LastPass Hit by Security Incident

Hackers, LastPass, Ophtek, password manager, Password Security, Security, strong passwords, , , , ,
07
Feb 2023

What exactly happened when LastPass, a password manager service, found itself at the center of a data breach? And what does this mean for your passwords?

Password managers provide a convenient service, one where complex passwords can be generated instantly and then, going forward, auto-fills when requested. LastPass is a successful example of what a password manager can do, but it’s a role which comes with great responsibility. Login credentials, after all, are often the difference between gaining access and being denied access to a user account. Therefore, password managers need to be sure the credentials they hold are highly secure.

However, as LastPass users are now finding out, password managers are highly tempting to threat actors, and far from 100% secure.

How LastPass was Hacked

Used by millions of users all over the world, LastPass has established itself as one of the leading password managers. Unfortunately, this credibility has been rocked by revelations that the service’s encrypted password vaults have been stolen by hackers. The attack – which took place in August 2022 – was ambitious, and its success even more so.

LastPass’ backup copies of their users’ password vaults were stored, apparently securely, on a third-party cloud storage platform. This, in itself, is nothing unusual; storing backup copies of secure data in remote locations is good practice. Nonetheless, once third parties become involved in storing your data, you relinquish control of this data’s security. And this is exactly where LastPass has fallen victim to threat actors.

While the mechanics of the breach remain under wraps, LastPass has had to admit that personal identifiers – including addresses, phone numbers, credit card details and IP addresses – are among the stolen data. The password vaults – which are encrypted – have also been stolen, so this means the threat actors are closer to knowing your password. And, given they now have access to your personal identifiers, it makes brute force attacks easier.

What to Do if You’re a LastPass User

LastPass has been keen to stress that, although stolen, the password vaults are secure due to the encryption protecting them. However, these encrypted passwords are now in the hands of an unauthorized party and means they are seriously compromised. Therefore, it’s crucial all LastPass users take the following decisive actions:

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

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Middle East Countries Targeted by World Cup Malware

Hackers, malware, Ophtek, Phishing, World Cup, , , ,
20
Dec 2022

The World Cup has arrived and, as ever, it is creating headlines around the world, but it’s also creating numerous opportunities for hacking groups.

Fair play should be at the heart of everything taking place on the pitch during the World Cup, which is being held in Qatar, but matters off the pitch are slightly different. Threat actors thrive on a good opportunity and the popularity of the World Cup – over 3.5 billion people watched the last World Cup final in 2018 – makes it full of potential. And it’s an opportunity which hackers have taken advantage of, with a string of malware campaigns launched before the first ball is kicked.

While these attacks have, so far, mostly targeted countries in the Middle East, it’s likely these efforts will spread globally as the tournament progresses. Therefore, you need to understand the tactics that the hackers are following.

Football Phishing Attacks Hit the Middle East

Security researchers at Trellix have discovered, in the lead up to the World Cup, a significant increase in the number of phishing attacks hitting the Middle East. These phishing campaigns have been shown to be unashamedly cashing in on the interest in the World Cup, with many of the emails claiming to originate from either departments within FIFA or even from specific team managers.

The emails being delivered to unsuspecting victims are used to tempt the recipients into clicking links which, for example, promise to take them to payment pages for match tickets. However, the true destination of these links are malicious websites. As with most malicious websites, the potential for risk is very high, and the websites involved in this latest attack have been found to be housing malware such as Emotet, Qakbot, Remcos, Quad Agent and Formbook. All these malware strains have the potential to harvest data and gain remote access to infected PCs.

