The Amelia WordPress plugin before 1.0.47 stores image blobs into actual files whose extension is controlled by the user, which may lead to PHP backdoors being uploaded onto the site. This vulnerability can be exploited Read more

A vulnerability in the latest version of WordPress has been identified as a potentially serious technical problem.

Een kwetsbaarheid in de nieuwste versie van WordPress is aangemerkt als een mogelijk ernstig technisch probleem.

Follow the instructions, as they will assist you in mitigating the WordPress vulnerability that been reported in CVE-2022-0687. • Install the latest version of WordPress Navigate to the official WordPress website and download the latest version of WordPress. The latest version contains the CVE-2022-0687 fix.

Volg de instructies, want ze zullen u helpen bij het verminderen van de WordPress kwetsbaarheid die is gemeld in CVE-2022-0687. De laatste versie bevat de oplossing voor CVE-2022-0687. Controleer of CVE-2022-0687 is gemitigeerd.

The Amelia WordPress plugin before 1.0.47 stores image blobs into actual files whose extension is controlled by the user, which may lead to PHP backdoors being uploaded onto the site. This vulnerability can be exploited by logged-in users with the custom “Amelia Manager” role.

Follow the instructions, as they will assist you in mitigating the WordPress vulnerability that been reported in CVE-2022-0687.
• Install the latest version of WordPress Navigate to the official WordPress website and download the latest version of WordPress. The latest version contains the CVE-2022-0687 fix.
• Perform a vulnerability assessment Perform a scan on your WordPress environment(s), and check for vulnerabilities. Verify if CVE-2022-0687 has been mitigated.
• Utilize the references The CVE-2022-0687 references have been provided for a reason. Utilize these references and make sure that you are correctly informed.

CVE-2022-0687: Wordpress plugin vulnerability

Het is terecht dat de NAVO een cyberaanval of een reeks kwaadwillende cyberactiviteiten als een gewapende aanval in de zin van ...

The UK government has approved a draft draft document which describes cyber attacks as an armed attack.

De Britse regering heeft een ontwerpdocument goedgekeurd waarin cyberaanvallen als een gewapende aanval worden omschreven.

Het is terecht dat de NAVO een cyberaanval of een reeks kwaadwillende cyberactiviteiten als een gewapende aanval in de zin van artikel 5 kan bestempelen, zo laat het kabinet weten in een reactie op een nieuw Strategisch Concept van de NAVO. In artikel 5 stelt de NAVO dat een gewapende aanval tegen één of meer van de bondgenoten als een aanval tegen alle bondgenoten wordt beschouwd. Volgens het kabinet kunnen kwaadwillende cyberactiviteiten en desinformatie een risico vormen voor de veiligheid en stabiliteit van de NAVO.

It is appropriate for NATO to be able to classify a cyber attack or a series of malicious cyber activities as an armed attack under Article 5, the government said in a response to a new NATO Strategic Concept. However, the government did make public a response to the new draft, which also discusses the issue of cyber. According to the Cabinet, malicious cyber activities and disinformation can pose a risk to NATO's security and stability.

Het is terecht dat de NAVO een cyberaanval of een reeks kwaadwillende cyberactiviteiten als een gewapende aanval in de zin van artikel 5 kan bestempelen, zo laat het kabinet weten in een reactie op een nieuw Strategisch Concept van de NAVO. In artikel 5 stelt de NAVO dat een gewapende aanval tegen één of meer van de bondgenoten als een aanval tegen alle bondgenoten wordt beschouwd.

De conceptteksten van het nieuwe NAVO Strategisch Concept zijn gerubriceerd als "NATO Restricted". Het document is dan ook alleen op papier en in vertrouwelijke vorm voor Tweede Kamerleden beschikbaar. Wel heeft het kabinet een reactie op het nieuwe concept openbaar gemaakt, waarin ook wordt gesproken over het onderwerp "cyber".

Volgens het kabinet kunnen kwaadwillende cyberactiviteiten en desinformatie een risico vormen voor de veiligheid en stabiliteit van de NAVO. "Zo hebben bondgenoten terecht besloten dat een cyberaanval of een reeks aan kwaadwillende cyberactiviteiten als een gewapende aanval in de zin van artikel 5 gekwalificeerd kunnen worden", zo staat in de kabinetsappreciatie van het NAVO-concept.

