What is Remote Code Execution?

Network, Security, Uncategorized, ,
22
Jan 2015

binary stream

Why do hackers use remote code execution as a malicious attack on businesses? Here we’ll explain what remote code execution is and why most malware uses it.

Remote execution attacks are very real and should not be taken lightly. This is mainly due to the damage which can result in malware disabling parts of a system and disrupting business operations.

What is remote code execution?

Remote code execution can be best described as an action which involves an attacker executing code remotely using system vulnerabilities.

Such code can run from a remote server, which means that the attack can originate from anywhere around the world giving the attacker access to the PC. Once a hacker gains access to a system, they’ll be able to make changes within the target computer.

The attacker leverages the user’s admin privileges to allow them to execute code and make further changes to the computer. It’s often the case that such user privileges become elevated. Attackers usually look to gain further control on the system they already have a grip on and look to exert control onto other computers on the same network.

Examples of remote execution attack

Whether a business realizes it or not, malware threats are consistently looking for vulnerabilities and a chance to infiltrate past security. In essence, every attacker is an opportunist and they’re unlikely to hold back once they’ve spotted a loophole within a system.

Scenario 1:

Zero-day Internet Explorer Exploit CVE-2014-8967

An employee browses the Internet with the Internet Explorer browser and visits a website, which they were prompted to visit via an unsuspecting email message. Little do they know that the website exploits a bug on their browser, allowing for remote execution of code to occur. The code is set up by a criminal who has programmed it to run on the employee’s computer, and in turn, installs a Trojan virus. A Trojan allows a back door into the computer, which can be accessed at any time by the attacker. At this point, the criminal has complete access to the employee’s data files and will do as they please with it.

Scenario 2:

Windows_XP_End_of_Support

A business runs an unsupported version of Windows on a computer, which happens to be Windows XP.  An employee visits a website, however this website has been compromised, and a bug detects the user working on a computer that has Windows XP. Since this particular operating system is no longer patched by Microsoft, vulnerabilities are eminent. The bug picks up on this and begins remote code execution, set up by a criminal, to run ransom-ware on your computer. The ransom involves the criminal holding the company’s files hostage until payment is made.

How can you protect against remote code execution attacks?

For more ways to secure your systems, contact your local IT professionals.

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Malware holding data ransom
Malware holding data ransom

Timeline of Sony Cyber Attack

Uncategorized, ,
20
Jan 2015

Malware holding data ransom

The Sony data breach in late 2014 has caused embarrassment towards their own top executives and employees. Here is a timeline of the Sony hacking events.

Here’s the timeline of the 2014 Sony Pictures Cyber-attacks:

November 24

Sony Pictures Headquarters

Early morning at Sony Pictures Entertainment Headquarters, based in Culver City, an image of a skull with long skeletal fingers simultaneously appeared on all employee’s computer screens. The image contained a threatening message saying, “This is just a beginning. We’ve obtained all your internal data.” This was noted to be the first sign of the digital break-in.

November 25

Computers at Sony headquarters in Culver City and overseas remain shut down.  The spokesperson of Sony Pictures Entertainment said that they were investigating an IT matter. However, several news organizations report that Sony has suffered a digital security breach.

November 26

Sony employees continue working even without computers and other digital technologies, such as voicemails and emails.

November 27

Mr_Turner_Promo_Poster

Five Sony films were leaked online and made available on on-line file-sharing hubs. Four of the five films are yet to be released. Included in the films are Brad Pitt’s Fury, Annie, Still Alice, Mr. Turner, and To Write Love on her Arms.

November 28

Initial reports surface that Sony Pictures Entertainment suspects North Korea being the one responsible for the attack. Sony beleives that the attack is in retaliation for the film “The Interview”. The story is about a plot to assassinate the North Korean dictator.

November 29

Computer_Turned_off

Sony’s computers are still shut down.

