CyberWire Daily

The US Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity is out. Colonial Pipeline partially resumed delivery of fuel yesterday evening, as its preparation for and response to the cyberattack it sustained receive scrutiny. The DarkSide’s extortion of the US pipeline company seems likely to prompt regulatory revision. DarkSide operators say they’ve gotten busy against other targets. Our own Rick Howard speaks with Aaron Sant-Miller, Chief Scientist at BAH, on developments in artificial intelligence. And Verizon’s Database Investigations Report is out. I check in with Verizon’s Chris Novak for highlights from the DBIR.For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/10/92 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FireEye provides an overview of the DarkSide ransomware-as-a-service operation. Forcepoint suggests a connection between DarkSide and other ransomware gangs, notably REvil. Colonial Pipeline continues its recovery efforts from the cyber attack it sustained. As ransomware grows more common, CISA offers advice on how to prepare defenses. A new Android banking Trojan is in circulation. Cecelia Marinier from RSA on the RSAC Innovation Sandbox. Bret Arsenault from Microsoft previews his new Microsoft CISO podcast. And yesterday, of course, was Patch Tuesday.For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/10/91 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Updates on the DarkSide ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline. Other ransomware strains, including Avaddon and Babuk are out, and dangerous. Guidelines on 5G threat vectors. Lemon Duck cryptojackers are looking for vulnerable Exchange Server instances. A bogus, malicious Chrome app is circulating by smishing. Ben Yelin examines an online facial recognition platform. Our guest is Mathieu Gorge of VigiTrust on the privacy risks of video and audio recordings. And an update on an espionage trial.For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/10/90 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colonial Pipeline shuts down some systems after a ransomware attack, disrupting refined petroleum product delivery in the Eastern US. We’ll check in with Sergio Caltagirone from Dragos for his analysis. Other ransomware attacks hit city and Tribal governments. Joint UK-US alert on SVR tactics issued, and the SVR may have changed its methods accordingly. SolarWinds revised downward its estimate of the number of customers affected by its compromise. Rick Howard previews his CSO Perspectives podcasts on risk metrics. Four guilty pleas in “bulletproof hosting” RICO case.For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/10/89 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good security gets out of the way of users while getting in the way of adversaries. Passwords fail on both accounts. Users feel the pain of adhering to complex password policies. Adversaries simply copy, break, or brute-force their way in. Why, then, have we spent decades with passwords as the primary factor for authentication?From the very first theft of cleartext passwords to the very latest bypass of a second-factor, time and again improvements in defenses are met with improved attacks. The industry needs to trust passwordless authentication.What holds us back from getting rid of passwords? Trust.In this episode of CyberWire-X, guests will discuss a framework of technical controls to ensure only trusted sessions authenticate, regardless of faults or failures in any one factor. We will share a path forward for increasing trust in passwordless authentication. Nikk Gilbert of CISO of Cherokee Nation Businesses and retired CSO Gary McAlum share their insights with Rick Howard, and Advisory CISO of Duo Security at Cisco Wolfgang Goerlich from sponsor Duo Security offers his thoughts with Dave Bittner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

VP of Global Solutions Architecture at eSentire Tia Hopkins shares her career journey and talks about its beginnings in engineering and pivots into cybersecurity leadership. Tia shares how she liked to take things apart when she was young, including the brand new computer her mother bought her and how she was fascinated by all the pieces of it spread all across her bedroom floor. As she started studying engineering, Tia learned she was more of a technologist than an engineer. Tia got her start in technology without completing her formal education by what she says is "grit and right place, right time." Once she was in a management role, Tia wanted to validate her knowledge, experience, and ability and not only completed her bachelor's degree, but also two master's degrees. Tia recently started an organization to encourage and grow interest, confidence, and leaders of women of color in the field of cybersecurity. We thank Tia for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest Mike McLellan from Secureworks joins us to share his team's insights about SUPERNOVA and threat group attribution. Similarities between the SUPERNOVA activity and a previous compromise of the network suggest that SPIRAL was responsible for both intrusions and reveal information about the threat group.In late 2020, Secureworks® Counter Threat Unit™ (CTU) researchers observed a threat actor exploiting an internet-facing SolarWinds server to deploy the SUPERNOVA web shell. Additional analysis revealed similarities to intrusion activity identified on the same network earlier in 2020, suggesting the two intrusions are linked. CTU™ researchers attribute the intrusions to the SPIRAL threat group. Characteristics of the activity suggest the group is based in China.The research can be found here:SUPERNOVA Web Shell Deployment Linked to SPIRAL Threat Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CISA outlines the FiveHands ransomware campaign. Circumstantial evidence suggests that some cybergangs are either controlled by or are doing contract work for Russian intelligence services. US Federal agencies turn their attention to software supply chain security. Scripps Health continues its recovery from cyberattack. Insecure home routers in the UK. Daniel Prince from Lancaster University has thoughts on cybersecurity education. Our guest Rupesh Chokshi from AT&T has suggestions for organizations who want to get SASE, but don’t know where to begin. And Ryuk ransomware throws a wrench in research at a European biomedical institute.For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/10/88 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some possible insight into what a Chinese cyberespionage unit is up to. Hackathons, from Beijing to Washington (the one sponsored by Beijing developed an iPhone zero-day used against China’s Uyghurs). Panda Stealer is after crypto wallets. Microsoft's Kevin Magee reflects on lessons learned in the last year. Our own Rick Howard speaks with Todd Neilson from World Wide Technology on Zero Trust. And Peloton deals with a leaky API.For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/10/87 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Belgium sustains a DDoS attack that knocks parliamentary sessions offline. New malware strains identified in phishing campaign. Threat actors look for ways of working around multi-factor authentication and open authentication. COVID-19 scams continue online, and attract law enforcement attention. Joe Carrigan describes a compromised password manager. Our guests are Linda Gray Martin & Britta Glade from RSA with a preview of this year’s RSAC conference. And how secure was your high school’s election for homecoming court.For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/10/86 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices