We know it’s hard to stay up to date on what the cyber industry is doing. It seems like everyday, there’s a new ransomware strain, data breach, zero-day exploit, and a myriad of other threats. Trust us, it’s even hard for us to stay up to date on it all! That’s why we wanted to introduce Cyber Bits, a weekly post about intriguing and “top of mind” cybersecurity headlines from the week prior. We’ll also post this on our LinkedIn page, but we’ll summarize some of each of the stories in case you don’t have the time to read each of them. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!
Ransomware payments reached $1.1 billion in 2023
Link: Bleeping Computer
While it’s not a massive surprise with the number of ransomware attacks happening all the time, it’s still a staggering number to see the bad guys rake in. One of the key highlights were specific ransomware strains exclusively targeting large organizations by leveraging zero-days. It may be worth revisiting your organization’s controls during a Tabletop exercise to double-check your ransomware readiness.
Canada to ban the Flipper Zero to stop surge in car thefts
Link: Bleeping Computer
In an interesting choice, the Canadian government has decided to ban the “importation, sale, and user of consumer hacking devices”. While it’s certainly a step towards preventing rampant theft, it may not prove as useful as trying to force automakers to shore up their security practices as pointed out by the parent company of Flipper.
RustDoor macOS backdoor targets cryptocurrency firms with fake job offers
Link: The Hacker News
BitDefender identified a Rust-based malware strain propagating itself via Visual Studio updates. While the initial origin isn’t known, it appears as if it’s being used in targeted attacks instead of being leveraged in a “wide-net” fashion.