November 30

The speculation and reports indicate that North Korea is behind the cyber-attack.

December 1

Multiple confidential Sony documents were leaked including the pre-bonus salaries of Sony’s executives. The information also includes salary details of more than 60,000 Sony employees. Executive figures are published in many sites, including Deadline. Sony works with the FBI to investigate the attack.

December 2

A company-wide alert was delivered to employees about the attack, which was issued by Sony’s chiefs Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton.

December 3

Critical information has been extracted from a big dump of stolen data which included a large list of account credentials, YouTube authentication credentials, UPS account details, all in plain text. To add to this, it also included a collection of scathing critiques of Adam Sandler movies along with files containing information on passports and visas of crew and cast members who have worked on Sony films. Some of this confidential information is published on online sites, including a 25-page list of workplace complaints of Sony employees.

Sony stated that the investigation is on-going.

December 4

FBI_Seal

A Flash warning from the FBI is made regarding the malware attack, named Destover Backdoor, and alerted all large American security departments.

Press reports also stated that some cyber-security experts found out some significant similarities between the codes used in the cyber-attack of South Korean companies and government agencies, which were also blamed on North Korea and the codes used in the Sony attack.

December 5

The Sony attackers who are claiming to be the “Guardians of Peace” sent Sony employees an e-mail threating them that they will hurt their families if they don’t sign a statement disclaiming the company.

December 7

Further data leaks occur involving the financial details from Sony Pictures. According to Bloomberg, the leak traces back to a hotel in Thailand where an executive from Sony was lodging there at the time.

North Korea praised the attack by calling it a “righteous deed” and denied any involvement in the attack.

December 8

More leaks, which were uploaded to pastebin, were added but were soon taken down. This information illustrated details of email archives belonging to two executives; the President of Sony pictures and his co-chairman, Steve Mosko. This leak was believed to have not been North Korea; it most likely came from a disgruntled employee group.

December 10

The_Pirate_Bay

More legitimate leaks are disclosed, this time pertaining to details of tracking film piracy activities. Such activities include showing Sony’s internal anti-piracy procedures and details regarding the five ISP (Internet Service Provider) giants, used to monitor illegal downloads.

December 12

News reports from Buzzfeed, Bloomberg News, and Gawker stated that stolen documents from Sony were released, which included the medical records of Sony employees. The listed medical conditions include liver cirrhosis, cancers, and premature births.

December 13

Further genuine leaks are involve financial account information, showing revenues, expenditures, past and current projects, and deals, of which are all current still to Sony.

December 14

Spectre

The latest batch of stolen Sony documents was released by the hackers. Included in these documents is the latest version of the script of “Spectre” which is the next James Bond Film. Sony hired famous litigator David Boies who sent a letter to different news organizations demanding that they erase all stolen information that the hackers had provided them.

December 15

Former employees of Sony filed a class-action lawsuit against the studio with the claim that Sony took inadequate security measures to protect their personal data.

December 16

The hackers sent an e-mail to reporters threatening to attack movie theaters that will show “The Interview”, which was set to premiere on Christmas Day. The communication sent by the cyber terrorist to the reporters even mentioned that they should  remember the 11th of September 2001.  They also threatened to fill the world with fear to show to the people that Sony Pictures Entertainment has created an awful film (The Interview).

Another batch of data was released including a huge number of e-mails stolen from Sony’s co-chairman and CEO Michael Lynton. Former Sony employees filed a second class-action suit with the claim that Sony was negligent in not protecting their personal data.

In connection with the threat made by the hackers to theaters, Sony told theater owners to cancel the showing of the film “The Interview” if the threats of the hackers worry them. In response to this, Carmike was the first chain to declare that it will not show the film. Landmark Theaters also said that the New York premiere of the same film was been cancelled.

December 17

The_Interview_Poster

Sony Pictures Entertainment pull the planned release of the film “The Interview” on Christmas Day in connection with the threat of the cyber terrorist to attack theaters that show the film. Moreover, Sony also pulls every TV advertisement of the film.

