The Security Digest: #81
A backend system for text messages was breached for 5 years, It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Do your part. #BeCyberSmart, the Pandora Papers is a massive data leak of tax haven files, Coinbase MFA was bypassed, Intercept looks at hacked data around COVID-19, patch Apache and Android ASAP, President Biden announced a multi country ransomware coalition and Facebook was not hacked. Owls are a spooky symbol of halloween based on folklore and finally Phrack is back!
A company that handles billions of text messages reported to the SEC that it was hacked and the attackers had access for years. The hack began in May 2016 but they did not notice until May 2021. Read more of the report at Motherboard.
It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, now in its 18th year! The evergreen theme is “Do your part. #BeCyberSmart” and is the theme for this week. CISA has released a number of tip sheets including Cyber Secure at Work, Safe Travel, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Online Privacy, Protecting Your Digital Home, Creating Passwords and Social Media Cybersecurity. You can also check out the proclamation from the President on Whitehouse.gov
In what is billed as “the largest investigation in journalism history”, The Pandora Papers is the most expansive leak of tax haven files.
Hackers were able to bypass MFA in Coinbase and steal funds from 6000 users. Read more at The Record
A hacker leaked data to The Intercept revealing various partisan issues related to COVID-19.
If you’re running Apache, check your version as there is a zero day vulnerability that could expose sensitive information. Read more at BleepingComputer
Android rolled out their October update with 41 fixes including 3 critical. Update ASAP! Read more at BleepingComputer
President Biden announced a 30 country coalition to fight against ransomware late last week. Read more at BleepingComputer
And finally, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp all went down to an internal faulty configuration change and were not hacked as some initial rumors said. KrebsOnSecurity has a good overview of the information known about the change to BGP. In the meantime, a Twitter user caught the scene outside of Facebook HQ.
Owl fun and facts:
Yahoo has a fun article about why owls are a symbol of Halloween according to folklorists.
A Shout Out:
Phrack is back! The legendary zine has published their first issue in 5 years. Phrack was first published in 1985. Check out Phrack Issue 70.