Malware

Macro malware has been a popular choice for hackers since the 1990s and even in recent years the technique has continued to be a simple way of delivering malware to the unwary. Just last month, Ukraine accused Russian government spies of uploading documents with malicious macros to a Ukrainian government document-sharing site. And amid the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft warned of emails containing Excel files with malicious macros . Microsoft Ignite Microsoft shows off its Mesh mixed-reality collaboration platform Expanding reach for Azure ML & Purview, Power BI Premium Microsoft unveils Azure Percept kit for bringing Azure AI services to edge devices Microsoft to add new shared channels, encryption for calls, webinar features to Teams Microsoft Ignite Data and Analytics roundup: Platform extensions are the key theme Microsoft has been using an integration between its Antimalware Scan Interface ( AMSI ) and Office 365 to knock … [Read more...] about Microsoft: We’re cracking down on Excel macro malware

Microsoft has disclosed more malware that was used by the suspected Russian-government-backed hackers who planted malware in software from US software vendor SolarWinds. ZDNet Recommends Best VPN services Best security keys Best antivirus software The fastest VPNs Microsoft has named the threat actors as Nobelium, continuing its tradition of naming notable nation-state hacking groups after chemical elements, such as Russia's Strontium , China's Barium , Iran's Phosphorus , and North Korea's Thallium . Until now, Microsoft and security vendor FireEye had identified Sunburst (which Microsoft called Solorigate) and Teardrop malware . In January, security firm CrowdStrike found Sunspot , a piece of software dedicated to monitoring the build server for build commands that assembled Orion. Orion is the SolarWinds network monitoring software that Nobelium attackers used to broadly distribute the Sunburst backdoor to 18,000 organizations … [Read more...] about Microsoft: We’ve found three more pieces of malware used by the SolarWinds attackers

Coronavirus, remote working, and ransomware: The key cybersecurity challenges your organization is facing Watch Now Ransomware as a service is proving effective for cyber criminals who want a piece of the cyber-extortion action but without necessarily having the skills to develop their own malware, with two out of three attacks using this model. Ransomware attacks are still proving extremely lucrative, with the most well-organised gangs earning millions per victim , so many cyber criminals want to cash in – but don't have the ability to code and distribute their own campaigns. More on privacy Microsoft to apply California's privacy law for all US users Mind-reading technology: The security and privacy threats ahead How to replace each Google service with a more privacy-friendly alternative Cyber security 101: Protect your privacy from hackers, spies, and the government That's where ransomware as a service (RaaS) comes in, with developers … [Read more...] about Ransomware as a service is the new big problem for business

Four exploits found in Microsoft’s Exchange Server software have reportedly led to over 30,000 US governmental and commercial organizations having their emails hacked, according to a report by KrebsOnSecurity . Wired is also reporting “tens of thousands of email servers” hacked. The exploits have been patched by Microsoft, but security experts talking to Krebs say that the detection and cleanup process will be a massive effort for the thousands of state and city governments, fire and police departments, school districts, financial institutions, and other organizations that were affected. According to Microsoft, the vulnerabilities allowed hackers to gain access to email accounts, and also gave them the ability to install malware that might let them back into those servers at a later time. Krebs and Wired report that the attack was carried out by Hafnium, a Chinese hacking group. While Microsoft hasn’t spoken to the scale of the attack, it also points to the same … [Read more...] about Move over, SolarWinds: 30,000 orgs’ email hacked via Microsoft Exchange Server flaws