How To Defend Against the World Cup Malware

Whilst the malware at the heart of this campaign may not be the most dangerous ever seen, the fact remains that it is malware. And all malware should be considered a major problem for your IT infrastructure. Accordingly, protecting yourself against these phishing campaigns, and any others in the digital wild, is paramount for your cybersecurity. Therefore, make sure you adopt these tactics into your team:

  • Analyze every email: if an email sounds too good to be true, it’s likely it is. Say, for example, you receive an email from a manager of one of the World Cup teams, it’s unlikely they would be contacting you directly. Likewise, if you receive an email regarding payment for something you’ve never ordered – such as World Cup tickets – you should be equally suspicious.
  • Use an anti-malware suite: one of the best ways to protect your organization is by installing an anti-malware suite. This is a collection of tools which provides protection against malicious websites and emails by evaluating their risk level as well as monitoring network connections and installing a firewall.
  • Install all updates: you can maximize your security by ensuring that all software updates are installed and in place. Taking this crucial step will maximize the security of your IT infrastructure by protecting you against software vulnerabilities.

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

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The 5 Biggest IT Security Mistakes

attachments, Backup, Data Security, Hackers, Ophtek, Password Security, , , , ,
02
Aug 2022

Almost all cyber-attacks are due a common denominator: a mistake. We aren’t perfect, of course, but we can limit number of IT security mistakes we make.

Working on a PC is far from straightforward and, as a result, the sheer number of complex routines you must work through leaves plenty of room for mistakes. At the same time, all a hacker needs to take control of your system is a few milliseconds. Accordingly, even the smallest security mistake can leave your PC at the mercy of a hacker. However, by understanding what the most common, and usually simplest, IT security mistakes are, you can strengthen your IT defenses almost immediately.

Start Eliminating These Mistakes Today

If you want to make sure your IT infrastructure is safe from hackers, then you need to avoid these five IT security mistakes:

  1. Not locking your screen: you may trust your work colleagues, but the fact remains that numerous people will enter your organization’s premises throughout the day. Some may be familiar, some may not. And that’s why it’s crucial you lock your screen. All you have to do is hit the Windows button and the L key; your screen will be locked with a password and the contents of your PC immediately protected.
  • Underestimating your value as a target: threat actors are malicious and, although they are certainly interested in big targets, they’re equally likely to target smaller organizations too. Additionally, many cyber-attacks are automated and don’t discriminate against who they attack. Therefore, never assume that your small business is of no concern to hackers. Remain vigilant and practice good IT security.
  • Passwords on Post-it notes: we all know that remembering passwords is difficult, but the biggest mistake you can make is by writing your password on a Post-it note. And then sticking it to your monitor. Sure, it’s convenient for you, but it’s also highly convenient for anyone looking to compromise your PC. Instead, create passwords you can easily remember, but are difficult for anyone else to crack.
  • Assuming email attachments are safe: ever since email became a mainstay of modern communications, it has carried a huge risk of delivering malware through email attachments. Most concerning of all, these infected attachments may be sent by email contacts you consider safe, it could even be your colleague sitting next to you. Threat actors can easily take control of a victim’s email address book and email malware under the guise of the victim’s email address. And that’s why you should evaluate every email you receive.

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

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Lenovo Laptops Shipped with New Malware Risk

BIOS Vulnerability, Hackers, Lenovo Laptop, Ophtek, , ,
26
Apr 2022

You’d like to think that brand new IT equipment is as malware resistant as possible. But, as Lenovo has discovered, this isn’t always the case.

In a highly embarrassing move for the company, Lenovo has had to issue an announcement that more than 100 of their laptop models are at risk of BIOS vulnerabilities. And remember, Lenovo ship a lot of computers; in the first quarter of 2022, Lenovo shipped 18.3 million units. Therefore, the impact of these vulnerabilities has the potential to be huge.

Sadly, it’s not the first time that Lenovo has found themselves in this situation. A number of rookie errors have been made in the past such as preloading laptops with spyware and the Lenovo rootkit fiasco. Some may argue that a company of this size will always have their mistakes magnified, but the risk posed by these mistakes is significant. Accordingly, it’s important to understand what this risk is and how you can protect yourself.

What is a BIOS Vulnerability?

