Texas Tech University Data Breach

 

Yet another breach by a hospital.

The impact is limited(!) with 1,4 million people this time. The attackers claimed that they have stolen 2,5 terabytes of data. (OMG!)

Given the critical nature of the healthcare sector, robust countermeasures against cyberattacks are essential.

Texas Tech University is notifying over 1.4 million individuals that their personal information was stolen in a ransomware attack targeting its Health Sciences Center and Health Sciences Center El Paso.

After reviewing the stolen data, the university determined that personal information such as names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, government ID numbers, and Social Security numbers were compromised.

Additionally, the attackers stole health insurance and medical information, including diagnosis and treatment details, and financial account information.

https://bit.ly/4ftH0DH

"After securing its systems, the university discovered that the attackers had access to its network from September 17 to September 29, 2024, and that they exfiltrated certain files and folders during that time."

"The university’s incident notice does not specifically say ransomware was used in the attack, but it does mention “temporary disruptions”, and the Interlock ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

In late October, the gang added Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center to its leak site, claiming the theft of roughly 2.5 terabytes of data, including patient information, medical research, and multiple SQL databases."

"However, Interlock is not the only ransomware group to claim an attack on Texas Tech University. In July, the Meow ransomware group was offering for sale five SQL databases allegedly containing emails, passwords, and other sensitive information from the university, along with a security vulnerability affecting the institution’s website."

BSI of Germany Disrupts BADBOX Malware

BSI of Germany did a really good job.

Germany's Federal Office of Information Security (BSI) has announced that it has disrupted a malware operation called BADBOX that came preloaded on at least 30,000 internet-connected devices sold across the country.

Whether you shop online or in-store, choose your retailer wisely when buying smart TVs, mobile phones, or tablets

https://bit.ly/4gCMBIS

"...Impacted devices include digital picture frames, media players, and streamers, and likely phones and tablets."

'What all of these devices have in common is that they have outdated Android versions and were delivered with pre-installed malware,' the BSI said in a press release."

"Once connected to the internet, the malware embedded into the devices can collect a wide range of data such as authentication codes, and install additional malware."

"...'Anyone can accidentally buy a BADBOX device online without ever knowing it was fake, plugging it in, and unknowingly opening this backdoor malware.'

The BSI said that devices compromised by BADBOX are also capable of acting as a residential proxy service, allowing other threat actors to route their internet traffic through them while simultaneously evading detection. They could also be used to create online accounts on Gmail and WhatsApp."

"These off-brand devices discovered to be infected were not Play Protect certified Android devices. If a device isn't Play Protect certified, Google doesn’t have a record of security and compatibility test results. Play Protect certified Android devices undergo extensive testing to ensure quality and user safety..."

"Cybersecurity Bitsight, in an analysis published December 17, 2024, said it identified 192,000 BADBOX infected devices, citing telemetry data, with most of them traced back to Yandex 4K QLED TV and T963 Hisense smartphone. The top affected countries are Russia, China, India, Belarus, Brazil, and Ukraine."

A Decade-Old Cisco ASA WebVPN Vulnerability

If your systems are still susceptible to a decade-old vulnerability, it's clear that your vulnerability or patch management systems are not functioning effectively, or perhaps both.

This is not a hypothetical situation, but a real-world occurrence. Actually it's no surprise, as many organizations still lack a proper vulnerability management system. The worst part is, some of them are unaware of the risks involved with not having a vulnerability management system.

https://bit.ly/3Vxf5vr

"Cisco on Monday (2 Dec 2024) updated an advisory to warn customers of active exploitation of a decade-old security flaw impacting its Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA).

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2014-2120 (CVSS score: 4.3), concerns a case of insufficient input validation in ASA's WebVPN login page that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a targeted user of the appliance."

"The development comes shortly after cybersecurity firm CloudSEK revealed that the threat actors behind AndroxGh0st are leveraging an extensive list of security vulnerabilities in various internet-facing applications, including CVE-2014-2120, to propagate the malware."

Cyber Attacks on UK Drinking Water Supplies

Cybersecurity is paramount for all sectors, especially those critical to our infrastructure. The consequences can be catastrophic if critical infrastructures are compromised by cyberattacks. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if you were without water for even three days.

A record number of cyber incidents impacted Britain’s critical drinking water supplies in 2024 without being publicly disclosed.

https://bit.ly/4fRV0s2

"Across all regulated critical national infrastructure sectors, more NIS incidents have been reported this year than ever before, with the transport and drinking water sectors the most impacted. In 2024, there were at least six incidents affecting drinking water infrastructure, according to data collected by Recorded Future News using the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. In previous years there were no more than two."

Malware Via Snail Mail

Receiving malware through physical mail, delivered to your postbox on a piece of paper, might seem unusual. However, it has happened in Switzerland, and there's no reason to think it couldn't happen in your country as well.

Cybercriminals have sent physical letters containing QR codes that link to malicious software. These letters falsely claim to offer a new weather app from MeteoSwiss (the official meteorological service of Switzerland) but actually contain a QR code leading to a malicious app created by cybercriminals. Such attacks using QR codes are known as 'QR-phishing' or 'quishing'."

https://bit.ly/4fzRQJs

"...These letters are fake and have been sent by fraudsters who are trying to load malware onto mobile phones.

The letter asks the recipients to install a new severe weather app. However, there is no such federal app with the name mentioned. Rather, the QR code shown in the letter leads to the download of malware called ‘Coper’ (also known as ‘Octo2’). When the supposed ‘Severe Weather Warning App’ is installed, the malware attempts to steal sensitive data such as access data from over 383 smartphone apps, including e-banking apps.

The malware only affects smartphones that run on the Android operating system..." 

San Joaquin County Superior Court Cyber Attack

 

Another cyber incident about JoIP (Justice over IP).

But first recall this:

https://bit.ly/40FHQK5

Cybercriminals can target any system connected to the internet, regardless of its importance or sensitivity. From personal devices to critical infrastructure, no system is immune, including justice systems which rely on an IT infrastructure.

Last week, a cyberattack disrupted operations at a California (USA) court, causing technological outages

A pressing concern can arise among the public at this point: If cybercriminals can breach court systems, could they also manipulate critical legal documents?

Well... The answer is not easy to tell. While the exact extent of potential damage is difficult to assess, it is clear that such attacks pose a serious threat to the integrity of the justice system.

https://bit.ly/3CavMGg

"The attack knocked out all of the court’s phone and fax services, websites containing juror reporting instructions, the e-filing platform, credit card payment processing and more. Some jurors scheduled for this week were excused."

"The attack comes just months after the Los Angeles County Superior Court system was hit with a ransomware attack that caused identical issues for weeks..."

"Government bodies across California continue to face an unprecedented wave of cyberattacks affecting city, county and state-level services. On Thursday (31.10.2024), the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles confirmed it is facing its second major cyberattack in the last two years."

Landmark Data Breach

You can take necessary cybersecurity countermeasures for your system but will that be enough?

Of course not. Quite many organizations overlook the security of their third-party service providers, which can lead to significant financial and reputational damage.

"Landmark, a Texas-based third-party insurance administrator, has disclosed a data breach that affects more than 800,000 individuals. The incident was detected in May; the compromised data include names, Social Security numbers, tax ID numbers, drivers’ license and state-issued identification card numbers, passport numbers, bank account and routing numbers, medical information, health insurance policy information, dates of birth, and/or life and annuity policy information..." (OMG! What else?)

See the link below for the summary of the breach:

https://bit.ly/3NQ28bP

https://bit.ly/3NJaEtj

"The Texas-based company works as a third-party administrator for insurance carriers like Liberty Bankers Insurance Group (LBIG), which includes American Monumental Life Insurance Company, Pellerin Life Insurance Company, American Benefit Life Insurance Company, Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Company, Continental Mutual Insurance Company, and Capitol Life Insurance Company."

"The breach notification letters note that the first incident occurred on May 13, when an IT team discovered “suspicious activity” that required them to disconnect the affected systems and hire a third-party cybersecurity firm. 

An investigation revealed that “there was unauthorized access to Landmark’s network and data was encrypted and exfiltrated from its system.” The hackers were in Landmark’s systems from May 13 to June 17." (The hackers were in the system for more than one month.)

"Landmark told regulators in Maine that 806,519 people were affected in total but they also filed documents in California and Texas, warning that about 68,000 Texans were impacted.

Insurance companies and their partners or subsidiaries are frequent targets for cyberattacks eager to steal volumes of sensitive health-related data. Last week, insurance firm Globe Life told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that is being extorted by hackers after data on more than 5,000 people was stolen from a subsidiary."

American Water Works Cyber Attack

Cyber security on critical infrastructure are really critical but you need to understand it before you get hit by a cyber attack. Understand this before you are left without electricity or water. Take the cyber threats seriously and take countermeasures against cyber threats before it's too late.

American Water Works, a major water utility, was recently targeted by a cyber attack, they announced via a statement. While the company reported that its water and wastewater facilities were not directly affected, the incident underscores the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber threats. A successful cyber attack on a critical infrastructure provider could have severe consequences, including disruptions in essential services and potential public health risks. Investing in robust cybersecurity measures is essential to protect critical infrastructure and ensure the continued delivery of essential services.

https://bit.ly/4eNgl50

"The company’s MyWater account system is currently down, according to a notice on the company website, and all appointments set up by customers will be rescheduled. Additionally, all billing has been paused until further notice as they try to bring systems back online — there will be no late charges or service shut offs while systems are down."

"American Water Works provides drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 14 million people in 14 states as well as 18 military installations. From its regulated businesses, the company reported a net income of $971 million for 2023."

"American Water Works did not respond to requests for comment about whether they are dealing with a ransomware attack or if a ransom has been issued."

The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) said in May (2024) that in recent inspections, over 70% of water systems examined do not fully comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and some 'have critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities, such as default passwords that have not been updated and single logins that can easily be compromised.'”