March 2022 - Ophtek

Social Engineering Used to Hack into Camera Firm

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Mar 2022

Social engineering is one of the modern menaces of online life, and this has been demonstrated by a recent malware attack on a Swedish camera firm.

Axis Communications, who manufacture network and security cameras, are the company at the centre of this recent attack. The organization announced that they had been the victims of what they described as an “IT-related intrusion” and advised that, as a result, they had temporarily closed their public-facing services online. Naturally, the attack caused great disruption to Axis; it also brought to light a number of shortfalls in cyber-security, namely the impact of social engineering.

What is Social Engineering?

Social engineering is a form of hacking which involves using various methods of deception to glean information from the victims. So, for example, an employee who receives an email, from what appears to the organization’s IT department but is from a fake email address, asking for confirmation of their login credentials is a form of social engineering. And these incidents of social engineering don’t have to take place online, simply telling someone your mother’s maiden name – a popular choice for password recovery questions – is another example.

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How The Axis Attack Happened

The exact details of the Axis attack are yet to be released as the company are conducting a forensic investigation intoexactly what happened. Nonetheless, they have revealed the following details:

Several methods of social engineering were used in order to gain access to the Axis network, these were successful despite the presence of security procedures such as multi-factor authentication.
Advanced hacking techniques were used by the hackers – once they had breached the network – to enhance their credentials and gain high-level access to restricted areas.
Internal directory services were compromised by this unauthorized access.
While no ransomware was detected, there was evidence that malware had been downloaded to the Axis network.

Following concerns of suspicious network activity, and the employment of IT security experts, all external connectivity to the Axis network was closed down.

How to Protect Yourself from Social Engineering

It can be difficult to tackle the highly polished social engineering methods employed by hackers, but following the practices below can make a real difference:

Always Think: slowing down and assessing the situation is crucial when it comes to social engineering. If someone has asked you for sensitive information, such as password details, ask yourself why the need this and what could they do with it? Internal sources – such as managers and IT departments – will never ask for this, so guard your password carefully and, to clarify the situation, speak face-to face with the person who has apparently asked for it.

Regular Staff Training: it’s important that your staff understand the tell-tale signs of social engineering, so make sure that you arrange regular training/refresher courses to keep their knowledge up to date. After all, social engineering is all about the deception, and identifying this can be difficult. But, with the correct knowledge, your staff should be able to protect themselves and your organization.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

China has been a long-term participant in upping the potential of malware, but it appears they have reached a new peak with their Daxin malware.

In a quite remarkable statistic, it’s estimated that nearly half of all PCs in China are infected with malware. Clearly, the distribution of malware within the country is a hardened campaign and, not surprisingly, China is also responsible for producing some major malware designers. And, despite all their ‘successes’ in the world of hacking, they aren’t about to rest on their laurels. Researchers from Symantec have discovered that the Daxin malware represents a sophisticated threat to PCs all over the world.

New malware threats emerge every day, but occasionally a head-turner appears on the scene, and it pays to take notice of it.

What is Daxin?

The earliest evidence of Daxin, in its most basic form, dates back to November 2013 when it was first discovered in a number of cyber-attacks e.g. versions of the Exforel malware. Given the time that has elapsed since then, Daxin has evolved into a highly sophisticated hacking tool.

Using an infected Windows kernel driver, Daxin’s main objective is to establish backdoor access on any PC that it infects. Once this has been established, Daxin strives to keep its presence hidden through a number of stealthy processes. It does this by implementing advanced communication techniques to hide itself within normal network traffic. Daxin is also capable of sending single commands across entire networks which have been infected, this allows it to work at a devastating pace and inflict maximum damage.

One of the most sophisticated aspects of Daxin is that it can hijack TCP/IP sessions; this means that it can identify patterns in internet traffic and use this knowledge to disconnect legitimate users and ‘steal’ their pathway. Not only does this give hackers unauthorized access, but it also allows them to blend into seemingly normal traffic and remain undetected. While Daxin is certainly a sophisticated piece of code, it also employs more traditional techniques such as downloading further malware and spreading this throughout infected networks.