Het kabinet vindt dat de NAVO een organisatie moet zijn die haar eigen cyberveiligheid op orde heeft en te allen tijde baas is over haar eigen ict. "Het verhogen van de cyberweerbaarheid van de NAVO en bondgenoten is cruciaal. Ook moet de NAVO cybercapaciteiten van bondgenoten kunnen integreren in missies en operaties om zo ook op digitaal gebied slagkracht te kunnen genereren. Het kabinet is van mening dat de formulering hierover in het huidige concept adequaat is", aldus de kabinetsreactie.

Verder meldt het kabinet dat op het gebied van hybride dreigingen het van belang is dat duidelijker in het concept komt dat de NAVO doorgaat met het verbeteren van het situationeel bewustzijn en het verder ontwikkelen van instrumenten om hybride activiteiten tegen te kunnen gaan. Daarbij merkt het kabinet op dat de NAVO niet alleen verantwoordelijk is voor het nemen van maatregelen op deze vlakken. "Juist ook op dit terrein is de samenwerking met de EU, met zijn brede instrumentarium dat zowel politieke, economische als ook defensie-instrumenten omvat, van groot belang."

Kabinet: terecht dat NAVO cyberaanval als militaire aanval kan bestempelen - Security.NL

The search giant is sharing its secrets for learning about people without exposing individuals.

Google has launched a software tool that aims to protect users' personal data. But what does this mean?

Google heeft een softwaretool gelanceerd die de persoonsgegevens van gebruikers moet beschermen. Maar wat houdt dit in?

But collecting all this data comes with the risk of exposing private information about individuals. That's exactly the dilemma you face with big data. It's with this problem in mind that Google on Thursday introduced a group of open-source software tools that focuses on differential privacy.

Hoe druk is het in de wachtkamer van een ziekenhuis op een normale zaterdag? Maar het verzamelen van al deze gegevens brengt het risico met zich mee dat privé-informatie over personen wordt blootgelegd. Als je wilt weten hoe druk een ziekenhuis het heeft, hoef je - of wil je - niet weten wie er afgelopen zaterdag op de eerste hulp is geweest.

Data about human beings can tell you countless helpful things. How crowded is a hospital waiting room on a typical Saturday? What's the traffic like for your morning commute? But collecting all this data comes with the risk of exposing private information about individuals. When you want to know how busy a hospital is, you don't need – or want – to know who was in the emergency room last Saturday.

That's exactly the dilemma you face with big data.

It's with this problem in mind that Google on Thursday introduced a group of open-source software tools that focuses on differential privacy. It's a concept that sets limits on how much you can learn about specific people in big data sets, something the tech industry is drowning in. Google has built many of its own data-analysis products on top of the tools, and the company envisions everyone from academics to large tech companies using the suite of software programs.

"The aim of this is to provide a library of primary algorithms that you could build any type of differential privacy solution on top of," Bryant Gipson, an engineering manager at Google, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Google's release of the tools shows the company addressing privacy concerns at a time when consumers are increasingly worried that the tech industry is abusing their data. Along with similar projects Google has announced this year, Thursday's announcement points to a smart strategy by Google – keep on crunching mind-boggling amounts of user data, but put limits on how that data could affect individuals. The company also made its TensorFlow Federated software, which lets machine learning algorithms analyze data on user's devices instead of extracting the data and storing it on external servers, open source in March. In August, Google announced it was developing a "privacy sandbox" that will let advertisers display targeted ads while restricting tracking technology.

Differential privacy has the potential to protect your data in settings far beyond Google's products. Academics can use it to protect the privacy of study participants, and city planners can use it to protect your data as they seek to understand traffic patterns and service usage.

Even the US Census is concerned about keeping US residents' data private, so much so that it's planning to release slightly less accurate data to keep outliers from standing out – one side effect of using differential privacy.

Differential privacy is necessary because simply removing a user's name from their data isn't enough to make it anonymous. It's all too easy to re-identify someone in a data set using mathematical tricks. The process is similar to breaking a complex code, and the more data you have about an individual in a data set, the faster you can re-identify them, Gipson said.

