Brief #40: APT Hacks US Pharmacies, Apple Shortcuts Flaw

Hey there,

Happy Sunday!

I was thinking about how I could create more value for you.

I would like to experiment with the new, expanded format covering a larger area of cybersecurity. Going forward I will share with you not only news but also security tools, cybersecurity startups, and other content I discover during the week.

Let me know in the comments if you prefer this format.

Now let's dive in:

🚨 This Week in Cybersecurity

Nation-State Hackers Disrupt US Pharmacies Through Cyberattack on Change Healthcare

• Overview of Incident: A cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a major healthcare technology company, has caused widespread disruptions across the U.S. pharmacy sector. Initiated by a suspected nation-state actor, the attack led to difficulties in processing insurance claims and filling prescriptions for numerous pharmacy chains, including CVS and Walgreens​​​​.
• Technical Details: The attack prompted Change Healthcare to disconnect its systems to mitigate further damage, affecting its ability to process patient payments and handle billions of healthcare transactions annually. The specific nature of the cybersecurity threat has not been disclosed, and the extent of the system outage and potential data exposure remains uncertain​​​​.
• Response and Mitigation: UnitedHealth, the parent company, has engaged security experts and law enforcement in response. The American Hospital Association (AHA) advised healthcare providers to disconnect from the Optum system, linked to Change Healthcare, as a precaution. The incident underscores the critical importance of cybersecurity vigilance within the healthcare sector​​.
• Regulatory Implications: The breach raises concerns about compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), given the potential for unauthorized access to protected health information. The incident is under investigation, and it is too early to determine if a HIPAA violation occurred.

Apple Shortcuts Vulnerability Exposes Sensitive Information

• Overview of Issue: Researchers have identified a critical zero-click vulnerability in Apple's Shortcuts app, allowing attackers to access sensitive data without user interaction. The vulnerability, known as CVE-2024-23204, affects macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices running versions prior to specific updates.
• Technical Details: The vulnerability exploits the 'Expand URL' function within Shortcuts, enabling attackers to bypass the Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) framework designed to protect user data. Attackers could craft a malicious shortcut to extract base64-encoded data and transmit it to an external server.
• Impact and Severity: Rated 7.5 out of 10 on the CVSS scale, this vulnerability poses a high risk, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive data such as photos, contacts, and files. It underscores the importance of continuous vigilance and prompt software updates for cybersecurity.
• Mitigation Steps: Apple has addressed the vulnerability with additional permissions checks and urges users to update their devices to the latest versions to protect against exploitation. Users are also advised to be cautious of shortcuts from untrusted sources.

Microsoft Launches PyRIT: A Framework for Red Teaming Generative AI Systems

• Empowering Security and AI Development: Microsoft releases PyRIT (Python Risk Identification Toolkit), an open-source tool for security professionals to proactively identify risks in generative AI systems, reflecting Microsoft's commitment to responsible AI innovation.
• Enhanced Red Teaming Process: PyRIT addresses the unique challenges of red teaming generative AI by automating routine tasks and identifying potential risk areas, thus speeding up the process significantly compared to manual probing.
• Key Features and Extensibility: PyRIT is designed with extensibility in mind, supporting various generative AI target formulations and integrating with models from Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and others. It includes features like an extensible scoring engine and supports multiple attack strategies.
• Industry-Wide Collaboration: Microsoft encourages the use of PyRIT across the industry, hosting webinars and providing resources to facilitate the adoption of this toolkit for improving the security of generative AI applications.

Cybercriminals Exploit Open-Source SSH-Snake for Advanced Network Intrusions

• Weaponization of SSH-Snake: Originally intended for network mapping, SSH-Snake has been repurposed by cybercriminals for malicious activities. This self-modifying worm exploits SSH credentials from compromised systems to propagate across networks, automatically navigating through credential locations and shell history to plan its next actions​​​​.
• Technical Sophistication and Stealth: SSH-Snake distinguishes itself by being completely fileless, self-replicating, and self-propagating, offering threat actors a stealthier and more flexible approach than traditional SSH worms. Its capability to perform automatic network traversal using SSH private keys makes it a potent tool for exploring a network's extent of compromise​​.
• Real-World Deployment and Impact: Detected in active attacks, SSH-Snake aids attackers in harvesting credentials, target IP addresses, and bash command histories. This reveals the worm's efficiency in exploiting the widespread recommendation of using SSH keys, allowing attackers to deeply infiltrate networks once initial access is obtained​​.
• Developer's Perspective and Security Implications: Joshua Rogers, the developer, emphasizes SSH-Snake's role in identifying infrastructure weaknesses before exploitation by attackers. He highlights the need for proactive security measures and infrastructure redesign by security specialists, criticizing the reactive approach to cybersecurity and the negligence in secure infrastructure design​​.

LockBit Ransomware Disruption and Bounty Efforts

• International Law Enforcement Effort: A collaborative effort led by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.K. National Crime Agency successfully disrupted the LockBit ransomware group, indicting two Russian nationals and seizing the group's infrastructure​​​​.
• Significant Ransomware Impact: LockBit, one of the most active ransomware groups globally, has executed over 2,000 attacks, receiving more than $120 million in ransom payments with demands totaling hundreds of millions of dollars​​.
• Decryption Keys and Victim Support: Law enforcement has obtained decryption keys from the seized LockBit infrastructure, potentially enabling victims worldwide to restore systems encrypted by LockBit ransomware without paying the ransom​​.
• Bounty for Information: The U.S. State Department announced a bounty of up to $15 million for information leading to the identification and arrest of LockBit ransomware leaders, highlighting the group's significant international impact and the ongoing efforts to combat its operations​​.

🔬 Security Tools

CredMaster - An advanced password spraying tool, improving upon CredKing, featuring IP address rotation via FireProx APIs for anonymity and to avoid throttling.

Linkedin2username - OSINT tool for generating username lists for companies on LinkedIn.

Koadic - COM Command & Control JScript RAT for post-exploitation scenarios.

Mandos Brief GPT

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🚀 Startup Watch

BugProve has unveiled an on-premise firmware analysis and vulnerability management platform tailored for the Internet of Things (IoT). The platform is designed to automate the detection of vulnerabilities in firmware, providing an essential tool for securing IoT devices.

Dapple Security, has raised $2.3 million in a pre-seed funding round. The company is pioneering a passwordless solution using biometrics to prevent cyber attacks, offering a unique approach that allows the creation of revocable, reproducible digital credentials without storing biometric data.

CrowdStrike and AWS have teamed up to launch a Cybersecurity Startup Accelerator for EMEA startups. The program selected 22 startups from a vast pool of applicants to receive mentorship, technical expertise, partnership opportunities, and potential funding.

📡 From Cyberspace

Researchers have demonstrated that large language models (LLMs) in particular Chat GPT 4 can autonomously hack websites by performing complex tasks without prior knowledge of vulnerabilities.

Cisco is offering free training and certifications for those looking to learn cybersecurity.

Signal finally added usernames to their platform, adding extra layer of privacy.

Apple introduces post-quantum encryption for iMessage.

That's a wrap for this week!

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Best,

Nikoloz