Microsoft is readying a new release of Windows in 2025 that will have significant security controls, such as more resilient drivers and a "self-defending" operating system kernel.

Source: mundissima via Shutterstock

Microsoft is making sweeping changes to its Windows operating system (OS) in the wake of this past summer's flawed CrowdStrike update, which caused millions of commercial devices to crash and cost customers billions of dollars in downtime.

The incident was a major impetus for the new Windows Resiliency Initiative, introduced and outlined during a session at last week's Microsoft Ignite conference. Microsoft officials said the changes are being made based on what they learned from the July 19 event, resulting in what they promised to be a more reliable and secure OS in 2025.

David Weston, Microsoft's vice president of enterprise and OS security, identified three objectives intended to make Windows more secure: faster and simpler recovery times, more resilient drivers, and tools and changes to how the OS kernel is secured to make it "more effective and self-defending."

The changes will also affect software developers and third-party security tool providers.

"We're working together across the industry and will improve reliability, based on lessons from July, with new changes and standards in the OS," said Pavan Davuluri, corporate VP for Windows and devices at Microsoft.

The new Windows release is being designed to resist malware and script attacks with stronger controls for applications and drivers, while improved identity protection aims to prevent phishing attacks. Microsoft is also establishing a new approach to privilege access management, Davuluri said.

Microsoft will release a preview of the new release to Windows Insiders next July. It will include tighter controls over what applications and software drivers are permitted to run, stronger identity management, quick machine recovery, personal data encryption for folders, and improved OS management and configuration capabilities.

The release is poised to arrive just as Microsoft ends support for Windows 10 on Oct. 14, 2025. Although Microsoft has been encouraging customers to upgrade to Windows 11, which was released in 2021, on an ongoing basis, nearly 61% of all PCs worldwide still have Windows 10, according to Statcounter.

**Enabling Security Partners to Build Outside the Kernel**

Further, tied to its long-term Secure Future Initiative announced a year ago, Microsoft is moving to safer programming languages by incrementally shifting from C++ to Rust. A new Windows Resilient Security Platform will enable third-party security product developers to build their products outside of the kernel, Weston explained.

"We're ensuring this platform will enable security solution providers to have the access they need to detect and respond to threats without introducing complexity into the kernel," he said. "This change will help end-user protection and antivirus products provide a high level of security and easier recovery."

While the moves should make Windows more resilient to attacks, Forrester senior analyst Paddy Harrington would like to see Microsoft tighten access even further.

"I would much prefer it if Microsoft bit the bullet and put the walls back up. That would mean recoding for everyone who messes in the kernel driver world, including Microsoft, but it's a safer method of operation," says Harrington, who first opined on that point in a July blog post.

**Post-Incident Security Summit in Redmond**

Two months after the CrowdStrike incident, Microsoft hosted its Windows Endpoint Security Ecosystem Summit, in Redmond, Wash., with security vendors and representatives of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on hand to discuss how to make the OS more resilient.

Leading into the meeting, Weston indicated that an examination of Windows crash reports signaled the need to change how kernel drivers are deployed.

"Since kernel drivers run at the most trusted level of Windows, where containment and recovery capabilities are, by nature, constrained, security vendors must carefully balance needs like visibility and tamper resistance with the risk of operating within kernel mode," Weston wrote in a July 27 post.

Following the summit, CISA last month published its Safe Software Deployment white paper, co-authored by the FBI, the Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre, and the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative.

Omdia principal analyst Andrew Braunberg says that Microsoft is one of numerous vendors that have issued statements of support for CISA's Secure by Design pledge. However, it remains to be seen if it will follow through.

"It will be interesting to see if there is any change in behavior from Microsoft and other large software companies because of \[Donald\] Trump's win \[of the U.S. presidential election\]," Braunberg says. "These companies may reassess the external benefits of this support given a reduced, or eliminated, CISA under the new administration. There are international drivers for embracing Secure by Design principles, such as the EU Cyber Resiliency Act, but CISA has been the primary advocate in the US."

Nevertheless, Weston described CISA as playing an essential role in determining Microsoft's revamped security and resiliency standards for Windows endpoints.

"They are providing a framework for the whole IT industry to ensure that all partners, customers, and organizations are able to stay ahead of evolving security threats," he said.