Differential privacy combats this with its own mathematical maneuvers, which analyze how easy it would be to identify individuals in a data set and then remove some or all of their data.

In one infamous example of anonymous data gone wrong, Netflix released data about 500,000 anonymous users in 2006 for anyone to analyze. In an academic paper, data scientists showed how they could tie the data to public user information on IMDB and re-identify a significant amount of the Netflix users, revealing information about their political beliefs along the way. A similar problem emerged the same year when New York Times reporters were able to identify and speak with a specific user from among an anonymous set of AOL user searches.

Gipson emphasized that differential privacy by itself won't keep user data safe, and people handing user data need to use a wide range of privacy strategies.

Still, the technique is difficult to do, and Google hopes that, as more people use its tools, a shared understanding of differential privacy will emerge and evolve.

"This is the beginning of a conversation," Gipson said, "not the ending."

Google's latest free tools tap into big data without destroying your privacy

Jan Vermeulen reports: South African Nespresso distributor Top Coffee has sent a notice to clients informing them that their names, phone numbers, and email...

A coffee company has warned customers that their personal information may have been leaked.

Een koffiebedrijf heeft klanten gewaarschuwd dat hun persoonlijke gegevens gelekt kunnen zijn.

South African Nespresso distributor Top Coffee has sent a notice to clients informing them that their names, phone numbers, and email addresses may have been leaked. According to the notice, the personal information may have been temporarily exposed through a third-party supplier. The distributor doesn’t believe that any customer financial information was exposed.

De Zuid-Afrikaanse Nespresso-distributeur Top Coffee heeft zijn klanten laten weten dat hun namen, telefoonnummers en e-mailadressen mogelijk zijn uitgelekt. Volgens de kennisgeving zijn de persoonsgegevens mogelijk tijdelijk openbaar gemaakt via een externe leverancier. De distributeur denkt niet dat er financiële informatie van klanten is vrijgegeven.

South African Nespresso distributor Top Coffee has sent a notice to clients informing them that their names, phone numbers, and email addresses may have been leaked.

According to the notice, the personal information may have been temporarily exposed through a third-party supplier.

The distributor doesn’t believe that any customer financial information was exposed.

Nespresso data leak in South Africa

Network segmentation is a best practice and when done correctly it improves network security and

The SolarWinds breach has been linked to a massive cyber-attack that has left more than 100 people dead.

De inbreuk bij SolarWinds is in verband gebracht met een grootschalige cyberaanval waarbij meer dan 100 mensen om het leven zijn gekomen.

Every organization is at risk for cyberattacks, and it’s unsettling that the attackers are so good at maximizing the damage to their victims. The time an attacker spends inside a network is referred to as ‘dwell time,’ and it’s measured from the point of intrusion to the point of detection. Long dwell times increase the damage of an attack, often in ways that can’t be measured.

Elke organisatie loopt het risico op cyberaanvallen, en het is verontrustend dat de aanvallers zo goed zijn in het maximaliseren van de schade aan hun slachtoffers. Aanvallers die de bedrijfsverdediging omzeilen, zullen zich zo lang mogelijk in het netwerk verbergen, zelfs als ze van plan zijn een ransomware-aanval uit te voeren. Lange verblijftijden verhogen de schade van een aanval, vaak op een manier die niet kan worden gemeten.

Every organization is at risk for cyberattacks, and it’s unsettling that the attackers are so good at maximizing the damage to their victims. Their tactics are increasingly sophisticated and often involve some type of email attack, bot attack, or even just old-school social engineering. Attackers who bypass company defenses will hide inside the network as long as possible, even if they’re planning to launch a ransomware attack. They use this time to explore the network, steal data and user credentials, destroy backups, and do anything else they can do to set themselves up for future attacks.

The time an attacker spends inside a network is referred to as ‘dwell time,’ and it’s measured from the point of intrusion to the point of detection. Long dwell times increase the damage of an attack, often in ways that can’t be measured. The SolarWinds breach is the perfect example of this. The intruders entered the network in early 2019 and were not discovered until December 2020. The exact number of victims and costs associated with the attack remain unknown.