December 18

The hackers praised Sony’s decision of pulling the premiere of the film and said that as long as the film was kept out of theaters the threat will end. However, there is still a high chance of attack if the film is to be released in VOD (video on demand).

December 20

North Korea invites the United States to take part in a joint investigation regarding the Sony attack as a proclamation of their innocence. However, they warned the United States of “serious consequences” if ever they retaliate.

December 23

Sony decided to move ahead with the release of the film on Christmas day and allow it to be screened across participating theaters.  Simultaneously, the film would be planned to be released in VODs. Sony claimed victory for this decision since they have never given up a film before.

December 30

Sony made the film available for rent online.

Final thought …

This timeline for Sony Pictures Entertainment Cyber Attack serves to create a better picture of what all the fuss was about. With so many events, it can be confusing to keep up with the news; therefore, we hope some value is found from understanding what such a run of malicious attacks can do to a company, even as big as Sony Pictures. Stay safe and always keep your systems and networks up to date.

For more ways to secure your data and systems, contact your local IT professionals.

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Zero-day Internet Explorer Exploit CVE-2014-8967
Zero-day Internet Explorer Exploit CVE-2014-8967

Zero-Day Internet Explorer CVE-2014-8967 Vulnerability

Security, ,
05
Jan 2015

Zero-day Internet Explorer Exploit CVE-2014-8967

If you use Internet Explorer as your web browser, pay close attention to a recent Zero-Day vulnerability CVE-2014-8967 found allowing remote code execution.

Out of the various web browsers available to download, Internet Explorer is often the most vulnerable for attacks since it happens to be the one that is widely used globally.

We will summarize here what you need to know about CVE-2014-8967.

What is a Zero-Day vulnerability?

Microsoft and anti-virus companies regularly release updates and new virus definitions to address these exploits.  Zero-day means the exploit or bug is so new that no company has had a chance to patch it yet.

Specifically for zero-day vulnerability CVE-2014-8967, Internet Explorer has been exploited by hackers who have piggybacked on its publicly accessible framework to execute arbitrary code.

  • Technically speaking, the Internet Explorer vulnerability is all about the way in which it references “counting”, to allocate given in-memory objects.
  • These in-memory objects represent elements pertaining to HTML, otherwise known as CElement Objects.
  • An additional CSS style is applied, which illustrates the style it displays.
  • This change creates a loophole in the browser where the object’s reference can be allowed to drop down to zero before it normally should.
  • This in turns causes the object to become available to accept other commands to run.
  • This is where an opportunist can exploit the vulnerability to run code within the given framework.
  • The danger lies in the privileges the attacker can have on your system.
  • For instance, if you have administrator rights, the hacker can also acquire this same right, that’s if they manage to successful carry out the browser vulnerability hack.
  • It’s not much of a high risk if your account has basic user rights. Regardless of the level of user permissions you have, such an attack is undesirable.

Examples

An example of such an attack can originate via a dodgy website such as a hosted site managed by the attacker, is configured to apply the Internet Explorer vulnerability.

 

Examples of malicious banners and messages.

Examples of malicious banners and messages.

All that is needed is some sort of user action, such as a prompt, to trick the user into visiting the malicious site.

Another way hackers can use this vulnerability is by targeting other compromised websites to do the same thing.

Regardless of the malicious intent, you’re always in control and should practice safe browsing by avoiding suspicious or unfamiliar websites.

It can all begin by accidentally by opening an infected file or unknowingly visiting  a malicious web page, which executes the browser vulnerability.

This is why we stress the importance of not opening unknown recipient messages that contain attachments or links within emails and other places such as web banners or message boxes. The best thing to do is close down the page or delete those suspicious emails and notify your IT administrator.

