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Many companies, especially small ones, dont use specialized systems like Slack or Microsoft Teams for communication among employees, and instead use ordinary messengers such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. And whereas people mainly prefer the mobile versions for personal use, when it comes to work needs, many   show more ...

install desktop applications without giving much thought to how secure they are. In our recent post on vulnerabilities in the desktop version of Signal, we wrote that the best advice would be not to use the desktop version of Signal (and desktop versions of messengers in general). But since its not immediately obvious why, here we explain in some detail the flaws of desktop messengers in terms of cybersecurity. Note that were talking about desktop versions of civilian messaging apps (such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal) —, not corporate platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams, which are specially adapted for work processes (and as such they operate a little differently and so are not covered in this post). 1. App on the outside, browser on the inside One of the important things to understand about desktop versions of messengers is that the vast majority of them are built on the Electron framework. What this basically means is that such a program, on the inside, is a web application that opens in an embedded Chromium browser. This is actually the main reason why Electron is so popular with developers of desktop versions of messengers: the framework makes it quick and easy to create applications that run on all operating systems. However, it also means that programs built on Electron automatically inherit the full range of its vulnerabilities. At the same time, one must understand that, due to their incredible popularity, Chrome and Chromium are always under the spotlight. Cybercriminals regularly discover vulnerabilities in them, and promptly create exploits with detailed descriptions of how to use them. In the case of the normal, standalone Chrome browser, this isnt such a big problem: Google is very responsive to information about vulnerabilities and releases patches on a regular basis. To stay safe, you just need to install updates without delay. But when it comes to programs based on Electron, the embedded browser gets an update only when the developers release a new version of the application. So what do we end up with? If your employees use applications built on Electron, this means they have several browsers running in their systems for which exploits appear regularly. Furthermore, neither you nor they can control the updates for these browsers. The more applications like this there are, the higher the associated risks. So it would be wise to at least limit the number of civilian messengers used for work purposes in the company. 2. Key question One of the biggest draws of modern messengers is the use of end-to-end encryption; that is — message decryption needs the chat participants private keys, which never leave their devices. And as long as no one else knows the encryption keys, your correspondence is securely protected. But if an attacker does get hold of the private key, theyll be able not only to read your correspondence, but also to impersonate one of the chat participants. And its here where the problem with desktop versions of messengers appears: they store the encryption keys on the hard drive, which means it can easily be stolen. Sure, an attacker must somehow gain access to the system, say — through malware, but this is perfectly doable in the case of desktop operating systems. As for mobile ones, their architectural features make stealing encryption keys much harder — especially doing so remotely. In other words, using the desktop version of a messenger automatically and significantly raises the risk that the encryption key, and hence work correspondence, will fall into the wrong hands. 3. RAT in the chat Lets assume things go smoothly, and no one (yet) has possession of the encryption key of any of your employees: this means that all work correspondence is safe and sound, right? Not quite. Cybercriminals could potentially use remote administration tools as well as remote access Trojans (both of which share the same acronym — RAT) to lay their hands on work correspondence. The difference between them is rather symbolic: both legitimate tools and illegal Trojans can be used to do lots of interesting things with your computer. RATs represent threats against which desktop messenger clients, unlike their mobile counterparts, are practically defenseless. Such programs allow even inexperienced attackers to get the content of secret correspondence. In a messenger running on a desktop, all chats are already automatically decrypted, so theres no need to steal the private keys. Anyone in remote desktop mode can read your correspondence, even if its conducted in the most secure messenger in the world. And not only read, but also write messages in work chat posing as a company employee. Moreover, remote administration tools are entirely legitimate programs, with all the ensuing consequences. First, unlike malware, which has to be obtained from some dark corner of the internet, they can be found and downloaded online without any problems at all. Second, not every security solution warns the user if remote access tools are found on their computer. 4. Whats in the box? Another reason to avoid using the desktop clients of popular messengers is the risk that they may be used as an additional uncontrolled channel to deliver malicious files to your employees computers. Sure, you can pick up one from anywhere. But in the case of e-mail attachments and, even more so, files downloaded from the internet, most folks are aware of the potential danger. But files received in a messenger, especially one positioned as secure, are viewed differently: what can go wrong here? This is especially the case if a file came from a colleague: there cant possibly be anything to worry about is the common view. The vulnerabilities found in the desktop version of Signal related to how the messenger handles files (described in our recent post) serve as an example. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities allows an attacker to quietly distribute infected documents to chat participants pretending to be one of those participants. This is just one hypothetical scenario suggesting advanced technical capabilities of the attacker. Others cannot be ruled out either: from mass mailings based on stolen databases to targeted attacks using social engineering. Again, mobile operating systems are better protected against malware, so this problem is less acute for users of mobile messenger clients. Their desktop counterparts carry a far greater risk of attracting some kind of malware to said desktop computer. 5. We should have shotguns for this kind of thing Traditional threats shouldnt be forgotten about. The specialized security solutions on the corporate mail gateway level enforce protection against malicious attachments and phishing. But in the case of desktop messenger clients, things are a little more complicated. Theres no solution that can break into the end-to-end encrypted message exchange using the servers of the messenger itself; dangerous objects can be caught only at the exit, which reduces the level of protection. Once again, this is far less of a problem on mobile devices. Theyre harder to infect with malware, and fewer important files are stored there. Plus, lateral movement in the corporate network following a successful attack on a mobile device is unlikely to have the same devastating consequences. A desktop messenger on a work computer provides a communication channel thats not only uncontrollable by the network administrator, but fully secured against their actions; and from this state of affairs something very nasty could emerge. Prevention is better than cure and blame We end basically where we began: as mentioned in the introduction, the best tip is not to use desktop versions of messengers. If for some reason thats not an option, then at least take basic precautions: Be sure to install security software on work devices. This, in fact, is the only way to protect against the unpleasant things that can crawl through messengers into your company network. If your employees use more than one messenger for work purposes, try to stop this practice. Decide on one and ban the rest. In addition, keep track of remote access tools installed and used on work devices. Speaking of which, our Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud has a Cloud Discovery feature, which tracks employees attempts to use unapproved cloud services. And to make all these measures more effective and at the same time to demonstrate their absolute necessity, providing information security training for employees would be helpful.

