OODA Analysis and Briefs

Home > OODA Analysis and Briefs

Analysis

Briefs

Feds Forced Travel Firms to Share Surveillance Data on Hacker

The US government has reportedly ordered two travel companies to provide information about the movement of an individual from Russia who is suspected of hacking. The individual, Aleksi Burkov, was monitored by Sabre and Travelport on a weekly basis for two years. The US government claims that the surveillance eventually led to Burkov’s arrest and…
Phishing Hits All-Time High in Q1 2022

Researchers report that the first quarter of 2022 saw an unprecedented number of phishing attacks. The Anti Phishing Working Group (APWG) reported that the number of phishing attacks during the first quarter reached one million for the first time. The APWG, law enforcement, and government coalition collaborated in the new Phishing Activity Trends Report that…
Turkish-backed Syrian forces expect military operation soon

Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces are expecting a new Turkish military operation in Syria to start soon and has announced they are ready for battle. The Syrian National Army units (SNA) paraded through Azaz, a town in the northern Aleppo province to show preparedness for the operation. The operation has been threatened by Turkish President REcep…
Syria’s Damascus airport flights suspended after Israeli attack

All flights have been suspended out of Damascus International Airport in Syria after an Israeli air attack near the compound. The attack on Friday left damage on the runway of the airport according to the Al-Watan newspaper. Syrian state media did not mention the airstrike but said flights were suspended due to technical equipment issues.…
West unlikely to reject Russian energy for years – Putin

Putin has announced that he doesn’t believe that the West will be able to cut off supplies of Russian oil and gas for several years. He said Russian companies will not be concreting over their oil wells. A US official did admit that Russian profits around energy are higher now than they were before the…
US and Chinese defense ministers begin meeting in Singapore

A major defense summit has begun in Singapore with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe. This is Austin’s fourth trip to the indo-pacific region after a formal request from China’s military leadership. The summit is expected to only last 30 minutes and is the first time Austin…
Aurora pays $6M bug bounty to ethical security hacker through Immunefi

On Tuesday, Ethereum (ETH) bridging and scaling solution Aurora announced it had paid out a $6 million bounty to ethical security hacker pwning.eth, who discovered a critical vulnerability in the Aurora Engine. The exploit allegedly placed over $200 million worth of capital at risk. The sum was paid in collaboration with Immunefi, a leading platform…
Beware: The companies that hold your crypto aren’t insured the way banks are

The latest “crypto winter,” which sent the values of Bitcoin and other digital currencies plummeting, served as a healthy reminder that cryptocurrencies are highly risky investments. But that risk is by no means limited to price volatility. Should the company holding your crypto assets declare bankruptcy or otherwise be unable to meet its financial obligations, you…
Ethereum just completed a successful dress rehearsal for its most important upgrade ever

Ethereum just completed its first big dress rehearsal for a long-awaited makeover that will be its most significant overhaul since the digital currency was launched nearly a decade ago. Cryptocurrencies such as ethereum and bitcoin are often criticized for the process of mining to generate new coins. Both currently use a so-called proof-of-work mining model, involving…
Russia’s Use Of Cyberattacks: Lessons From The Second Ukraine War – Analysis

Russia, probably more than any other leading power, launches cyberattacks against other countries as a matter of routine. Sometimes, Russian cyberattacks accompany military action, as in the current war in Ukraine. At other times, Moscow uses cyberattacks to disrupt or weaken societies, for instance during the 2016 US Presidential election. Russia also uses its formidable…
Crypto has entered a bear market in 2022. Here’s how cybercrime and NFT swindles have helped fuel the downturn.