Among the vendors at Microsoft's summit was CrowdStrike, which signaled it is endorsing Microsoft's Windows Resiliency Initiative.

"Microsoft's initiatives build on the discussions CrowdStrike participated in at the Windows Endpoint Security Summit in September, and we welcome innovations that enhance resiliency for our shared customers," a CrowdStrike spokesperson said. "The entire industry benefits when we collaborate to create a more resilient and open ecosystem that strengthens security for all."

Endpoint protection provider ESET is offering conditional support for Microsoft's initiative.

"In general, we support this evolution if it demonstrates measurable improvements to stability and strongly stress this must be on condition that any change must not weaken security, affect performance, or limit the choice and differentiation between cybersecurity solutions for customers," says ESET CTO Juraj Malcho.

**Shifting to Trusted Apps and Drivers**

Because many attacks result from users who download malicious or unsafe apps and drivers, Microsoft is adding Smart App Control and App Control for Business to Windows. These features use artificial intelligence to let administrators employ policies that require verified applications, according to Weston. He noted that Microsoft already offers this through App Locker, but it is complicated to manage.

A feature called "robust app control" will ensure that only verified apps can run, eliminating attacks from malicious attachments and socially engineered malware, he added.

**Thwarting Identity-Based Attacks and Overprivileged Accounts**

According to Microsoft's Entra ID data, more than 600 million identity attacks occur every day, 99% of which are password-based. In response, Microsoft has hardened its Windows Hello multifactor authentication capability, which uses biometrics. Microsoft has extended Windows Hello support for passkeys.

As part of its latest Windows Insider build, last week Microsoft released a preview of updates to its implementation of the WebAuthn APIs that will enable plug-in support for passkeys. In the coming months, Microsoft said third-party password managers will work with the native Windows passkey provider using Windows Hello. 

The new Windows release will also aim to reduce attacks resulting from users who have too many privileges and organizations that have insufficient privilege controls, which, according to Microsoft's Digital Defense report, are the cause of 93% of ransomware attacks.

A new feature called "administrator protection" will give employees standard user permissions by default "so they can still make Windows system changes, including app installation, but only when necessary and only after authorizing the change using Windows Hello," Weston said. "Admin protection will be incredibly disruptive to attackers, as they no longer have elevated privileges by default, and it will help ensure that employees do not use malware and remain in control of Windows."

According to Forrester's Harrington, the new app control approach should help organizations lock down their endpoints.

"I think there will be plenty of businesses who still go to third parties because of the flexibility those solutions bring," he says. "But this is a good move by Microsoft to breathe life back into the app control solution. For all those functions, I would have liked to see these moves earlier in the Windows 11 releases, but with Windows 10 going end-of-service next year, the timing works to give more enterprises reasons to move to Windows 11."

**About the Author**

Contributing Writer

Jeffrey Schwartz is a journalist who has covered information security and all forms of business and enterprise IT, including client computing, data center and cloud infrastructure, and application development for more than 30 years. Jeff is a regular contributor to Channel Futures. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Redmond magazine and contributed to its sister titles Redmond Channel Partner, Application Development Trends, and Virtualization Review. Earlier, he held editorial roles with CommunicationsWeek, InternetWeek, and VARBusiness. Jeff is based in the New York City suburb of Long Island.

Microsoft Boosts Device Security With Windows Resiliency Initiative

Whether it's detecting fraudulent activity, preventing phishing, or protecting sensitive data, AI is transforming cybersecurity in ridesharing.

Source: Askar Karimullin via Alamy Stock Photo

COMMENTARY

Picture yourself standing on a busy street corner, smartphone in hand. With just a few taps, you summon a car that will arrive in minutes. This seemingly simple action has now become a daily routine for millions of Americans across the country. But as ridesharing apps offer unparalleled convenience, they also face growing concerns about security and data protection. As a result, these platforms are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to fortify their defenses and ensure the safety of both riders and drivers.

Beneath the surface of this seamless user experience lies a complex ecosystem of AI algorithms working tirelessly to keep every journey safe and secure. Whether it's detecting fraudulent activity, preventing phishing attempts, or protecting sensitive data, AI is fundamentally transforming the cybersecurity landscape in ridesharing.