Network segmentation is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce dwell time. For those of you not familiar with this practice, it’s just like it sounds: You divide your network into different sections (segments) and you ‘lock the doors’ between them.

You’ve seen this concept at work in high-security buildings that restrict access to certain parts of the facility to people who have been granted permission to enter that restricted section. This keeps people from wandering around and exploring areas that are critical to operations or contain sensitive information. Segmentation does something similar for your network.

There are immediate security benefits to separating your network into multiple contained segments:
• Segmentation creates a smaller attack surface within the network. An intruder will be limited to the segment that was breached. The attacker can go no further unless they successfully breach another segment. Isolating your mission-critical servers and data can prevent an intruder from gaining access to your resources through a neglected printer or rogue smart device.
• Segmentation makes it easier to detect and isolate security incidents. The division between the segments helps contain the spread of malware and viruses. It limits the areas where the intruder can hide, and it can improve the efficiency of security monitoring.

There are non-security benefits as well. For example, POS devices fall under strict compliance rules. Assigning POS devices their own segment helps companies by limiting the cardholder data environment (CDE) and reducing the scope of PCI DSS compliance.

Segmentation also improves network performance by separating traffic. A good example of improving both security and performance is the separation of a public network from private resources. A shopping center or school campus that offers free wireless access to guests would want that traffic separated from the line-of-business applications. This keeps the potential traffic congestion of public wireless access isolated to assigned segments.

Gartner analysts have warned against over-segmentation, which can complicate the management and use of the network. One Gartner study found that over 70% of segmentation projects had to be re-architected because the segmentation made it too difficult for authorized users to access what they needed to perform their work.

“A principle of network segmentation is to group like resources together, to minimize security overhead: Build a fence around the car park, not a fence and gate around every car. ~Gartner”

Barracuda can help you secure your network while making it easier to manage. Visit our website for more information on Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, secure SD-WAN, and other network security solutions.

How network segmentation can help secure your business

Pursuing a SOC 2 audit is a multi-step process. This blog clarifies the SOC 2 audit process and explains the role of SOC 2 auditors and compliance software.

When it comes to cybersecurity, companies need to demonstrate their ability to protect data and information.

Als het om cyberbeveiliging gaat, moeten bedrijven aantonen dat zij in staat zijn gegevens en informatie te beschermen.

Pursuing a SOC 2 audit is a multi-step process, which can seem confusing at first glance given the fact that there are vendors that provide compliance software, and other vendors who are themselves certified SOC 2 auditors. This blog will clarify the SOC 2 audit process, as well as explain the role of SOC 2 auditors and compliance software. When and How to Use SOC 2 Software ToolsThere are multiple steps to completing a SOC 2 audit.

Enter, SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2), een populaire audit die getuigt van het vermogen van een bedrijf om gegevens en informatie te beschermen. Het nastreven van een SOC 2-audit is een proces dat uit verschillende stappen bestaat, wat op het eerste gezicht verwarrend kan lijken, gezien het feit dat er verkopers zijn die nalevingssoftware leveren, en andere verkopers die zelf gecertificeerde SOC 2-auditors zijn. Wanneer en hoe SOC 2-softwaretools gebruikenEr zijn verschillende stappen om een SOC 2-audit te voltooien.

Data breaches and ransomware attacks continue to dominate the news cycle. To protect data, and position themselves favorably among prospects and customers, companies need to demonstrate a commitment to cybersecurity.

Enter, SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2), a popular audit that attests to a company’s ability to protect data and information. It’s a strong validator for any company looking to demonstrate its commitment to cybersecurity to partners and customers.

Pursuing a SOC 2 audit is a multi-step process, which can seem confusing at first glance given the fact that there are vendors that provide compliance software, and other vendors who are themselves certified SOC 2 auditors.

This blog will clarify the SOC 2 audit process, as well as explain the role of SOC 2 auditors and compliance software.

When and How to Use SOC 2 Software Tools

There are multiple steps to completing a SOC 2 audit. Many companies start with a readiness/gap assessment, which is the process of reviewing existing controls in place and identifying those that need to be improved or implemented. This process can be executed via an audit consultant, or through specialized software tools that help simplify this process (like A-SCEND).