 Expert Blogs and Opinion

Clear communication is essential. Communication strategies differ before and after a cyber incident. The way a company approaches both is as important as incident mitigation itself.

 Malware and Vulnerabilities

The researchers informed DJI of the 16 detected vulnerabilities prior to releasing the information to the public. In the course of the responsible disclosure process, the manufacturer has fixed these issues.

 Breaches and Incidents

The official forum of The Pirate Bay is the latest victim of an apparent cyberattack that forced its site to remain offline for several days. The forum allows users to request torrent reseeding and report malware found in torrent files.

 Identity Theft, Fraud, Scams

Bitdefender researchers have discovered a new phishing scam in which cybercriminals are redirecting unsuspecting users to a fake ChatGPT version. The primary targets were found in Ireland, Australia, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

 Breaches and Incidents

The Play ransomware gang has begun to leak data from the City of Oakland, California. The initial data leak consists of a 10GB multi-part RAR archive allegedly containing confidential documents, employee information, passports, and IDs.

 Trends, Reports, Analysis

Over two-thirds of European organizations have begun developing a zero trust strategy, up from around a quarter in 2020, according to Forrester. The analyst house said a further 15% were planning to adopt zero trust tech.

 Malware and Vulnerabilities

Sirattacker is one of the latest Chaos ransomware variants. It was first released in the middle of February 2023. ALC is a recently reported ransomware. It is known for a message aimed at “Russia and its counterpart” in its ransom note.

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Oracle Database Vault had a flaw that would allow unauthorized privileged users to extract data from a protected table. Oracle 19c versions 19.18 and below are affected. Fixed in the Oracle Critical Patch Update October 2022.

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OpenBSD version 7.2 suffers from an overflow vulnerability. ip_dooptions() will allow IPOPT_SSRR with optlen = 2. save_rte() will set isr_nhops to very large value, which will cause an overflow in the next ip_srcroute() call.

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5931-1 - It was discovered that Python incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into running a specially crafted input, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code.

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5930-1 - It was discovered that Python incorrectly handled certain inputs. If a user or an automated system were tricked into running a specially crafted input, a remote attacker could possibly use this issue to execute arbitrary code.

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Red Hat Security Advisory 2023-1093-01 - The pesign packages provide the pesign utility for signing UEFI binaries as well as other associated tools. Issues addressed include a privilege escalation vulnerability.

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Red Hat Security Advisory 2023-1030-01 - Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform is Red Hat's cloud computing Kubernetes application platform solution designed for on-premise or private cloud deployments. This advisory contains the container images for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.11.30.

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Red Hat Security Advisory 2023-1095-01 - The zlib packages provide a general-purpose lossless data compression library that is used by many different programs. Issues addressed include a buffer over-read vulnerability.