**AI-Driven Identity Verification**

Security starts at the very first step of the ridesharing journey — identity verification. Both riders and drivers must be authenticated to ensure a secure experience. However, verifying millions of users poses a substantial challenge. That's where AI steps in as a powerful tool for combating identity fraud.

Driver Authentication: AI-powered facial recognition systems use computer vision to compare selfies taken by drivers with their government-issued IDs. This process ensures that the person behind the wheel matches the registered account. To enhance security, these platforms implement periodic re-verification through biometric checks, preventing fraudulent actors from using stolen accounts to access the platform.

Rider Authentication: Currently, riders are authenticated through basic checks such as validating email addresses, phone numbers, and payment methods. However, the potential for AI in rider verification extends far beyond these initial steps. In the future, AI systems could incorporate more sophisticated predictive modeling to detect anomalies in user activity — for example, unusual patterns in booking history or device usage could flag compromised accounts, enabling platforms to intervene before any security breach occurs.

**Detecting Fraud and Phishing Attacks**

One of the most pervasive threats in digital platforms today is phishing. With the rise of sophisticated phishing schemes aimed at ridesharing users — whether to steal credentials or payment information — ridesharing apps have embraced AI-driven systems to detect and block malicious attempts in real time.

Fraud and Phishing Detection: Fraudsters often exploit vulnerabilities like stolen payment information or fake driver profiles to manipulate the system for unauthorized gains. Meanwhile, phishing campaigns attempt to trick users — both drivers and riders — into revealing sensitive details. AI tackles these threats by:

*   Identifying Suspicious Behavior: AI models flag irregularities, such as unusual login locations, sudden changes in ride patterns, or attempts to manipulate driver or payment profiles.
    
*   Blocking Phishing Attempts: Sophisticated algorithms analyze signals like abnormal contact rates, high cancellation frequencies, and sequential anomalies to detect and prevent phishing schemes.
    
*   Responding Swiftly to Threats: When anomalies are detected, AI systems react in real time by locking compromised accounts, intercepting fraudulent actions, and mitigating risks before they escalate.
    
*   Payment Security: AI also plays a critical role in securing payment transactions. Using machine learning, ridesharing platforms can detect anomalies in payment processing, such as transaction tampering or repeated failed payments, that could indicate fraudulent activity. Payment gateways are closely monitored for suspicious transactions, and any deviations from typical user behavior are flagged for further review.
    

**Real-Time Threat Monitoring**

While preemptive security measures like identity verification and encryption are essential, ridesharing platforms must also continuously monitor for real-time threats during rides. Here, AI-driven systems act as vigilant guardians, ensuring safety throughout the journey.

*   Monitoring for Suspicious Behavior: AI systems monitor ongoing trips, flagging erratic behavior such as deviations from planned routes or excessive speed. By using GPS data, machine learning models can identify unsafe driving patterns and alert both the rider and driver to potential issues. This real-time monitoring not only ensures physical safety but also acts as a safeguard against hijacking or driver impersonation.
    
*   Emergency Response Systems: Ridesharing platforms have integrated AI-enhanced emergency features into their apps, allowing users to access help instantly. One-tap emergency buttons are backed by AI-driven systems that can instantly share real-time ride data, including location and driver information, with authorities or emergency contacts. In addition, AI models can analyze data from encrypted dashcams and provide insights into incidents that require rapid intervention, ensuring that support arrives as quickly as possible.
    

**AI, the Guardian of Ridesharing Security**

Looking ahead, AI will play a pivotal role in enhancing the security and privacy of ridesharing platforms. As the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) grows, AI systems will continue to evolve, strengthening encryption, anomaly detection, and proactive threat monitoring. Machine learning models will not only monitor for emerging cyber threats, such as phishing and fraud, but also predict and flag high-risk behaviors like frequent ride cancellations or erratic driving. By deprioritizing these risky matches, AI ensures a safer experience for both riders and drivers.

With the integration of real-time cyber threat intelligence, AI will adapt to new attack methods, staying one step ahead of cybercriminals. Predictive analytics will help identify potential risks before they escalate, allowing ridesharing platforms to take action early. AI's ability to monitor and mitigate threats in real time, coupled with its capacity for proactive threat prediction, will provide a resilient, adaptive security framework.

