Welcome to our Cybersecurity News Rundown for the month of October 2017. Here, we will be sharing latest and trending news on events and technological updates from the world of cybersecurity that happened over the past month. Make sure to visit the News Rundown by the end of every month for quick highlights and insights.
1. October is a Cyber Security Awareness Month
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), which is considered as an annual campaign to spread awareness regarding the importance of cybersecurity. October 2017 marks the 14th annual NCSAM, sponsored by the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD). The NCSAM is co-founded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA).
2. Russian hackers stole highly classified NSA data on US cyber defense
A group of Russian hackers, backed by the Government, stole highly classified and sensitive information from the National Security Agency (NSA) of United States Department of Defense. The stolen information comprises of how the U.S. defends themselves against cyber-attacks and how the nation penetrates foreign computer networks. It all happened when an NSA agent put all this information on his personal computer which is protected by a popular Russia-based antivirus software.
The federal government had already warned its agencies regarding the cyber-espionage concerns. As per cybersecurity experts, this was the most significant security breach in the recent years.
3. A new strain of malware named “Bad Rabbit” spreads in Russia and Ukraine
A new breed of malware attack was rapidly spreading across multiple nations, majorly Russia and Ukraine. The chief officer of Ukraine’s cyber police said that Ukraine was attacked by a malware named “Bad Rabbit” and the country was barely affected by the malware attack.
The “Bad Rabbit” malware initially affected the airport in the southern city of Odessa, following which they had tightened the security measures. The malware attack had mostly been confined to Ukraine and Russia. According to the reports, more than half of the victims affected by the malware attack belong to Russia. The underground metro station in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine, also reported a malware attack on its payment system.
4. BadRabbit Malware: NotPetya hackers are likely behind the attack
WannaCry, Petya-NotPetya and now Bad Rabbit, 2017 is the year of new malware/ransomware breeds being introduced at certain times of the year. As per researchers and technical indicators, it can be determined that the Bad Rabbit cyber attack which hits Russia and other neighboring countries was likely to be carried out by the same group of hackers who implemented NotPetya cyber attack.
Group-IB, a Russia based cyber firm exclaimed that the BadRabbit malware shares a key piece of code with the NotPetya malware that assaulted Ukraine in the month of June.
5. Line 204 Studio hacked by TheDarkOverlord
A notorious group of hackers, named TheDarkOverlord, threatened one of the top Hollywood production line studios, i.e. Line 204 Studio. The hackers also provided pieces of evidence of accessing the organization’s customer database. The shared database clearly shows that the hackers have personal addresses of many celebrities and enough data to cause mischief.
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