After the digital asset boom in 2021, the market has reversed course this year as investors shed positions in cryptocurrencies and NFTs amid a broader bear market and a slate of high-profile cyber-attacks in the sector. The crypto market has cratered from its peak valuation of $3 trillion in November to $1.3 trillion this week.…
Black Basta Ransomware Teams Up with Malware Stalwart Qbot

Cybercriminal group Black Basta has reportedly teamed up with the evolving information stealing trojan known as Qbot. The cyber threat group utilized the trojan to move laterally on a network in a recent attack, according to researchers. Qbot has been around for 14 years, but has undergone many significant developments since its emergence. The malware…
Man Arrested for Sharing Info on 3D-Printed Weapons

European and US law enforcement teams have reportedly joined forces to arrest an individual based on suspicions of spreading hate speech and information about how to construct 3D weapons at home. The man, who has not been named, is reportedly a member of the far-right extremist movement known as Siege. Siege operates both via online…
UK Joins Quantum Arms Race with First Computer

The UK government has announced that it acquired its first quantum computer, marking its entrance into the quantum arms race. The computer should help to boost the country’s research capacities in cyber defense strategies and other areas of national security. According to the Ministry of Defense, they will work alongside Orca Computing to explore the…
Attack on capital’s streets was ‘cruel rampage’ – Scholz

A car attack in Berlin on Wednesday left one person dead and 31 injured. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the attack as a cruel rampage. The attack was carried out by a 29 year old man who is considered to be severely mentally impaired. The man who carried out the attack remains in police custody. …
China and Cambodia break ground at naval base in show of ‘iron-clad’ relations

Chinese and Cambodian officials broke ground on a Chinese funded upgrade of a naval base in the southern region of Cambodia on Wednesday. Beijing referred to the military cooperation between the countries as an iron clad partnership. The project at the Ream Naval Base will use grant funding from China to renovate. This move by…
PayPal gets its full New York BitLicense, and now lets users transfer crypto to external wallets

PayPal has been granted a full BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services, the company announced in a press release. This makes PayPal the first company to trade in a conditional BitLicense for the real thing. New York introduced its BitLicense in 2015 as a way to regulate businesses that provide customers with the…
New York’s Crypto Regulator Publishes Formal Stablecoin Guidance

Stablecoins traded in the U.S. state of New York should be fully backed by certain assets, with these assets segregated from the issuers’ operational funds and attested to by an auditor regularly, according to new guidance issued by the state’s banking and finance regulator. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), which oversees regulated…
Russian Cyberattack Hits Wales-Ukraine Football Broadcast

The broadcast of the Football World Cup 2022 qualifier game between Wales and Ukraine on Sunday was interrupted in Ukraine by a cyberattack that targeted OLL.TV, a Ukrainian online broadcasting platform. Victor Zhora, deputy head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, or the SSSCIP, stated in a press briefing that…
Your Tim Hortons Coffee App Knew Where You Were at All Times

Canadian investigators are reportedly looking into an alleged privacy breach in the Tim Horton’s mobile app. The coffee shop’s app was reportedly tracking movements and recording the data every few minutes per day, regardless of if the app was open. This is in violation of Canada’s privacy laws set forth to protect users. The Tim…
A third of organizations hit by ransomware were forced to close temporarily or permanently

Censuswide was recently commissioned by Cybereason to produce a report that details the costs of ransomware to businesses. The report explains how a successful ransomware attack can devastate an organization, and even drive it out of business. The lasting damage than can occur follows companies for months, sometimes years, leading to struggles down the road.…
US and Euro Police Smash Cybercrime Marketplace

US and European authorities have joined forces to dismantle a prolific underground marketplace. Although the marketplace has been taken down, its administrators remain at large. The marketplace, SSNDOB, made more than $18 million from selling personally identifiable information including individuals’ names, dates of birth, addresses, credit card numbers, and Social Security Numbers. The US believes…
NSA, FBI warn hackers are using these flaws to target VPNs and network devices

The US has warned that hackers conducting illicit cyber activity on the behalf of China may be exploiting publicly disclosed flaws in network devices. This may be part of a broader effort to steal and manipulate network traffic, the NSA and FBI warn. According to the agencies, there are at least 16 flaws in network…
ECOWAS unhappy with Mali’s 24-month transition decision

Mali’s military government announced a delay on the return to civilian rule by 24 months on Monday. The 24-month timetable is being implemented starting from March 2022 while negotiations between the military and civilian sides are ongoing. The Economic Community of West African States has announced that it regrets the country’s decision and that a…
China offers $15,000 cash — or a ‘spiritual reward’ — for national security tip-offs