As ridesharing services continue to transform urban mobility, the role of AI in ensuring security and privacy will only grow. AI will enable platforms to address increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity challenges, providing a robust foundation for privacy, safety, and trust in a rapidly evolving digital world. Through its continuous innovation, AI will not only make rides more convenient but will also create a safer, more secure environment for users worldwide.

**About the Author**

Machine Learning Engineer, Lyft

Rachita Naik is a Machine Learning Engineer at Lyft in New York with a Master's in Computer Science from Columbia University. Passionate about leveraging machine learning to solve real-world problems, she has developed a diverse skill set through academic projects and professional experience. At Lyft, she works on algorithms to optimally match riders with drivers, enhancing marketplace efficiency and profit. Rachita thrives in fast-paced environments and is always eager to learn new technologies to improve her work.

How AI Is Enhancing Security in Ridesharing

Qualified applicants must be able to test ransomware encryption and find bugs that might enable defenders to jailbreak the malware.

Source: TippaPatt via Shutterstock

Businesses are not the only organizations looking for skilled cybersecurity professionals; cybercriminals are also advertising for individuals capable of creating dark AI models and penetration-testing products — that is, ransomware — to reduce the chance of defenders finding ways to circumvent the scheme.

In advertisements on Telegram chats and forums — such as the Russian Anonymous Marketplace, or RAMP — ransomware affiliate groups and initial access providers are seeking cybersecurity professionals to help find and close holes in their malware and other attack tools, security firm Cato Networks stated in its "Q3 SASE Threat Report." In the past, the firm's threat researchers have noted advertisements seeking developers capable of creating a malicious version of ChatGPT.

The search for more technical talent highlights the recent success of law enforcement and private companies in taking down botnets and helping defenders recover their data, says Etay Maor, chief security strategist at Cato Networks.

"They definitely want to make sure that all the effort they're putting into their software is not going to be turned over when somebody finds a vulnerability," he says. "They're really stepping up their game in terms of approaching software development, making it closer to what an enterprise would do than what is typically seen today from other development groups."

The search for better software security is the latest sign of technical evolution among cybercriminal groups. In Southeast Asia, cybercriminal syndicates have grown from illegal gambling and drug cartels into enterprises that rake in more than $27 billion a year, fueling improvements in money laundering, technical development, and forced labor.

**Penetration Testing Just the Latest**

As cybercriminal groups grow, specialization is a necessity. In fact, as cybercriminal gangs grow, their business structures increasingly resemble a corporation, with full-time staff, software development groups, and finance teams. By creating more structure around roles, cybercriminals can boost economies of scale and increase profits.

Currently, the top ransomware groups are LockBit, RansomHub, PLAY, Hunters International, and Akira — all likely using more structured roles and cybercriminal services to operate efficiently, according to a 2024 review of the top ransomware groups by threat intelligence firm Recorded Future, now part of Mastercard International.

"These emerging groups and platforms bring new and interesting ways to attack so organizations need to be on their toes and adjust their cybersecurity accordingly," the company stated in a blog post. "As they evolve, understanding their modus operandi and targets will be key to mitigating the impact."

New cybercriminals groups are always appearing, and that also means new opportunities for skilled cybercriminals. The first half of 2024 saw 21 new ransomware groups appear in underground forums, although many of those new groups are likely rebranded versions of previous groups that had splintered. Overall, 68 groups posted more than 2,600 claimed breaches to leak sites in the first six months of the year, a 23% increase over the same period in 2023, according to cybersecurity firm Rapid7.

Most malware and tools created by the groups use C or C++ — the programming language used in 58 samples — but the use of more modern, memory-safe languages is growing, with Rust used in 10 samples and Go used in six samples, according to a report released by Rapid7, which noted "the complexity of the ransomware business model, with groups coming and going, extortion tactics intensifying, builders and code 'leaking' — and all the while, the overall scope of the threat only expanding."

**More Aggressive Defense**

Finally, some groups required specialization in roles based on geographical need — one of the earliest forms of contract work for cybercriminals is for those who can physically move cash, a way to break the paper trail. "Of course, there's recruitment for roles across the entire attack life cycle," Maor says. "When you're talking about financial fraud, mule recruitment ... has always been a key part of the business, and of course, development of the software, of malware, and end of services."

