Weekly Cybersecurity Recap June 10
Table of Contents
- By Steven
- Jun 10, 2022
Take a look back through the previous week’s digital security news headlines and you’ll find no shortage of stories. Online aggression has reached an all-time high, yet it isn’t only multinational corporations that are in hackers’ crosshairs. Small and medium-sized businesses are also targeted at a surprisingly high frequency, likely because hackers correctly assume that such enterprises have insufficient digital security protections. Here’s a quick look at some of the most intriguing cyber security news stories of the first week of June that reinforce the importance of updating computer and network safeguards.
Atlassian Zero-Day Patch
Atlassian has issued a zero-day patch. The digital work pioneer's patch is relevant to a zero-day vulnerability considered to be of critical severity. Atlassian's Confluence Data Center and Confluence Server are susceptible to harm unless patched in a timely manner. The weakness is of the RCE variety, meaning hackers can remotely access targeted computers unless sufficiently patched. The patch applies to weaknesses within the zero-day bug that arm online criminals with unauthorized RCE privileges.
Shields Health Group Breached
Shields Health Care Group, a company that provides medical imaging services, has suffered a significant hack. The information of two million individuals has been compromised. However, Shields' representatives have not detailed exactly what type of personal information was stolen. The Shields hack is the largest in the health services industry as of the new year. The breach was initially reported in late May. More than 50 of Shields' clients were affected by the breach that occurred over a period of two weeks.
Apple Security Updates
Apple has taken a bold and important move by choosing to have its computers' security updates automatically installed. Apple owners will no longer have to rely on a full operating system update or performing a manual update and computer restart. Rather, the computing company's new computers with feature automatic web-based security updates relevant to bugs and other susceptibilities. The automatic updates are officially referred to as Rapid Security Response.
FluBot Malware Taken Down
Federal governments around the world have linked up to unite against the malware known as FluBot. The government agencies removed the malware from the internet though they have not yet identified the hackers responsible for the criminal activity. FluBot, a form of spyware typically employed on Android phones, appears to have finally been removed from the internet for good. However, only time will tell if we have seen the last of FluBot. If you receive any unexpected text messages about a package delivery or pickup, don’t click embedded links as such links from supposed shipping companies are one of the hallmarks of FluBot and similar malware.
Elasticsearch Databases Held Ransom
In excess of 1,200 Elasticsearch databases are being held for ransom. The databases had insufficient digital security safeguards at the time they were violated. The criminals responsible for the attack left a ransom note, demanding that the money be paid in the form of bitcoin in order for the data to be restored. However, as is the case with other ransomware attacks, there is always a chance the data in question has been permanently erased.
The threat was initially identified by digital security professionals working for the Secureworks Counter Threat Unit. These digital security gurus believe the criminal behind the attack uses automated scripts to identify vulnerable databases and then wiped them off their information before dropping off the ransom note.