Every week I publish interesting articles and ways to improve your understanding of cybersecurity.

Projects

• Metasploit: Introduction – In Progress

Videos

Articles

• Vulnerability in Cisco Smart Software Manager lets attackers change any user password – Yep, passwords for administrators can be changed, too.
• Technical Details: Falcon Content Update for Windows Hosts – On July 19, 2024 at 04:09 UTC, as part of ongoing operations, CrowdStrike released a sensor configuration update to Windows systems. Sensor configuration updates are an ongoing part of the protection mechanisms of the Falcon platform. This configuration update triggered a logic error resulting in a system crash and blue screen (BSOD) on impacted systems.
• CrowdStrike’s faulty update crashed 8.5 million Windows devices, says Microsoft – The global IT outage on Friday resulted from a sensor configuration update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform that caused a Windows logic error.
• Suspected Scattered Spider Member Arrested in UK – UK authorities have arrested a 17-year-old suspected of being a member of the Scattered Spider cybercrime gang.
• California Officials Say Largest Trial Court in US Victim of Ransomware Attack – The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the largest trial court in the US, has been the victim of a ransomware attack.
• Fake CrowdStrike repair manual pushes new infostealer malware – CrowdStrike is warning that a fake recovery manual to repair Windows devices is installing a new information-stealing malware called Daolpu.
• CrowdStrike CEO Called to Testify to Congress Over Cybersecurity Firm’s Role in Global Tech Outage – U.S. House leaders are calling on CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz to testify on widespread tech outage that services around the world.
• Verizon to pay $16 million in TracFone data breach settlement – Verizon Communications has agreed to pay a $16,000,000 settlement with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. concerning three data breach incidents at its wholly-owned subsidiary, TracFone Wireless, suffered after its acquisition in 2021.
• Swipe Right for Data Leaks: Dating Apps Expose Location, More – Apps like Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Badoo, OKCupid, MeetMe, and Hinge all have API vulnerabilities that expose sensitive user data, and six allow a threat actor to pinpoint exactly where someone is.
• CrowdStrike Explains Why Bad Update Was Not Properly Tested – CrowdStrike has shared a preliminary incident review, explaining why the update that caused global chaos was not caught by testing.
• AT&T failed to test disastrous update that kicked all devices off network – AT&T caused outage that blocked 92 million calls, 25,000 attempts to reach 911.
• Phone Lines Down in Multiple Courts Across California After Ransomware Attack – Phone lines down in multiple courts across California after ransomware attack on state’s largest trial court in Los Angeles County.
• Hackers Exploited a PC Driving Sim to Pull Off Massive Disney Data Breach – Popular for simulating car crashes, BeamNG.drive helped hackers crash the gate to Disney with the help of an unwitting manager.
• KnowBe4 Hires Fake North Korean IT Worker, Catches New Employee Planting Malware – KnowBe4 chief executive Stu Sjouwerman: “We sent them their Mac workstation, and the moment it was received, it immediately started to load malware.”

Podcasts

• Smashing Security 381: Trump assassination conspiracies, Squarespace account hijacks, and the butt stops here
• Smashing Security 382: CrowdStrike, Dark Wire, and the Paris Olympics