Compliance software tools typically provide automated workflows and compliance templates, comparing your existing controls against the controls within a selected compliance framework — which, in this case, would be the SOC 2 framework.

Typically, this software allows you to visualize progress toward compliance goals, assign tasks related to evidence collection or policy updates, and collaborate all in one dashboard. Software tools provide a simple way to understand the framework requirements, assess them against your existing policies and procedures, and manage the process of updating policies. While these tools help to better prepare for an audit and streamline the assessment process, an experienced auditor is still a critical component of compliance.

When and How to Use SOC 2 Auditors

Software tools can only take you so far with SOC 2. They can help prepare a company for a SOC 2 audit, but not complete the audit itself. When the actual audit takes place, companies must turn to a SOC auditor.

SOC 2 audits are regulated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and must be completed by an external auditor from a licensed CPA firm. This is the only way a company can receive an official SOC 2 report, whether it’s a Type 1 or Type 2 report.

An official SOC 2 report is valid for one year following the date the report was issued. Future annual audits must also be completed by an external auditor from a licensed CPA firm.

If your organization plans to use software to prepare for an audit, it’s helpful to work with a software partner who can also conduct the official audit (as a certified CPA) because it provides an added layer of convenience throughout the SOC 2 process and results in a reputable report. 



Organizations need to go beyond the data collection by their compliance software tool and conduct further due diligence, such as observations and walkthroughs (conversations) between the audit team and the client. SOC 2 auditors may also find that they need additional data or evidence necessary to validate the design and operating effectiveness of a complete control set. When you use the same company for a technology-enabled audit, and a SOC 2 report, the software is designed to request all audit materials needed, including manually operated controls and supporting evidence. In this convenient scenario, you can save time, resources, and money.

Stephanie Oyler is the Vice President of Attestation Services at A-LIGN focused on overseeing a variation of many assessments within the SOC practice. Stephanie’s responsibilities include managing key service delivery leadership teams, maintaining auditing standards and methodologies, and analyzing business unit metrics. Stephanie has spent several years at A-LIGN in service delivery roles from auditing and managing client engagements to overseeing audit teams and providing quality reviews of reports. Prior to joining A-LIGN, Stephanie worked for CBIZ, the tenth largest accounting firm in the U.S., providing auditing services in the financial accounting spectrum for various industries including automobile, hospitality, not-for-profit, real estate, and cloud architecture. Stephanie graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree of Science in Accounting. During her time at the University of South Florida, Stephanie was an active member of Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor society for Accounting, Finance, and Information Systems students and professionals.

Who Performs a SOC 2 Audit? The Role of SOC 2 Auditors | CSA

By Guy Rosefelt, CPO, Sangfor Technologies NFTs have become very popular with collectors and are more ubiquitous every day.  The idea of owning a one-of-a-kind object even in the digital world is very attractive.  The

In our series of letters from African journalists, novelist and writer Jonathan Marcus looks at how security issues affect crypto-wallets.

In onze reeks brieven van Afrikaanse journalisten bekijkt romanschrijver en schrijver Jonathan Marcus hoe veiligheidskwesties crypto-wallets beïnvloeden.

The idea of owning a one-of-a-kind object even in the digital world is very attractive. But artists and creatives of all types, be it painting and graphics, music, photography, and even video can now create and sell unique works that cannot be replicated. Besides security issues, they are being used by criminals for money laundering of cryptocurrency, and I do not see the value in something that will immediately become worthless when the internet apocalypse happens and your NFT wallet is no longer accessible.

Het idee is niet nieuw, aangezien het kopen van unieke voorwerpen in games al tientallen jaren bestaat. Maar kunstenaars en creatieven van alle soorten, of het nu gaat om schilderen en grafiek, muziek, fotografie, en zelfs video, kunnen nu unieke werken maken en verkopen die niet kunnen worden nagemaakt. Naast beveiligingsproblemen worden ze door criminelen gebruikt voor het witwassen van cryptocurrency, en ik zie de waarde niet in van iets dat onmiddellijk waardeloos wordt als de internetapocalyps gebeurt en je NFT wallet niet meer toegankelijk is.

