CyberWire Daily

In today's podcast, we hear that BadRabbit, still quiet, looks like a TeleBots product. Reaper is still locked and loaded, but is also still quiet. Maritime SATCOM system found to be buggy, and the worse news is that it's beyond its end-of-life. A look back at the annual ICS Cybersecurity Summit that wrapped yesterday in Atlanta. Moscow tells Twitter buying ads is a free speech issue. Justin Harve...

In today's podcast, we hear that there's still no sign of the Reaper botnet doing anything. An update on BadRabbit—which for some reason seems to have hopped quietly away from its infrastructure. Other forms of more conventional ransomware, however, remain in circulation, in the wild. It looks as if Kaspersky software might have stumbled across NSA files after all. The US Senate Intelligence Commi...

In today's podcast, we hear about BadRabbit, a new strain of ransomware that's hopped out of Petya's hutch. The Lazarus Group is said to have taken control of some servers in India. DUHK [duck] warnings. Are industrial control system operators paying sufficient attention to Level 1 and Level 0 threats? Next May will see not only GDPR, but also NIS. Joe Carrigan from JHU reviews a list of security...

In today's podcast, we learn that Hurricane Reaper, the big IoT botnet, remains a digital tropical depression, but plenty of people are warning everyone to stock up on the cyber equivalents of flashlight batteries and bottled water. Czech parliament sites hacked in apparent election-related mischief. Kenya's contentious re-vote approaches. APT28 gets a Bronx cheer for lame CyCon phishing, but don'...

In today's podcast, we share some notes on active malware campaigns, and a warning to be on the lookout for the Reaper botnet, which hasn't yet realized its disruptive potential. Kaspersky opens its source code to independent review, to show it's got nothing to hide. Fancy Bear is phishing for you if you plan to attend CyCon. The difficulty of recognizing trolls, and the dangers of innocent posts...

In August 2017, multiple Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and content providers were subject to significant attacks from a botnet dubbed WireX. (The botnet is named for an anagram for one of the delimiter strings in its command and control protocol.) The WireX botnet is primarily made up of Android devices running malicious applications and is designed to create DDoS traffic. The botnet is sometim...

In today's podcast we hear that an IoT botnet hurricane may be forming among IP cameras. (IP cameras are to DDoS what the West African coast is to Atlantic tropical depressions.) Sofacy rushes to exploit a patched Flash bug in a use-it-or-lose-it espionage race. Want to spy on someone? Go buy an ad. Cisco patches the wi-fi KRACK. NotPetya's still costing manufacturers and their insurers a lot of m...

In today's podcast, we hear about how a cyber espionage campaign exploits a recently patched .NET vulnerability as Leviathan phishes with torpedo recovery programs. What does Pyongyang want in cyberspace? Apparently a lot of the same things it wants in physical space. Some observers think Putin thinks the Americans started that whole destabilization and delegitimation influence ops struggle. He's...

In today's podcast we hear that the Lazarus Group is back at it with SWIFT. Maniber ransomware hits South Korea. Researchers cast the first KRACK-related stone at IEEE. Oracle, BlackBerry, and Lenovo patch. A study finds criminals turning to cryptominers. Awais Rashid from Lancaster University on securing critical infrastructure. Aaron Higbee, CTO of PhishMe, on the human factors in phishing. And ...

In today's podcast, we hear about the assassination of a reporter who covered the Panama Papers. The Black Oasis threat group is found distributing FinFisher by exploitation of a bug in Flash Player. North Korean hacking is said to have been responsible for cancellation of a projected television show. Infineon patches a firmware flaw that could be exploited in a Coppersmith's attack. Vendors work...

In today's podcast, we hear about how KRACK attacks get past secure wi-fi protocols. Probes and distributed denial-of-service incidents in Poland and Sweden have the look of state operations. East Asian threat actors moving on from cyber espionage to supply chain attacks. Iran blamed for June's hack of UK Parliamentary email. QR codes may pose security issues. Do FSB social media trolls really tra...

Peter Ney is a PhD candidate in the Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington where he is advised by Professor Tadayoshi Kohno. His current research is focused on understanding computer security risks in emerging technologies like DNA synthesis and sequencing and the new threats posed by maliciously crafted, synthetic DNA. He and his team found that security...

