Cybersecurity News: Hackers breach LastPass, new Agenda ransomware, Facebook Cambridge settlement

Hackers breach LastPass developer system to steal source code

According to The Hacker News and others, “password management service LastPass has confirmed a security incident that resulted in the theft of certain source code and technical information.” The breach apparently happened two weeks ago, and targeted its development environment. The company has stated that no customer data or encrypted passwords were accessed, although it provided no further details regarding the hack and what source code was stolen. “An unauthorized party gained access to portions of the LastPass development environment through a single compromised developer account and took portions of source code and some proprietary LastPass technical information,” LastPass CEO Karim Toubba said.

(The Hacker News)

New Agenda ransomware appears

Researchers at Trend Micro made the discovery of targeted ransomware tracked named Agenda, written in the Go programming language, and deployed against one of its own customers. Their investigation showed that the threat actor “used a public-facing Citrix server as a point of entry, likely using a valid account to access this server and perform lateral movements inside the victim’s network.” The ransomware family focused on enterprises in Asia and Africa.

(Security Affairs)

Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data breach lawsuit ends in 11th hour settlement

Facebook has agreed to settle a lawsuit pertaining to it allowing Cambridge Analytica to access to the private data of tens of millions of users. This settlement comes four years after The Observer exposed the scandal. A court filing shows that that Meta has “in principle settled for an undisclosed sum.” This move has led some observers to speculate that it was done to prevent CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Meta’s outgoing chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, from being made to testify during hours of questioning by plaintiffs’ lawyers next month.

(The Guardian)

Prepare now for quantum computers, says CISA

CISA published a paper last week, calling for leaders and organizations prepare for “the migration to stronger secret guarding systems, exploring risk mitigation methods, and participating in developing new standards, in the face of the advance of quantum computing.” Experts generally believe that quantum computers (still currently in experimental phases) will achieve superiority over conventional systems, rendering them obsolete, within just a few years. “When quantum computers reach higher levels of computing power and speed, they will be capable of breaking public key cryptography, threatening the security of business transactions, secure communications, digital signatures, and customer information,” the agency said.

(Bleeping Computer)

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Google employees frustrated after back-to-office Covid outbreaks

The frustration comes from regular notifications from management regarding Covid-19 infections, which are causing many to question the company’s return-to-office mandates. Employees said that infection notifications have been appearing regularly in their email inboxes since returning to the office. regularly. The company began requiring most employees to return to physical offices at least three days a week in April. According to the city’s public health dashboard, the outbreak in Google Los Angeles is currently the largest of any employer in the city. “Deadline.com first reported that the tech giant’s trendy Silicon Beach campus in Venice, Calif., recorded 145 infections, while 135 cases were recorded at the company’s large Playa Vista campus.”

(CNBC)

There is no such money anywhere as there is in ransomware

The April ransomware attack on the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, which the Babuk gang claimed as one of theirs, was, according to Brian Krebs, masterminded by one Mikhail Matveev, who also goes by the handle, Wazawaka. In a recent interview with The Record, he suggests that although ransomware as a business will likely die away in a few years, there is currently “no such money anywhere as there is in ransomware.” He claims it is even more lucrative than the dark web drug trade. The full interview is available at The Record.

(The Record)

California AG looks ahead to other data privacy violations after Sephora fine

California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta is anticipating additional violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) after having last week issued its first fine of $1.2 million to Paris-based cosmetics company Sephora. The fine was part of a settlement with Sephora to resolve allegations the company violated the CCPA. Bonta has sent notices to “a number of businesses” due to alleged non-compliance when it comes to processing consumer opt-out requests. The violations focus on “the processing of consumer requests made through global privacy controls that allow people to opt out of all online sales in one click. Many businesses attempt to get around this by making users click on opt-out links each time they visit a website.”

(The Record)

Last week in ransomware

Last week’s ransomware stories centered mostly around LockBit, who saw their Tor data leak sites taken down by a DDoS attack shortly after claiming responsibility for a ransomware attack on the cybersecurity giant. Researchers released reports this week on a Genshin Impact anti-cheat driver being abused to terminate antivirus processes during ransomware attacks, and a new extortion group called Donut Leaks appeared. Cyberscoop reported an overall rise in ransomware activity, with a good deal emanating from North Korea. Finally, last week’s ransomware attacks include Greek natural gas operator DESFA, a French hospital, and Bombardier Recreational Products.

(Bleeping Computer)

Steve Prentice
Author, speaker, expert in the area where people and technology crash into each other, viewed from the organizational psychology perspective. Host of many podcasts, voice actor and narrator for corporate media and audiobooks. Ghost-writer for busy executives.