NFTs have become very popular with collectors and are more ubiquitous every day. The idea of owning a one-of-a-kind object even in the digital world is very attractive. The idea is not new as buying unique items inside games has been around for decades. But artists and creatives of all types, be it painting and graphics, music, photography, and even video can now create and sell unique works that cannot be replicated.

First, I need to disclose I am not a huge fan of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Besides security issues, they are being used by criminals for money laundering of cryptocurrency, and I do not see the value in something that will immediately become worthless when the internet apocalypse happens and your NFT wallet is no longer accessible. But that is just me. Until that happens let’s talk about the security issues. Security issues include phishing scams to access crypto-wallets and steal NFTs, and selling counterfeit items, but the issue I want to discuss is using NFTs to distribute malware.

VIA, a company that specializes in solutions for infrastructure and government, reported that they discovered instances of malware being injected into NFTs and demonstrated how easy it is. It makes sense as NFTs are normally media files that have historically been used to inject code or embed malicious software that runs when open. All being an NFT does is verify that it is the only file of its kind using blockchain. But it does nothing to verify the safety of the file. VIA has even created an open-source tool to scan NFTs to look for malicious code or software in the file.

So, the next time you spend thousands of dollars on an NFT, make sure, even if it comes from a reputable vendor, to scan it before opening it and hope there is a return policy if you find something unexpected. Otherwise, your crypto wallet might have a surprise for you once the internet apocalypse ends.

Guy is Chief Product Officer for Sangfor Technologies. He has over 20 years experience (though some say it is one year’s experience twenty times) in application and network security, kicking it off with 10 years in the U.S. Air Force, reaching rank of captain. After his time in the USAF building the first fiber to the desktop LAN and other things you would find in Tom Clancy novels, Guy worked at NGAF, SIEM, WAF and CASB startups as well as big-name brands like Imperva and Citrix. He has spoken at numerous conferences around the world and in people’s living rooms, written articles about the coming Internet Apocalypse, and even managed to occasionally lead teams that designed and built security stuff. Guy is thrilled to be in his current position at Sangfor — partly because he was promised there would always be Coke Zero in the breakroom. His favorite cake is German Chocolate.

Guy can be reached online at guy.rosefelt@sangfor.com or on Twitter at @otto38dd and at our company website www.sangfor.com.

FAIR USE NOTICE: Under the "fair use" act, another author may make limited use of the original author's work without asking permission. Pursuant to 17 U.S. Code § 107, certain uses of copyrighted material "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." As a matter of policy, fair use is based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism. The fair use privilege is perhaps the most significant limitation on a copyright owner's exclusive rights. Cyber Defense Media Group is a news reporting company, reporting cyber news, events, information and much more at no charge at our website Cyber Defense Magazine. All images and reporting are done exclusively under the Fair Use of the US copyright act.

NFTS Are Cool but Dangerous

By Randy Reiter CEO of Don’t Be Breached April, 2022 Microsoft reported that vulnerabilities in its Azure Database for PostgreSQL could have let Hackers gain access to other customers' databases after bypassing authentication. "By exploiting

Hackers could have exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft’s databases, according to researchers.

Hackers hebben volgens onderzoekers misbruik kunnen maken van een kwetsbaarheid in de databases van Microsoft.

By Randy Reiter CEO of Don’t Be BreachedApril, 2022 Microsoft reported that vulnerabilities in its Azure Database for PostgreSQL could have let Hackers gain access to other customers’ databases after bypassing authentication. Microsoft said its analysis showed no evidence of attackers having exploited the vulnerabilities to access customer data. Wiz said Microsoft awarded its researchers a $40,000 bug bounty — the amount can be viewed as confirmation of the vulnerability’s severity.

