Microsoft CrowdStrike IT Outage Affects 8.5 Million, Greece’s Land Registry Agency Suffers Data Breach, Play Ransomware Evolves and more.
Microsoft CrowdStrike IT Outage Affected 8.5 Million Windows Devices
A blackout on September 6 at Microsoft and CrowdStrike interrupted updates on approximately 8.5 million Windows devices globally. The outage was brought on by a defective certification expiration check that failed, barring devices from connecting to Microsoft update servers. This influenced apparatus patching, scanning, and other automated operations that rely on a connection to the Microsoft update infrastructure. The blackout window lasted about 3 hours before links were restored. Read more
Greece’s Land Registry Agency Suffers Data Breach After Over 400 Cyber Attacks
The agency that handles land records in Greece announced a security incident occurred after their IT systems endured over 400 hacker attacks in recent days. Unauthorized access was gained to employee workstations during the prolonged assaults, resulting in some internal papers and documents being pilfered that contained no personal information of citizens. The agency revealed everyday backups thwarted further data loss and no ransomware was involved. Read more
Fake CrowdStrike Updates Target Organizations with Malware and Data Wiping Attacks
Malicious groups took advantage of disruptions spawned by CrowdStrike’s faulty software patch to circulate malware and data deleting tools through phishing emails impersonating the security vendor. Researchers observed campaigns distributing a bogus CrowdStrike fix that installed Remcos RAT and a file wiping malware disguised as an urgent CrowdStrike update. Read more
Play Ransomware Evolves with New Linux Variant Targeting VMware ESXi Servers
Cybersecurity analysts discovered a novel Play ransomware version for Linux designed to simultaneously encrypt multiple digital machines on ESXi servers. It checks for ESXi servers to encrypt VM drives, documents and metadata with “.PLAY” extensions, automating the encryption of entire infrastructures on compromised lone servers. Read more
5 Cybersecurity Tips for Remote Workers
Awesome tips to boost security for remote teams. Keep software updated, require strong unique passwords with MFA, utilize VPNs for secure network access, leverage encrypted communication tools, and implement solid backup strategies with regular testing and access controls. Ensuring dispersed employees follow these practices is key to protecting corporate assets from modern online threats. Read more
Data Stolen from Pentagon: US Defense Contractor Leidos Data Leaked
A major IT contractor for the US Department of Defense, Leidos, suffered a data breach when a third-party vendor they used for internal investigations storage, Diligent Corp, was breached in late 2022. Threat actors are now claiming to have leaked internal documents from Leidos servers containing sensitive projects and contracts with the Pentagon. While customer data was not impacted, experts are concerned documents could provide insights to adversaries about vulnerabilities, plans or technical details. Read more