Prevention and protection

The good thing about all the Microsoft mail clients, such as Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook and Windows Mail, is that they all disabled Active X and scripts by default. This stops malicious code from launching itself automatically and creating a problem, as discussed previously. However, you still need to be careful not to open unknown files or links.

How to protect yourself from Zero Day Internet browser vulnerability:

 

 

  • Update your Operating System. Do this with Windows Updates and be sure to apply any critical patches.
  • Do not Open attachments. It can all begin by accidentally opening an infected file or a malicious web page to execute the browser vulnerability. This is why we stress the importance of not opening unknown recipient messages that contain attachments or links such as web banners.
  • Use a different browser. Using a different browser can prevent the typical browser exploits found on Internet Explorer. For example Chrome, which is one of our preferred web browsers to use.
  • A little configuration can go a long way. Within Internet Explorer settings, you can set the option to prompt before allowing “Active scripting” to run, or alternatively, disable “Active scripting” within “Internet and Local intranet security zone settings”.
  • Use EMET. This is more for system administrators; however EMET (an Enhanced Mitigation Experience Tool Kit) can prove invaluable. This will be necessary I’d you’re working in a company that is unwilling to move away from Internet Explorer. EMET is a great workaround to help you to avoid this vulnerability.

For more ways to pro-actively protect your business and data from malicious vulnerabilities, contact your local IT professionals.

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Wiper malware attack on Sony Pictures
Wiper malware attack on Sony Pictures

Sony Under Attack: The Wiper Malware

Security, , ,
29
Dec 2014

Wiper malware attack on Sony Pictures

The sophisticated Wiper malware which was launched against Sony Pictures does exactly what it sounds like: wipes anything and everything from systems.

“Wiper” uses a malicious set of attacks:

  • Wipe out all information held on hard disks
  • Reboot servers
  • Prevent access to Exchange emails
  • Close down networks
  • Used on all versions of Windows

How Wiper malware works:

  1. The Wiper executable file, recognized as exe, is known as a “dropper” file.
  2. This file will install itself over supporting files and as a trusted Windows service.
  3. It also creates a network share within the system root directory. This allows any other computer over the network to reach it.
  4. It uses the WMI (Windows Management Interface) to communicate with other machines and run code to and from them to spread itself further across the network.
  5. This allows wiper to gain access to any machine on the system via a computer network exploitation (CNE).
  6. Broadcasts are sent out to remote command networks via a “beacon” message, the malware is already accessing the hard drive to delete data by each sector.
  7. It overwrites data with ordinary user privileges by disguising itself as a USB 3.0 device driver.  This is a commercially available disk driver, made by EldoS.
  8. It then instructs the operating system to halt for a couple of hours then wake up with a reboot. By this time, all the data is wiped clean by the malware.

Wiper attack on Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures is a prime example of being on the receiving end of the “Wiper” attack. This particular attack recently gained media attention, got the FBI involved and caused a stir at Antivirus companies.

Wiper malware memo from FBI

A snippet from the FBI memo about Wiper

Speculation at Sony from a Re/code analysis reports links the attack to North Korea. This is partly due to a near identical attack carried out against South Korea by their northerly neighbors. Originally it was claimed the attack was motivated by disgruntled ex-workers who were laid off due to a company restructure earlier in the year.

What can you do?

It’s likely that this kind of attack is mostly aimed at very high profile companies, like in our example above. In general it’s wise to do the following to keep on top of your business or home security:

  • Update Anti-virus definitions. Be sure to have the latest updates from you Antivirus provider. Updates are added regularly to detect and quarantine suspicious files from doing further damage.
  • Verify your backups, and opt for an offsite or Cloud solution, in the case of a catastrophic data loss.
  • Update your critical Windows Servers and desktops with the latest operating system security patches.
  • Avoid being spear fished. Do not open unknown emails which contain attachments or files. Be conscious of spoof emails that may trick you into clicking attachments.
  • Lock down USB usage. With the help of an endpoint management solution, you can set policies to only allow authorized USB devices, which can help prevent this type of attack.
  • Revise your IT policies to only give specific administrators privileges to run, execute and share resources.