Cybercriminals' concerns over software security boil down to self-preservation. In the first half of 2024, law enforcement agencies in the US, Australia, and the UK — among other nations — arrested prominent members of several groups, including the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group and seized control of BreachForums. The FBI was able to offer a decryption tool for victims of the BlackCat group — another reason why ransomware groups want to shore up their security.

Current geopolitical disruptions, which can lead to highly skilled people unemployed, are making it more likely that cybercriminals groups will be able to convince legitimate cybersecurity professionals to take a risk and do illegal work, Cato Networks' Maor says.

"There's people ... losing jobs in Eastern Europe because of the current war situation, so unfortunately you see that in the underground forums, where you have smart people there, who — at the end of the day — need to put food on the table," he says. "If that means they have to resort to jobs that are not necessarily super legal, if that's what they need to do to pay the bills, then they'll pop up on these forums and be like, 'Hey, I worked for this company. I have this knowledge ... and I can offer access.'"

**About the Author**

Veteran technology journalist of more than 20 years. Former research engineer. Written for more than two dozen publications, including CNET News.com, Dark Reading, MIT's Technology Review, Popular Science, and Wired News. Five awards for journalism, including Best Deadline Journalism (Online) in 2003 for coverage of the Blaster worm. Crunches numbers on various trends using Python and R. Recent reports include analyses of the shortage in cybersecurity workers and annual vulnerability trends.

Ransomware Gangs Seek Pen Testers to Boost Quality

Just like Russia's Doppelgänger effort, the goal is to spread misinformation about Ukraine and Western efforts to help Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Source: PHOTOCREO Michal Bednarek via Shutterstock

Social Design Agency (SDA,) a Russian outfit the US government recently accused of operating a malign influence campaign dubbed "Doppelgänger," is running another similar campaign concurrently, targeting audiences in the US, Ukraine, and Europe.

The primary objective of the SDA's "Operation Undercut" campaign, much like Doppelgänger, is to erode support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. However, the campaign also extends its interference to other areas, including the ongoing Middle East conflict, internal EU politics, and matters related to the 2024 US presidential election

**Broad Effort**

"Operation Undercut is part of Russia's broader strategy to destabilize Western alliances and portray Ukraine's leadership as ineffective and corrupt," researchers at Recorded Future's Insikt Group said this week, after analyzing the campaign. "By targeting audiences in Europe and the US, the SDA seeks to amplify anti-Ukraine sentiment, hoping to reduce the flow of Western military aid to Ukraine." The campaign also has been attempting to portray the involvement of the US and EU in the campaign as largely ineffective and misguided, the researchers said.

Recorded Future found that Operation Undercut relies on AI-enhanced videos on social media platforms like X, as well as content that impersonated legitimate media outlets. The videos — in multiple languages, including English, Russian, and German — for the most part appeared well produced and seemed related to recent news events or depicted political figures making various pronouncements.

One video purported to show Ukrainian President Zelensky talking about NATO providing the country with Israel's annual supply of arms. Another portrayed Biden as wanting to escalate the war in Ukraine before Trump takes office while avoiding negotiations with Russia, and a third showed Trump forcing Zelensky to surrender. The campaign also included content that appeared to be sourced from credible media outlets such as UK's The Times and Germany's Die Welt that suggested growing global support for Russia and doubts over Ukraine's war efforts and strategies.

Recorded Future also found members of Operation Undercut amplifying misinformation from Storm-1516, a Russian influence network associated with spreading disinformation about the 2024 US elections, among myriad other topics. Examples included a fake story about Zelensky buying a villa in Italy during a 2024 summit of international leaders and a deepfake video of a Hamas leader threatening the 2024 Olympics.

**Limited Engagement**

The videos and the content appeared to have very limited engagement so far among the intended audiences. However, the US government has taken a serious view of such efforts and sought to actively curb them where possible. In September, the US Department of Justice moved to seize 32 Internet domains that it identified the SDA and others using as part of the Doppelganger campaign. "Among the methods Doppelgänger used to drive viewership to the cybersquatted and unique media domains were the deployment of 'influencers' worldwide, paid social media advertisements (in some cases created using artificial intelligence tools), and the creation of fake social media profiles posing as US (or other non-Russian) citizens," the DoJ motion noted.