How Do You Beat Daxin?

The precise details of Daxin’s infection methodology haven’t, as of yet, been revealed, so it’s difficult to give a definitive answer on the best way to protect your PC. Nonetheless, these best security practices should provide you with a significant level of protection:

Always Use Official Upgrades: one of the most crucial elements of protecting a PC is by installing updates, but you need to make sure these are genuine. Accordingly, head straight to the manufacturer of specific hardware/software to guarantee you are downloading the correct updates.

Monitor Network Traffic: while Daxin is certainly stealthy when it comes to network activity, it still makes sense to monitor your network. Anything which looks even slightly suspicious should be scrutinized closely and a contingency plan activated to reduce potential damage.

Educate Your Staff: the simplest route into your network is through your employees, and hackers know this. Hence, malicious email campaigns remain one of the most common attack strategies for hackers. However, with comprehensive IT inductions coupled with regular refresher training, your organization should be able to reduce the threat.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Ukraine Hit by Wiper Malware

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Mar 2022

As with all aspects of modern life, everything is a target for cybercriminals, even war. And this has been demonstrated with wiper malware attacking Ukraine.

Amidst its conflict with Russian, Ukraine has also had to contend with hundreds of its computers falling victim to a strain of data wiper malware. As the name suggests, wiper malware is used to wipe hard drives clean of any data. While this sounds like ransomware, and indeed wiper malware often promises the return of data for a fee, the chances of retrieving this data from the hackers is zero. It’s a powerful and destructive cyber-attack, one which has the potential to cause significant damage not just to security, but also IT infrastructures.

It’s an attack method which could strike anywhere at any time, you don’t have to be in Ukraine. Therefore, it’s crucial that we understand how wiper malware works. And, more importantly, how to protect your data.

The Cyber-Attack on Ukraine

The wiper malware in this opportunistic attack, which comes at a time of intense internal chaos, has been identified as HermeticWiper. It followed on from an earlier attack which had targeted Ukraine’s banks through a number of co-ordinated DDoS attacks. It came several hours before Russia launched its invasion campaign but, as yet, nobody has been identified as being behind the attack. What is known is that it’s a new strain of malware which, according to its date stamp, was created towards the end of 2021. Clearly, this attack had been in the works for some time.

Once downloaded onto a PC, HermeticWiper sets about wiping all the data from its hard drive. It achieves this objective by taking advantage of existing disc and storage management software. With this software compromised, HermeticWiper turns it against the PC to corrupt any data within its grasp and then reboots the PC. But it doesn’t stop there. HermeticWiper is also keen to attack any data recover software on the machine and also interferes with the hard drive’s rebooting system.

How Do You Stop Wiper Malware?

The government of Ukraine has a significant reach and has appealed to its native hackers to assist in protecting the country’s IT infrastructures. Unfortunately, almost all organizations will struggle to raise this level of support. But there’s still plenty you can do:

Backup Carefully: it’s unlikely that you will be able to retrieve the original copies of your data, but if you backup correctly you shouldn’t have any problems. Malware, of course, can spread through networks like wildfire, so it’s important that you keep copies of your backups on isolated networks. And, don’t forget, multiple backups on different storage mediums is key to retaining your data.

Be Email Aware: email is one of the most common methods for distributing malware and it’s surprisingly easy to fall victim to these attacks. All it takes is a momentary lapse in concentration, such as not checking a link correctly, for malware to take hold of your PC. Therefore, always hover your mouse cursor over links to identify their true destination and, to be completely sure, ask an IT professional to verify the link before doing anything.

Act Quickly If Infected: as soon as a wiper-malware is attacked, it’s critical that you begin segmenting your networking to minimize the malware’s spread. While this will not protect all your data, it will allow you to save large chunks of your data. Accordingly, it’s important you ensure your networks are constantly monitored for unusual activity to help you launch a contingency effort such as this.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Monthly Archives: March 2022