In today's podcast, we hear that German authorities say they see nothing bad up with Kaspersky software, but they're in the Western minority on this one. ISIS messaging looks as if it's shifting toward a hejira narrative. Hyatt discloses a significant credit card breach. Equifax and its competitor TransUnion both remove third-party malvertizing code from their websites. Malek Ben Salem from Accent...

In today's podcast, we hear that German police raid a Panama Papers connected slush fund. North Korea spearphishes in the North American power grid. Security tools can be dual-use, too. Notes on CyberMaryland, where we heard about business climates, the Baltimore-to-Birmingham cyber connection, the Red Queen's race, and the curmudgeonly demeanor too many security types cop. Rick Howard from Palo A...

In today's CyberWire, we discuss why the US Intelligence Community got prickly about Kaspersky: their Israeli colleagues tipped them off that something was fishy in the software's use. UpGuard says Accenture left some AWS data buckets exposed. Accenture says they were associated with decommissioned systems, but exposed they seem to have been. Sources say Deloitte's breach is worse than hitherto di...

In today's podcast, we hear that North Korea may have hacked into South Korean defense plans. Facebook and Google receive increasing scrutiny for Russian ad buys during 2016 US election season. A dissident Chinese billionaire, exiled to New York, says he's been under cyberattack from Shanghai. OilRig is back, with new and improved cyberespionage. Forrester market research reports accessed by hacke...

Following major breach revelations from Equifax, Yahoo!, Deloitte and the US Securities and Exchange commission, there have been many calls in the US for increased legislation and regulation that would force better privacy and identity management practices. In this CyberWire special edition, we’ll ask some cyber security experts about GDPR, what it means for privacy and data use, the right to be f...

Android Toast Overlay enables attackers to trick Android users into enabling permissions on infected devices by making them think they are clicking on benign buttons superimposed over the user interface. Ryan Olson is Director of Threat Intelligence at Palo Alto Networks' Unity 42, and he joins us to share their research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast, we hear more on what happened with NSA material at (allegedly) Russian hands. Kaspersky security software alleged to have been exploited for intelligence service reconnaissance of contractor machine. Germany cancels post-Snowden surveillance investigation. Reality Winner will not be released on bail. Awais Rashid from Lancaster University on securing the supply chain. Guest is...

In today's podcast we hear that sensitive NSA files appear to have been obtained by Russian intelligence services, and there are claims Kaspersky software was the gateway to compromise. Las Vegas massacre investigation expands to consider possibility of accomplices. A new password stealer is out in the wild. NFL Players Association data exposed. Justin Harvey from Accenture on insider threats. Gue...

In today's podcast, we hear that ISIS claims of responsibility for Las Vegas murders continue to lose plausibility, but the shooter's motives remain a mystery. Yahoo!'s epic breach just got even more epic. Equifax looks little better in the wake of its CEO's Congressional testimony. A major breach seems to be unfolding in India.  Jonathan Katz from UMD on the importance of random numbers for crypt...

  In today's podcast, we consider the bogus rumors and highly questionable claims of responsibility circulating online after the Las Vegas massacre. ISIS is especially keen to make inspirational capital out of senseless killing and suffering. Google and Facebook come under pressure to moderate the content they carry. The UK prepares to pass tougher restrictions on viewing radical content. The Equi...

In today's podcast, it's bots, sockpuppets, and trolls, oh my. Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Washington. Equifax sources suggest China hacked it. Credit bureau phishbait chums the Internet. Pyongyang gets a new Internet connection, and observers bet it's not for checking Mr. Kim's fantasy sports leagues (anyway he could get all that from Mr. Rodman). ISIS posts more inspiration, and warnings. NSA prepare...

APT 33 is an Iranian cyber espionage group that targets aerospace and energy sectors and has ties to destructive malware. John Hultquist is Director of Intelligence Analysis at FireEye, and he takes us through their research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast, we hear that Whole Foods has been breached—if you've been to the taproom, look to your credit cards. An illusion gap could help bypass Windows Defender, says Cyber Ark. Microsoft says don't sweat the small stuff. A Mac firmware issue may be giving users a false sense of security. Equifax is offering a lifetime of free credit freezing, but observers are dubious. A study suggests...