Content by Scott Ferguson

Mimecast Confirms SolarWinds Hackers Breached Company

Scott Ferguson  •  January 26, 2021

Email security vendor Mimecast confirmed Tuesday that the hackers responsible for the SolarWinds supply chain hack also breached the security firm's network to compromise a digital certificate that encrypts data that moves between some of the firm's products and Microsoft's servers.

SonicWall Investigating Zero-Day Attacks Against Its Products

Scott Ferguson  •  January 24, 2021

Security vendor SonicWall is investigating what the company calls a "coordinated attack" against its internal network by threat actors using a zero-day exploit within the company's remote access products. SonicWall is urging customers to apply temporary fixes to secure VPNs and gateways.

Biden's $10 Billion Cybersecurity Proposal: Is It Enough?

Scott Ferguson  •  January 18, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion plan for COVID-19 relief includes nearly $10 billion in cybersecurity and IT spending. Some security experts hope the amount as just a "down payment" toward a broader effort.

CISA Warns of Surge in Attacks Targeting Cloud Services

Scott Ferguson  •  January 14, 2021

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warns that hackers are increasingly targeting cloud services by waging phishing schemes and brute-force attacks. CISA recommends a number of defenses, including regularly reviewing Active Directory sign-in logs and enforcing multifactor authentication.

Kaspersky: SolarWinds Backdoor Similar to Russian 'Kazuar'

Scott Ferguson  •  January 11, 2021

The "Sunburst" backdoor deployed in the breach of SolarWinds' Orion network monitoring tool uses some of the same code found in the "Kazuar" backdoor, which security researchers have previously tied to Russian hackers, the security firm Kaspersky reports.

FBI Issues Alert on Growing Egregor Ransomware Threat

Scott Ferguson  •  January 9, 2021

The FBI has issued a warning about the growing threat from the operators behind the Egregor ransomware variant and other cybercriminal gangs affiliated with the group. Since September, the crypto-locking malware has been associated with nearly 100 attacks worldwide.

Rioters Open Capitol's Doors to Potential Cyberthreats

Scott Ferguson , Doug Olenick  •  January 6, 2021

The massive pro-Trump demonstrations that saw large crowds riot and then occupy the U.S. Capitol building in Washington pose a significant potential cybersecurity threat as protesters appear to have gained access to at least one lawmaker's office, along with computer systems and other devices, some experts say.

UK Court Denies Assange Bail During Appeals Process

Scott Ferguson  •  January 6, 2021

A U.K. court denied Julian Assange bail Wednesday as the U.S. Justice Department prepares to appeal a judge's ruling earlier this week rejecting its request to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to the U.S. to face criminal charges. Assange will remain in a high-security prison during the appeals process.

British Judge Denies US Extradition of Assange

Scott Ferguson  •  January 4, 2021

A British judge has denied a Justice Department request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the U.S. to face criminal charges related to hacking government computers and then publishing classified information. U.S. prosecutors plan to appeal.

How Will Biden Administration Tackle Cybersecurity?

Scott Ferguson  •  December 30, 2020

In less than a month, President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn into office and immediately confront a list of cybersecurity problems ranging from a now-leaderless CISA to the SolarWinds breach. Here's how security experts - and former government leaders - see the administration's cyber policies taking shape.

President Trump Downplays Impact of SolarWinds Breach

Scott Ferguson  •  December 19, 2020

In his first remarks about the massive hacking operation that leveraged a tainted SolarWinds Orion software update, President Donald Trump on Saturday downplayed the seriousness of the incident and contradicted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had pointed a finger at Russia.

SolarWinds Hack: Lawmakers Demand Answers

Akshaya Asokan , Scott Ferguson  •  December 18, 2020

Lawmakers are pressing government agencies for answers following disclosures this week about an advanced persistent threat group's massive hacking campaign involving compromised SolarWinds Orion network management software. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday Russians "engaged in this activity."

SolarWinds Incident Response: 4 Essential Security Alerts

Scott Ferguson , Mathew J. Schwartz  •  December 14, 2020

What should incident responders grappling with the complex online attack campaign that successfully distributed a Trojanized version of SolarWinds Orion network monitoring software to customers focus on first? See these four essential alerts, which are already being updated.

'MountLocker' Ransomware Adds to Affiliate Extortion Racket

Scott Ferguson  •  December 12, 2020

lackBerry researchers are tracking a relatively new ransomware variant called "MountLocker" and the operators behind it, who are using affiliate cybercriminal gangs to help spread the malware, exfiltrate data and extort victims, sometimes for millions of dollars.

FCC Upholds Ruling That Huawei Poses National Security Threat

Scott Ferguson  •  December 11, 2020

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has upheld its designation of Chinese telecom company Huawei as a national security threat, rejecting the firm's appeal of the ruling. Meanwhile, it's starting proceedings that could revoke China Telecom's permission to provide communications services within the U.S.