China’s citizens are being offered cash rewards of 100,000 yuan or more for tip offs about people who endanger the country’s national security. Authorities in China are intensifying a multi-year long campaign to weed out threats from hostile forces or foreign espionage. Informants may receive spiritual rewards in certificants or material rewards in cash according…
Major DDoS attacks increasing after invasion of Ukraine

Disruptive DDoS attacks against critical infrastructure and government targets have been increasingly prevalent since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Infosec experts have observed a surge in global DDoS activity in recent months. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) issued a warning about these types of attacks from Russian threat groups in…
A Long-Awaited Defense Against Data Leaks May Have Just Arrived

After years of data breaches, leaks, and hacks leaving the world desperate for tools to stem the illicit flow of sensitive personal data, a key advance has appeared on the horizon. On Tuesday, MongoDB is announcing “Queryable Encryption,” a feature that will allow database users to search their data while it remains encrypted. The tool, which…
Bipartisan crypto regulatory overhaul would treat most digital assets as commodities under CFTC oversight

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis introduced the first major bipartisan legislation aimed at taming the “Wild West” crypto market on Tuesday that would classify digital assets as commodities like wheat or oil and empower the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to rein in the nascent industry. Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York who sits on the…
Using Tech to Build Supply Chain Resilience in a Changing World

Proper supply chain management is critical to smooth business operation, agility and profitability. Beyond coordination, resilience is a key quality required for supply chain management. Covid-19 related supply chain disruptions have affected most industries. Vast numbers of companies across the globe experienced troubles during Covid-19, impacting shipment timing, costs, efficiency and revenues. These impacts highlight…
How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Is a Litmus Test for Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Many companies have withdrawn from Russia to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So far, major cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S. have resisted, saying they won’t do it unilaterally. This is a principled stand, and it is consistent with the guiding ethos of the cryptocurrency community. After all, these markets serve as an alternative to those…
Attackers Use Public Exploits to Throttle Atlassian Confluence Flaw

Threat actors are leveraging public exploits to utilize a critical zero-day remote code execution that affects all versions of a popular collaboration tools called Atlassian. Atlassian is used in cloud and hybrid server environments. The flaw reportedly allows for complete host takeover, making it a very serious threat. Researchers from Volexity were the first to…
State-Backed Hacker Believed to Be Behind Follina Attacks on EU and US

An unidentified state actor is reportedly perpetrating a phishing campaign that targets European and local US government entities by leveraging the Follina Office vulnerability. Security researchers at Proofpoint spotted the hacking attempts and addressed the issue via Twitter last Friday from its Threat Insight account. In the series of tweets, the company describes the details…
Critical Vulnerability Found in Motorola’s Unisoc Chips

Security researchers at cyber threat intelligence company Checkpoint Research have detected a critical vulnerability in the Motorola Unisoc Tiger Y700 chips. The smartphones impacted are the Motorola Moto G20, E30 and E40 smartphones. The components have been identified as threat vectors due to a stack overflow vulnerability. The components made their way into the devices…
EU blames Russia for food crisis prompting walkout

Russia’s United Nations ambassador walked out o fa UN Security Council meeting after being blamed by the European Council president for the global food shortage. Charles Michel blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for causing the global food crisis and said Russia was using the food supplies as a weapon against the developing world. Vassily Nebenzia,…
South Korean and US fighter jets in show of force to Kim Jong Un amid fears over North Korean nuclear test

The United States and South Korea put on an aerial show of force to North Korea on Tuesday. The two allies flew 20 fighter jets over the water to the west of the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang’s most recent missile tests and fears that North Korea will conduct nuclear tests. South Korean F-35A,…
Making the Metaverse Safe For Everyone

Unlike any other time in history, the past decade has shown us the power of technology to transform our working and personal lives. Technology-enabled shopping, banking and working from any location made the restrictions from COVID-19 more manageable. We are also getting a hint of the power that big data, AI and machine learning will…
Yuga Labs Confirms Discord Server Hack; 200 ETH Worth of NFTs Stolen

