of the company.

Microsoft experienced another security lapse when employee credentials were inadvertently exposed via an unsecured Azure cloud server, accessible without a password for almost a month. The exposed data could enable hackers to access internal company files and compromise services, highlighting the potential impact of the security lapse.

In a major data breach, the Android banking trojan Brokewell takes over all Android devices and can capture all device activities and is distributed through fake Google Chrome updates, posing a significant security threat to users.

Cyber security awareness

CISOs are emphasising the critical importance of security awareness training in the face of escalating cyber threats, highlighting the vulnerability posed by human error. The evolving landscape of cybercrime and cybersecurity underscores the need for a cultural shift towards a heightened security awareness within organisations.

The global security awareness training market is predicted to exceed $10 billion annually by 2027, reflecting a significant growth in demand.

CISA has issued a new emergency directive ordering U.S. federal agencies to address risks resulting from the breach of multiple Microsoft corporate email accounts by the Russian APT29 hacking group.

Cyber security intelligence

Quantum computing poses a significant threat to current cybersecurity measures due to its ability to bypass encryption locks and decrypt data at an unprecedented speed.

Tech companies like Apple and Google are developing post-quantum cryptographic protocols to protect against potential quantum cyber attacks, emphasizing the need for proactive measures.

Critical Start has launched a managed detection and response (MDR) offering specifically designed to secure operational technology (OT) systems within industrial organisations against targeted attacks. The new offering provides differentiated threat detection and response actions for both IT and OT workflows, featuring customisable alerting and flat-rate pricing for 24x7x365 threat monitoring.