In Other News: Government Use of Spyware, New Industrial Security Tools, Japan Router Hack  – Source: www.securityweek.com

SecurityWeek is publishing a weekly cybersecurity roundup that provides a concise compilation of noteworthy stories that might have slipped under the radar.

We provide a valuable summary of stories that may not warrant an entire article, but are nonetheless crucial for a comprehensive understanding of the cybersecurity landscape.

Each week, we will curate and present a collection of noteworthy developments, ranging from the latest vulnerability discoveries and emerging attack techniques to significant policy changes and industry reports.

By bringing these stories to your attention, we empower you to stay informed, enhance your security posture, and make well-informed decisions to protect your organization.

Here are this week’s stories:

Spyware used in Israel, the Middle East and the US

Separate reports published this week detail the spyware used by Israeli Police (Echo tool offered by Israeli firm Rayzone), Arab intelligence services (spying tools offered by Swiss company In The Cyber), and the US Drug Enforcement Agency (spyware called Paragon Graphite).

Google shuts down YouTube channels used for influence operations

Google in April shut down many YouTube channels that were part of coordinated influence operations linked to Russia, Turkey, Iran, China, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. The Chinese operation was powered by roughly 3,500 channels. 

Iranian government websites and networks targeted by local hacktivists

An Iranian hacktivist group called GhyamSarnegouni (‘Rise to Overthrow’ or ‘Uprising till Overthrow’) has been targeting the Iranian government, defacing websites and breaching networks in an effort to steal and leak what appears to be highly sensitive data. 

90 organizations notify UK ICO of data breaches related to Capita hack

The BBC reported that 90 organizations in the UK have informed the country’s privacy and data watchdog about being hit by the recent data breach at British business process outsourcing firm Capita. The impacted organizations handle the data of millions of people. Capita said recently it expects the ransomware attack to cost it up to $25 million. 

Linux routers in Japan targeted with GobRAT malware

Japan’s JPCERT/CC issued a warning about Linux routers in the country being targeted with the GobRAT malware since February. The attackers are using a loader to disable the device’s firewall function, download GobRAT, and ensure persistence on a device. Compromised routers can be abused for various types of malicious purposes. 

‘Migraine’ macOS vulnerability discovered by Microsoft 

Microsoft has disclosed the details of CVE-2023-32369, a recently patched macOS vulnerability that could allow an attacker with root access to automatically bypass System Integrity Protection (SIP) and perform arbitrary operations on the targeted computer. Microsoft has dubbed the flaw ‘Migraine’.

Vulnerabilities patched in OpenSSL and VMware

The latest OpenSSL updates patch CVE-2023-2650, a medium-severity vulnerability that can be exploited to cause a DoS condition.

In addition, VMware announced that it has fixed a medium-severity information disclosure vulnerability in Workspace One Access and Identity Manager. The issue is tracked as CVE-2023-20884.

RAIDForums database leaked

Someone has leaked a database allegedly containing the information of roughly 479,000 users of the RaidForums cybercrime forum. Threat intelligence company Kela has an analysis of the leak, which includes email addresses, usernames, IPs, and credentials. Leaked hacker forum databases can be useful for identifying cybercriminals. 

Mass scanning of popular GitHub repositories for misconfigurations

Checkmarx reported seeing a GitHub user forking nearly 2,000 repositories (with 319,000 total stars) as part of what appeared to be a bug bounty hunting attempt for finding misconfigurations in CI pipelines.

Secureworks announces two new offerings for industrial organizations

Secureworks has announced two new cybersecurity offerings for industrial organizations. The first is Taegis XDR for OT, an XDR platform for MSSPs and organizations that manage their own SOC, which combines OT intelligence with IT security telemetry. The second is Taegis ManagedXDR for OT, a fully managed security offering for IT and OT environments.