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Discord server was hacked Saturday, with the attacker making off with 200 ETH ($360,000) worth of non-fungible tokens (NFT), according to Yuga Labs. The hack took place after the project’s community manager, Boris Vagner, had his Discord account compromised, which the attacker then used to post phishing links in…
Thefts, Fraud and Lawsuits at the World’s Biggest NFT Marketplace

Chris Chapman used to own one of the most valuable commodities in the crypto world: a unique digital image of a spiky-haired ape dressed in a spacesuit. Mr. Chapman bought the nonfungible token last year, as a widely hyped series of digital collectibles called the Bored Ape Yacht Club became a phenomenon. In December, he listed…
How crypto giant Binance became a hub for hackers, fraudsters and drug traffickers

In September 2020, a North Korean hacking group known as Lazarus broke into a small Slovakian crypto exchange and stole virtual currency worth some $5.4 million. It was one of a string of cyber heists by Lazarus that Washington said were aimed at funding North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Several hours later, the hackers opened at…
New York’s push to ban crypto mining triggers response from community

As the state of New York pushes forward a bill that will ban proof-of-work (PoW) mining once approved, members of the crypto community express their disagreement through social media. In a Twitter thread, Jake Chervinsky, the head of policy at Blockchain Association, explained that the move will not “reduce carbon emissions” at all. According to Chervinsky,…
Beijing Cautiously Reopens After Covid-19 Wave

Beijing has taken tentative steps towards reopening the city on Monday as much of the region lifted restrictions on dining in restaurants. In addition, many workers were able to return to their offices after a month-long period of stringent measures dictating the city’s businesses and residents’ personal movements. However, smaller flare-ups of Covid-19 clusters around…
14-year-old Palestinian shot and killed by Israeli forces, says Palestinian health ministry

The Palestinian health ministry has confirmed the death of a 14-year-old Palestinian boy who was shot and killed by Israeli forced in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Friday. The family of the victim stated that the boy was walking to his grandparents’ house when he was shot. The victim, Zaid Saeed Ghuneim, was…
Evil Corp Pivots LockBit to Dodge U.S. Sanctions

Evil Corp is reportedly distancing itself from its previous signature moves by shifting tactics and tools to prevent identification and continue its nefarious activity. Evil Corp has pivoted to the LockBit ransomware after US sanctions have made it extremely difficult for the group to benefit financially from its activity. Mandiant has been tracking a group…
Russian Ministry Website Reportedly Hacked

Although little information has been clarified, it appears that Russia’s Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Utilities website has been hacked, leaving behind a site that reads “Glory to Ukraine” in Ukrainian. The ministry did acknowledge that the site was unavailable to users, however, it confirmed that no personal data was affected in the breach. The…
Gloucester Council IT Systems Still Not Fully Operational Six Months After Cyber-Attack

Gloucester City Council’s IT team has reported that its systems are still impacted from a cyberattack that occurred six months ago. The cyberattack was perpetrated by Russian actors and rendered the systems unoperational. Today, the systems are not operating at their full capacity due to lasting effects from the attack. The authority acknowledge the hack,…
South Korea and US fire missiles in warning to North Korea

After North Korea fired a volley of missiles on Sunday, the United States and South Korea launched eight missiles on Monday. South Korea’s president Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to respond sternly to provocation from North Korea with missile tests. Suk-yeol mentioned at a war memorial event that North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs are reaching…
Mass shooting at Nigeria church kills dozens, says local lawmaker

There was a bloody attack on a church in southwestern Nigeria on Sunday. Attackers stormed the church and began randomly shooting according to the legislator representing the Owo constituency in the ONdo State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Olayemi. The attacks killed at least 28 people. State police were unable to confirm the total number of…
Reports show scammers cashing in on crypto craze

From Super Bowl ads to Bitcoin ATMs, cryptocurrency seems to be everywhere lately. Although it’s yet to become a mainstream payment method, reports to the FTC show it’s an alarmingly common method for scammers to get peoples’ money. Since the start of 2021, more than 46,000 people have reported losing over $1 billion in crypto…
Russia is ‘failing’ in its mission to destabilize Ukraine’s networks after a series of thwarted cyber-attacks

Russia is failing in its mission to shake Ukraine’s cyber resilience as the country continues to successfully thwart cyber-attacks from its oppressor. That was the takeaway from WithSecure’s Sphere conference this week, as chief research officer Mikko Hyppönen told attendees that Putin’s regime is “largely failing”. During the event, held in Helsinki, Finland, Mikko shared insight into…
Recovering Ransom Payments: Is This the End of Ransomware?