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Red Hat Security Advisory 2023-1090-01 - Samba is an open-source implementation of the Server Message Block protocol and the related Common Internet File System protocol, which allow PC-compatible machines to share files, printers, and various information.

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Red Hat Security Advisory 2023-1092-01 - The kernel-rt packages provide the Real Time Linux Kernel, which enables fine-tuning for systems with extremely high determinism requirements. Issues addressed include a use-after-free vulnerability.

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5929-1 - It was discovered that the Upper Level Protocol subsystem in the Linux kernel did not properly handle sockets entering the LISTEN state in certain protocols, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service or possibly execute   show more ...

arbitrary code. Davide Ornaghi discovered that the netfilter subsystem in the Linux kernel did not properly handle VLAN headers in some situations. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code.

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5928-1 - It was discovered that systemd did not properly validate the time and accuracy values provided to the format_timespan function. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a buffer overrun, leading to a denial of service attack. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 ESM, Ubuntu   show more ...

16.04 ESM, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. It was discovered that systemd did not properly manage the fs.suid_dumpable kernel configurations. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to expose sensitive information. This issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 22.10.

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5927-1 - It was discovered that the Upper Level Protocol subsystem in the Linux kernel did not properly handle sockets entering the LISTEN state in certain protocols, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service or possibly execute   show more ...

arbitrary code. It was discovered that the System V IPC implementation in the Linux kernel did not properly handle large shared memory counts. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service.

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5926-1 - Kirill Tkhai discovered that the XFS file system implementation in the Linux kernel did not calculate size correctly when pre-allocating space in some situations. A local attacker could use this to expose sensitive information. Lee Jones discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability   show more ...

existed in the Bluetooth implementation in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code.

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5925-1 - It was discovered that the Upper Level Protocol subsystem in the Linux kernel did not properly handle sockets entering the LISTEN state in certain protocols, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service or possibly execute   show more ...

arbitrary code. It was discovered that a race condition existed in the Kernel Connection Multiplexor socket implementation in the Linux kernel when releasing sockets in certain situations. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service.

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5924-1 - It was discovered that the Upper Level Protocol subsystem in the Linux kernel did not properly handle sockets entering the LISTEN state in certain protocols, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service or possibly execute   show more ...

arbitrary code. It was discovered that the System V IPC implementation in the Linux kernel did not properly handle large shared memory counts. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service.

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Red Hat Security Advisory 2023-1079-01 - An update for osp-director-downloader-container, osp-director-agent-container and osp-director-operator-container is now available for Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 (Train).

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Ubuntu Security Notice 5923-1 - It was discovered that LibTIFF could be made to read out of bounds when processing certain malformed image files with the tiffcrop tool. If a user were tricked into opening a specially crafted image file, an attacker could possibly use this issue to cause tiffcrop to crash, resulting in   show more ...

a denial of service. It was discovered that LibTIFF could be made to write out of bounds when processing certain malformed image files with the tiffcrop tool. If a user were tricked into opening a specially crafted image file, an attacker could possibly use this issue to cause tiffcrop to crash, resulting in a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code.

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The massive breach at LastPass was the result of one of its engineers failing to update Plex on their home computer, in what's a sobering reminder of the dangers of failing to keep software up-to-date. The embattled password management service last week revealed how unidentified actors leveraged information stolen from an earlier incident that took place prior to August 12, 2022, along with

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An older version of Shein's Android application suffered from a bug that periodically captured and transmitted clipboard contents to a remote server. The Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team said it discovered the problem in version 7.9.2 of the app that was released on December 16, 2021. The issue has since been addressed as of May 2022. Shein, originally named ZZKKO, is a Chinese online fast

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Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new information stealer dubbed SYS01stealer targeting critical government infrastructure employees, manufacturing companies, and other sectors. "The threat actors behind the campaign are targeting Facebook business accounts by using Google ads and fake Facebook profiles that promote things like games, adult content, and cracked software, etc. to lure

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A suspected Pakistan-aligned advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as Transparent Tribe has been linked to an ongoing cyber espionage campaign targeting Indian and Pakistani Android users with a backdoor called CapraRAT. "Transparent Tribe distributed the Android CapraRAT backdoor via trojanized secure messaging and calling apps branded as MeetsApp and MeetUp," ESET said in a report

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Investing in digital identity can improve security, increase clinical productivity, and boost healthcare's bottom line. — by Gus Malezis, CEO of Imprivata Digitalization has created immeasurable opportunities for businesses over the past two decades. But the growth of hybrid work and expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) has outpaced traditional 'castle and moat' cybersecurity, introducing

2023-03
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