For more information about the Wiper virus and how you can protect your business from malicious malware, contact your local IT professionals.

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What is Encryption and Do You Need It?

Office IT, Security,
11
Dec 2014

What_is_encryption

With more regulatory commissions requiring encryption and privacy being a hot topic, it’s important to understand what encryption is and whether you need it.

Encryption is nothing new; in fact, it was used thousands of years ago during the ancient times in Egypt, encryption was used to hide messages in the tombs of kings. It has been used time and time again by different civilizations, and was even applied through the Word Wars to keep messages hidden away from the enemy.

However, in most recent history from the 90s, encryption has been adapted to be used as a security measure on computers and over the internet.

Nowadays it has become ever so important for financial institutions, healthcare practices, legal, law and governmental offices to apply encryption into their systems. This allows them to secure their information, whilst remaining complaint with data protection standards.

What is Encryption?

 

How_Encryption_Works

A basic encryption implementation explained by Oracle.

As you may now understand from our examples listed above, encryption obscures information, away from prying eyes. More specifically, it does this by making data unreadable to outsiders. In technical terms, a mathematical formula is used to scramble the data, which appears as gobbledygook to anyone else reading it. Only the person who holds the key can, in a sense reverse the mathematical formula to unlock and read the data.

Why encrypt your data?

Data encryption ensures that you can deter hackers and lessen the effect of being a prime target of criminal activities, looking to intercept your data. Often the most valued data is your personal information. Just think of how many emails contain passwords to accounts, medical reports archived, interests displayed, and an insight into all of your personal activities.

With all this, a hacker can spear-phish you and later target you again, with the likelihood of succeeding. This will be done by simply using your details against you, without you even realizing it.

Therefore, it is extremely important to encrypt your information if you work anywhere that handles sensitive information, confidential emails, and if you travel with a notebook or similar device that uses the Internet.

Encrypting your hard drive

 

bitlocker-encryption

Hard drive encryption can help to protect your computer from unauthorized access, since a user needs a key in order to read it.

There are many programs that can help to encrypt your disk such as TrueCrypt, Bitlocker and RealCrypt.

To learn more about Hard disk encryption, please read our how-to article here.

Encrypting your email

 

An example of what an encrypted email looks like using PGP.

An example of what an encrypted email looks like using PGP.

Email is used by just about every person who uses a computer, smart-phone, device and works at a business, or all of the above!

Did you know that your email can be intercepted and read by anyone who has access to the right tools?

A good tool to use is called PGP (Pretty Good Program), which can encrypt your email. In order for this to work, both sender and receiver need PGP installed. The sender will generate a random key, and once the encrypted message is sent and received, the recipient can unlock it with a key generated by their PGP plugin.

Encrypting your internet connection

 

How VPN works as explained by Private Internet Access.

How VPN works as explained by Private Internet Access.

As the name suggests, VPNs (virtual private networks) are a safe way to connect to a private network or to access the internet.

One good analogy is comparing a VPN connection to a walled tunnel, where outsiders would “hit a wall” along the tunnel, unable to infiltrate and access what goes through the tunnel. Whereas a usual Internet connection can be likened to your data travelling on a street and potentially be seen or accessed by outsiders. This is where the term “VPN tunnel connection” comes from. Within this tunnel, all of your data is encrypted. User can access a VPN by having a VPN client installed and accessing a login prompt that will securely authenticate them.

Some VPN clients worth considering are ProXPn, TorVpn, TorGuard, Private Internet Access and WiTopia.

There’s so much to consider with encryption. Just about everything can be a risk without it, so be sure to adopt this secure technology into your business practice to maximize your security.

If you need support and advice with your encryption needs to stay compliant, contact your local IT professionals.

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