Month: January 2019

According to the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) 2018 Threat Landscape Report, which was published on January 28, 2019, the cyber threat landscape changed significantly. The most important threat agent groups were cyber-criminals and state-sponsored actors. Monetization motives have contributed to the appearance of crypto-miners in the top 15 threats.

The main trends in the 2018’s cyberthreat landscape are:

• Mail and phishing messages have become the primary malware infection vector.
• Exploit Kits have lost their importance in the cyberthreat landscape.
• Cryptominers have become an important monetization vector for cyber-criminals.
• State-sponsored agents increasingly target banks by using attack-vectors utilised in cyber-crime.
• Skill and capability building are the main focus of defenders. Public organisations struggle with staff retention due to strong competition with industry in attracting cybersecurity talents.
• The emergence of IoT environments remains a concern, due to missing protection mechanisms in low-end IoT devices and services. The need for generic IoT protection architectures/good practices remains pressing.

Read more about it here.

Security experts at Check Point Research discovered several cybersecurity flaws in popular online battle game Fortnite. One of the flaws is an OAuth account takeover vulnerability that could allow a remote attacker to take over gamer accounts, tricking players into clicking a specially crafted link.

Due to three vulnerability flaws found in Epic Games’ web infrastructure, researchers were able to demonstrate the token-based authentication process used in conjunction with Single Sign-On (SSO) systems at Facebook, Google+, Xbox Live and Sony PlayStationNetwork, to steal the user’s access credentials and take over their account.

Once the token has been obtained, the attacker could access personal information, buy in-game currency at the user’s expense, eavesdrop on and record players’ in-game chatter and background home conversations.

One way to minimize the thread of falling victim to such an attack is to use a two-factor authentication.

Checkpoint published a demo video of the attack:

Read more about it here.

Security experts at Pen Test Partners have discovered thousands of connected hot tubs are vulnerable to remote cyber attacks. Pen Test Partners, the UK security company that carried out the research, wrote: “Like most internet of things devices, the Wi-Fi module acts initially as in AP mode. The mobile app can connect as a client and control the tub locally. However, it can also configure the tub controller to be a client on your home network, so remote control from anywhere is possible through an API. The AP is open, no PSK, so anyone can stand near your house, connect their smart phone to your hot tub and control it. Your friendly neighbourhood hacker could control your tub.”

Pen Test Partners e-mailed the manufacturer, Balboa Water Group, already in November 2018. The manufacture promised a fix by the end of February 2019.

Read more about it here.