What’s the best way to stop ransomware? Make it riskier and less lucrative for cyber criminals. Nearly all intruders prefer to collect a ransom in cryptocurrency. But it’s a double-edged sword since even crypto leaves a money trail. Recovering ransomware payouts could lead to a sharp decline in exploits. Ransomware is still today’s top attack type,…
Sandvine Pulls Back From Russia as US, EU Tighten Control on Technology It Sells

In 2017, the Canadian technology firm Sandvine merged with a Silicon Valley rival, Procera Networks. Both companies sold a powerful internet monitoring tool called deep packet inspection technology that can manage network traffic, block malware and spam and — more controversially — be used by national governments to censor the web. Following the merger, Sandvine…
Can Blockchain Help Fix Broken Supply Chains in 2022?

We first heard about the potential of blockchain in supply chains several years ago, and almost immediately were thrust into a cycle of hype and hope of what they could do for us, followed by a “trough of disillusion” when nothing moved as fast as we had wanted. But that doesn’t mean startups, enterprise and…
Costa Rica May Be Pawn in Conti Ransomware Group’s Bid to Rebrand, Evade Sanctions

Krebs on Security recently released a post discussing Costa Rica’s involvement in the Conti ransomware group’s larger plans for the future. Last week, Costa Rica’s national health service was hacked by a Russian ransomware group referred to as Hive, just weeks after the country entered a state of emergency in response to a ransomware attack…
Cybercriminals Expand Attack Radius and Ransomware Pain Points

In an interview with Melissa Bischoping, the security researcher with Tanium and Infosec Insiders columnist warns of the increasingly popular trend towards triple extortion ransomware attacks. The multi-faceted approach beyond ransomware and the primary victim is a significant concern for organizations and their members, says Bischoping. Secondhand victims such as dental practices, insurance providers, and…
10 Companies Chosen to Test Next-Generation Cybersecurity Technologies

Ten UK-based cybersecurity companies have been chosen by the government to participate in the latest phase of the Digital Security by Design program. Their participation will consist of experimenting with prototype cybersecurity technology created to strengthen the hardware underlying the computers. The technology was designed by Arm, a semiconductor and software design company in collaboration…
Doug Ford set to return as Ontario premier after election sweep

Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative party has won a majority in legislative elections in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province. The party is expected to win 83 of the provincial legislature’s 124 seats according to projections made on Thursday. Ford became president in 2018 and faced criticism over his handling of the province’s strained healthcare system and…
Civilians in peril as tensions in DR Congo escalate: HRW

The Human Rights Watch has stated that the fighting between government forces and armed groups in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo could endanger the safety of civilians. The human rights group made a statement late on Wednesday night calling the DRC’s forces and the M23 group to minimize the…
Pakistani Taliban militants announce indefinite ceasefire with Islamabad

An indefinite ceasefire with Pakistan’s government has been announced by the Pakistani Taliban after talks run by the Afghan Taliban government. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) said the progress from talks in Kabul allowed the truce to be extended until further notice. The TTP has been fighting Pakistan’s governmental armed forces for years. The TTP wants…
Salvadoran authorities are committing ‘massive’ human rights violations, with nearly 2% of the country detained, Amnesty alleges

According to a new report by Amnesty International, Salvadoran authorities have committed many human rights violations. The violations include thousands of arbitrary detentions and violations of due process, torture and ill-treatment. In the report, it was found that nearly 2% of the country has been detained since March and 18 people have died while in…
Amid criticism, North Korea takes over as UN disarmament president

North Korea has taken over as the head of the UN body aimed at making disarmament deals while being under sanctions for developing nuclear weapons against United Nations Security Council Resolutions. North Korea gained the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament because the position rotates alphabetically through its 65 members. North Korea stated it would…