Door Randy Reiter CEO van Don't Be BreachedIn april 2022 meldde Microsoft dat kwetsbaarheden in zijn Azure Database voor PostgreSQL hackers toegang konden verschaffen tot de databases van andere klanten nadat ze de authenticatie hadden omzeild. Volgens Microsoft heeft zijn analyse geen aanwijzingen opgeleverd dat aanvallers de kwetsbaarheden hebben misbruikt om toegang te krijgen tot klantengegevens. Wiz zei dat Microsoft zijn onderzoekers een bounty van 40.000 dollar heeft toegekend - het bedrag kan worden gezien als een bevestiging van de ernst van de kwetsbaarheid.

By Randy Reiter CEO of Don’t Be Breached

April, 2022 Microsoft reported that vulnerabilities in its Azure Database for PostgreSQL could have let Hackers gain access to other customers’ databases after bypassing authentication. “By exploiting an elevated permissions bug in the Flexible Server authentication process for a replication user, a malicious user could leverage an improperly anchored regular expression to bypass authentication to gain access to other customers’ databases” the Microsoft Security Response Center reported.

The cloud security firm Wiz’s research team discovered the security vulnerabilities. An attacker could create a full copy of a target database in Azure PostgreSQL [Flexible Server], essentially exfiltrating all the information stored in the database, says Ami Luttwak, co-founder and CTO at Wiz.

Microsoft said it mitigated the issue on Jan. 13, 2022, less than 48 hours after Wiz had notified it of the issue. Microsoft said its analysis showed no evidence of attackers having exploited the vulnerabilities to access customer data. Wiz said Microsoft awarded its researchers a $40,000 bug bounty — the amount can be viewed as confirmation of the vulnerability’s severity.

How to Have Exploited the Database Vulnerability

As explained by Microsoft, the Wiz researchers went through the following steps to gain elevated privileges and remote code execution, which allowed them to bypass cross-account authentication using a forged certificate and access other customers’ databases:
• Retrieve the target’s common name from the Certificate Transparency feed.
• Find the target’s Azure region by resolving the database domain name and matching it to one of Azure’s public IP ranges.
• Create an attacker-controlled database in the target’s Azure region.
• Exploit vulnerability #1 on the attacker-controlled instance to escalate privileges and gain code execution.
• Scan the subnet for the target instance and exploit vulnerability #2 to gain read access!

How to Prevent Data Exfiltration and Data Breaches in Todays Complex Environment

Multiple layers of data protection are required today to prevent Data Exfiltration and Data Breaches. In 2020 the DHS, Department of State, U.S. Marine Corps and the Missile Defense Agency recognized this and all issued requests for proposals (RFP) for network full packet data capture for Deep Packet Inspection analysis (DPI) of network traffic. This is an important step forward protecting confidential database data and organization information.

Zero-day vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain system privileges are a major threat to all organizations encrypted and unencrypted confidential data. Confidential data includes: credit card, tax ID, medical, social media, corporate, manufacturing, trade secrets, law enforcement, defense, homeland security, power grid and public utility data. This confidential data is almost always stored in DB2, Informix, MariaDB, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL and SAP Sybase databases.

How to Stop Data Exfiltration and Data Breaches with Deep Packet Inspection

Protecting encrypted and unencrypted confidential database data is much more than securing databases, operating systems, applications and the network perimeter against Hackers, Rogue Insiders and Supply Chain Attacks.

Non-intrusive network sniffing technology can perform a real-time Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) of 100% the database activity from a network tap or proxy server with no impact on the database servers. The database SQL activity is very predictable. Database servers servicing 1,000 to 10,000 end-users typically process daily 2,000 to 10,000 unique queries or SQL commands that run millions of times a day. Deep Packet Analysis does not require logging into the monitored networks, servers or databases. This approach can provide CISOs with what they can rarely achieve. Total visibility into the database activity 24×7 and 100% protection of confidential database data.

Advanced SQL Behavioral Analysis of 100% of the real-time database SQL packets can learn what the normal database activity is. Now the database query and SQL activity can be non-intrusively monitored in real-time with DPI and non-normal SQL activity immediately pinpointed. This approach is inexpensive to setup and has a low cost of operation. Now non-normal database activity from Hackers, Rogue Insiders or and Supply Chain Attacks can be detected in a few milli seconds. The Security Team can be immediately notified and the Hacker session terminated so that confidential database data is not stolen, ransomed or sold on the Dark Web.