Once you turn a PC on, the first program to run is BIOS (Basic Input/Output System); its primary use is to start your PC and facilitate the movement of data between an operating system and any devices attached to the system e.g. keyboard, mouse and hard drive. BIOS is a crucial element of getting your operating system up and running; without BIOS, your PC simply won’t work.

We now know what BIOS is, but what does a BIOS vulnerability consist of? Well, a vulnerability is any flaw or weakness in a piece of hardware or software which can give hackers a helping hand. So, for example, with BIOS, there could be an internal control which has been coded in a way that hackers can disable security controls e.g. bypassing security certificates in a piece of hardware. This makes vulnerabilities very dangerous, particularly when the only people aware of them are the hackers.

What Have Lenovo Shipped Their Laptops With?

In total, three vulnerabilities have been discovered on Lenovo’s affected laptops. Two relate to drivers which, despite only being necessary during the laptop manufacturing process, have not been deactivated before shipping. This has granted hackers the opportunity to exploit user privileges and take control of affected machines. The final vulnerability also gives hackers elevated user privileges but also includes local access to the machine.

How Can You Protect Your Lenovo Laptops?

To check if your Lenovo laptop is one of the affected models, you should immediately head to Lenovo’s security bulletin. This will list the full range of models at risk and, thankfully, links to a patched copy of the BIOS firmware. Installing this will render the vulnerabilities redundant and ensure your laptop is safe.

Final Thoughts

Designing a PC is complex and it’s almost impossible to eliminate every single problem. However, some problems have a higher capacity for disaster. While the type of vulnerability present in the affected laptops is rarely exploited in the wild, the potential for damage remains. As ever, security patches remain the best way forwards with vulnerabilities, so ensure these are always installed as soon as possible.

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

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Cyber Attacks Increase After Russia Invades Ukraine

cyber attacks, Hackers, Ophtek, Russian Hackers, Security, Ukraine, , , , ,
05
Apr 2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has created headlines around the world; one of the lesser-known stories to emerge has been the increase of cyber attacks.

Numerous aspects of life have changed since Ukraine was invaded by Russian forces at the end of February. Alongside the military attacks and breakdown in social infrastructure that Ukrainians have had to contend with, there have been consequences for those outside the region as well. Supply chains have broken down, the price of fuel has risen and there is widespread skepticism over global peace. And, with the internet being such an integral part of modern society, there has been a notable rise in the number of cyber attacks occurring.

An Escalation in Cyber Attacks

The ensuing chaos of a war being waged on European soil and the military might of Russia has created the perfect environment for cyber attacks to thrive. Not only has Russia been accused of using cyber attacks as part of their campaign against Ukraine, but hackers have turned the situation to their advantage by exploiting concerns over the conflict.

As early as February, Ukraine was experiencing significant attacks on its defense ministry and two major banks. These DDoS attacks were used to temporarily take down websites associated with the targets and cause panic and certainty in financial and government sectors. Within 48 hours of the conflict breaking out, it was reported that an increase of 800% in the number of cyber attacks originating in Russia had been observed. There has also been a notable increase in attacks against Ukraine from groups allying themselves with Russia, the Stormous hacking group, for example, announced that they intended to target Ukrainian organizations with ransomware.

Independent hackers have also taken advantage of the conflict to boost the emotional credentials of their campaigns. With emotions and sympathies running high across the world, hackers have exploited these concerns by using Ukraine as a key email subject to increase engagement. Spam email campaigns have also been modified to use the Ukraine conflict as emotive honeypot used to trick recipients into making donations to false organizations.

How to Prepare for Spillover Attacks

While most of these attacks have targeted organizations in Ukraine, it’s likely that these attacks will soon spillover into allies of Ukraine and, eventually, any PC on the planet. As such, it’s crucial that you remain on your guard and observe the following:

Any source of conflict has the potential to cause uncertainty in the digital landscape and, with the Russia/Ukraine conflict expected to be in place for some time, it’s vital that you protect your IT infrastructures. Not only will this maintain IT continuity, but it will provide support for organizations in Ukraine.

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

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