Lanit - News

Chinese Salt Typhoon Threat Actors Breached US Broadband Providers’ Networks

10/8/2024

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, a threat actor group with ties to China’s government has broken into the networks of several US broadband providers. Known as Salt Typhoon, the group may have accessed systems used for court-authorized wiretaps. The breached companies include Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen/Century Link. The incident is being investigated the FBI, U.S. intelligence agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Unexpected Call: A Story of Deception

9/6/2024

Margaret, a retired teacher, enjoyed her peaceful mornings in her small suburban home. One day as she was enjoying her morning coffee, she received a frantic call from her grandson, Jacob, who was away at college. His voice was filled with panic as he explained that he had been in a car accident and needed money urgently to pay for the damages and avoid legal trouble. If he did not get the money right away, he could end up in jail. The voice on the other end was unmistakably Jacob's - Margaret's heart raced with worry. Without questioning, she rushed to her bank and wired money to the account Jacob provided. It wasn't until Margaret called Jacob's mother later that day to learn how Jacob was doing that Margaret learned she had been scammed. The call had been a cruel trick, a cyber-criminal had used Artificial Intelligence (AI) voice cloning technology to mimic Jacob's voice, exploiting Margaret's love and concern for her grandson.

What is Voice Cloning?
Voice cloning is when someone uses AI to recreate a person's voice to include their voice patterns, intonations, and speech rhythms, creating a near-perfect replica. A voice cloning attack begins with a cyber-criminal collecting audio samples of the target's voice.
These samples can be harvested from various sources such as videos on YouTube or personal posts on TikTok. After training on the recorded audio, AI generates new audio that sounds like the target. This generated voice can be used in various ways, from phone calls to voice messages, making it a potent tool for deception.
When creating voice cloning attacks, cyber-attackers often do their research first. Most of the information they need is publicly available on social media sites. They study their intended victims, to include both the person's voice who they are going to replicate but also the victim they are going to call. Cyber criminals not only learn who their victims know and trust, but which emotional triggers are the most effective. When making these phone calls, cyber-attackers often modify their Caller ID, so when the victims look at their phones, the phone call appears to come from a number the victim trusts. Caller ID can be easily spoofed and is not a good way to validate or authenticate people who call you.

Protect Yourself
The first step to protecting yourself is just being aware that voice cloning is now possible and becoming easier for cyber-attackers to do. Some steps you can take to protect yourself include:

Privacy: Be aware of and limit the information you share with others, and restrict who can access recordings of you on social media.
Clues: Be on the lookout for common indicators that something is wrong. Whenever someone calls you with a tremendous sense of urgency or is pressuring you to act right away, it is most likely a scam. The greater the sense of urgency, such as demanding money right away, the more likely someone is trying to rush you into making a mistake. Other common indicators include something that is too good to be true (no you did not win the lottery) or when you get an unexpected call that seems just odd.
Verify: If you are not sure if a phone call is legitimate, hang up and call the individual back on a trusted phone number. For example, if you get a phone call from a senior executive or co-worker in your company, call them back on a trusted phone number that you know is truly theirs. If you get an odd phone call from a family member, try calling them back (perhaps even use video call) or call another family member that knows them well.
Passcode: Create a secret passphrase or passcode that only you and your family know. That way if you get an odd phone call that seems to be from a family member, you can validate if it's them by seeing if they know your secret passcode.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Hacked

8/30/2024

In a form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dick’s Sporting Goods says that they “discovered unauthorized third-party access to its information systems” on August 21. Dick’s activated their cybersecurity incident response plan and brought in third-party experts.

The real question is would they have announced it if it weren't required by the SEC.

Score one for the good guys!

8/13/2024

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced the takedown of the Radar/Dispossessor ransomware infrastructure. The takedown was an international operation, involving the dismantling of servers and domains in the UK, Germany, and the US. Law enforcement organizations in all three countries were involved. The ransomware operation has targeted 43 companies around the world.

Cautionary Remote Hiring Tale

8/5/2024

Security firm KnowBe4 is sharing a cautionary tale. A North Korean hacker used a stolen identity to apply for a position as a software engineer at KnowBe4. Thanks to the stolen identity, the individual passed background checks, their references were validated, and they were hired. Once the person received their Mac workstation, it began loading malware onto the company network. The case is being investigated by the FBI.

Microsoft Azure Outage

8/2/2024

Microsoft says that an eight-hour Azure and Microsoft 365 outage on Tuesday, July 30, was due to “an error in the implementation” of their distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack response mechanisms. Rather than mitigate the incident, the buggy protection mechanism amplified the attack.

Computer Disposal

8/1/2024

Throwing out old PCs? Hold on...Call Lanit First.
We provide drive wipe and destruction at no charge for our customers. We use a DOD standard wipe and then crush them in a 20 ton press.
Here's a few things to consider prior to throwing them in the dumpster -
Data Security: Hard drives often contain sensitive information such as financial records, customer data, proprietary information, and employee details. Destroying hard drives ensures this data cannot be retrieved and misused by unauthorized individuals.
Compliance with Regulations: Various laws and regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and others, require businesses to properly dispose of data to protect privacy and prevent data breaches. Failure to comply can result in severe legal penalties and fines.
Preventing Data Breaches: Improper disposal of hard drives can lead to data breaches, where sensitive information is accessed by cybercriminals. This can cause financial losses, damage to reputation, and loss of customer trust.
End-of-Life Data Management: When PCs are decommissioned or replaced, the data stored on their hard drives must be securely managed. Destroying the hard drives ensures that no residual data remains accessible.
Intellectual Property Protection: Companies often store trade secrets, patents, and proprietary research on their hard drives. Destroying these drives prevents competitors from accessing valuable intellectual property.
Mitigating Risks of Identity Theft: Personal information stored on hard drives can be used for identity theft if it falls into the wrong hands. Destroying the drives eliminates this risk.