Reiter is the CEO of Don’t Be Breached a Sql Power Tools company. He is the architect of the Database Cyber Security Guard product, a database Data Breach prevention product for DB2, Informix, MariaDB, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SAP Sybase databases. He has a Master’s Degree in Computer Science and has worked extensively over the past 25 years with real-time network sniffing and database security. Randy can be reached online at rreiter@DontBeBreached.com, www.DontBeBreached.com and www.SqlPower.com/Cyber-Attacks.

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Azure PostgreSQL User Databases Were Exposed Due to Critical Vulnerabilities

Sea-Doo maker BRP Inc. says work at its factories remains at a standstill following a cyberattack it reported Monday. Spokeswoman Biliana Necheva says in

A Canadian manufacturing company says it has been forced to freeze its operations following a cyber attack.

Een Canadees productiebedrijf zegt dat het gedwongen is zijn activiteiten te bevriezen na een cyberaanval.

Sea-Doo maker BRP Inc. says work at its factories remains at a standstill following a cyberattack it reported Monday. Spokeswoman Biliana Necheva says in an email operations have not resumed more than 48 hours after they were halted as a cautionary measure. It comes at a tough time for BRP, as supply chain woes weighed on sales in its first quarter, with more input obstacles expected on the powersport vehicle maker’s path for the rest of the year.

Woordvoerster Biliana Necheva zegt in een e-mail dat de operaties meer dan 48 uur nadat ze uit voorzorg waren stopgezet, nog niet zijn hervat. Dit komt op een moeilijk moment voor BRP, aangezien de problemen met de toeleveringsketen de verkoop in het eerste kwartaal hebben gedrukt. Voor de rest van het jaar worden nog meer invoerbelemmeringen verwacht voor de fabrikant van motorvoertuigen.

Sea-Doo maker BRP Inc. says work at its factories remains at a standstill following a cyberattack it reported Monday.

Spokeswoman Biliana Necheva says in an email operations have not resumed more than 48 hours after they were halted as a cautionary measure.

The Quebec-based company, which manufactures Ski-Doos and off-road vehicles, announced Monday morning it was the target of “malicious cybersecurity activity” and took “immediate measures to contain the situation.”

Deploying its own information technology staff, BRP also said it hired cybersecurity experts to help secure its systems and support an internal investigation.

The company said its freeze on operations could delay some transactions with customers and suppliers.

It comes at a tough time for BRP, as supply chain woes weighed on sales in its first quarter, with more input obstacles expected on the powersport vehicle maker’s path for the rest of the year.

Spun off from Bombardier Inc. in 2003, BRP employs nearly 20,000 workers, mainly at manufacturing and distribution sites in Mexico, Canada, Austria, the United States, Finland and Australia. Its products are sold in more than 120 countries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2022.

BRP operations remain frozen more than two days after cyberattack

A 39-year-old Saskatchewan man accused of stabbing someone in a hospital is facing an elevated charge of second-degree murder. Police were called to

Two men have been charged with murder after a fatal stabbing in Saskatoon.

Twee mannen zijn aangeklaagd voor moord na een dodelijke steekpartij in Saskatoon.

Police were called to Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital in June after a 55-year-old man was stabbed. The suspect was initially charged with attempted murder, but police say the charge was upgraded after the man recently succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Police did not identify the two men in the case.

De politie werd in juni opgeroepen naar het Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon nadat een 55-jarige man was neergestoken. De verdachte werd aanvankelijk poging tot moord ten laste gelegd, maar de politie zegt dat de aanklacht werd opgewaardeerd nadat de man onlangs in het ziekenhuis aan zijn verwondingen was bezweken. De politie heeft de twee mannen in de zaak niet geïdentificeerd.

A 39-year-old Saskatchewan man accused of stabbing someone in a hospital is facing an elevated charge of second-degree murder.

Police were called to Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital in June after a 55-year-old man was stabbed.

The suspect was initially charged with attempted murder, but police say the charge was upgraded after the man recently succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

Police did not identify the two men in the case.

They say the accused is in custody and scheduled to appear in court today.

It’s the seventh homicide in Saskatoon so far this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2022.

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