Clément Briens, senior threat intelligence analyst for Recorded Future's Insikt Group, attributed Operation Undercut to the SDA after finding Undercut accounts sharing cartoons strongly resembling those found in SDA-leaked documents and those uploaded by Doppelgänger websites.

"We consider Undercut to be a distinct operation from Doppelgänger due to a divergence in \[tactics, techniques, and procedures\], notably in the type of content and distribution tactics each operation employs," he says. "While Doppelgänger relies on inauthentic websites and their promotion by automated accounts, Undercut accounts post content directly to social media platforms, using techniques like localized hashtag spam to amplify their content to targeted audiences."

**About the Author**

Jai Vijayan is a seasoned technology reporter with over 20 years of experience in IT trade journalism. He was most recently a Senior Editor at Computerworld, where he covered information security and data privacy issues for the publication. Over the course of his 20-year career at Computerworld, Jai also covered a variety of other technology topics, including big data, Hadoop, Internet of Things, e-voting, and data analytics. Prior to Computerworld, Jai covered technology issues for The Economic Times in Bangalore, India. Jai has a Master's degree in Statistics and lives in Naperville, Ill.

'Operation Undercut' Adds to Russia Malign Influence Campaigns

A stealthy JavaScript injection attack steals data from the checkout page of sites, either by creating a fake credit card form or extracting data directly from payment fields.

Source: Kim Kuperkova via Shutterstock

Attackers are targeting Magento e-commerce websites with a new card-skimming malware that can dynamically lift payment details from checkout pages of online transactions. The attack, discovered by a researcher from Web security firm Surcuri, comes as online retailers and shoppers are priming for this week's historically busy Black Friday online shopping day.

Sucuri security analyst Weston Henry discovered the attack in the form of a malicious JavaScript injection, which has multiple variants and target sites built on the popular e-commerce platform in two different ways, according to a blog post published on Nov. 26.

One way is by creating a fake credit card form to steal card details, the other is by extracting the data directly from the payment fields. "Its dynamic approach and encryption mechanisms make it challenging to detect," Sucuri security analyst Puja Srivastava explained in the post. The data is then encrypted and exfiltrated to a remote server controlled by the attacker.

Magento-based websites are a frequent target for cybercriminals due to their widespread usage for e-commerce and the valuable customer data they handle, including payment card or bank account details. And card-skimming — typically by a group of cybercriminals collectively known as Magecart — is a popular attack vector to steal such data from these sites.

Related:News Desk 2024: Can GenAI Write Secure Code?

**Cyber Victims Targeted During Shopper Checkout**

Henry discovered the malicious script during a routine inspection of a Magento-based site with Sucuri's SiteCheck. "The tool identified a resource originating from the blacklisted domain dynamicopenfonts.app," explained Sucuri security analyst Puja Srivastava in the post. Eventually, the resource was found in two locations on the site.  

One of the locations where it was found was within the <referenceContainer> directive of the XML file, which is designed to load a JavaScript resource just before the closing <body> tag.

Attackers obfuscated the contents of the external script to avoid detection, "making it challenging to identify at first glance," Srivastava noted.

Once executed, the script activates only on pages containing the word "checkout" but excluding the word "cart" in the URL, with the aim of extracting sensitive credit card information from specific fields on the checkout page.

After it's completed this malicious task, the malware collects additional user data through Magento’s APIs, including the user's name, address, email, phone number, and other billing information. "This data is retrieved via Magento's customer-data and quote models," Srivastava explained.

Related:Israel Defies VC Downturn With More Cybersecurity Investments

**Magento Malware's Strong Anti-Detection Game**

Attackers behind the malware have taken care to use multiple anti-detection techniques to hide their malicious activity, the researchers found. While the malware is collecting the data, it first encodes it as JSON and then XOR-encrypts it with the key "script" to add an extra layer of obfuscation, the researchers found.

The encrypted data also is Base64-encoded before being sent via a beaconing technique to a remote server at staticfonts.com. Beaconing is a method whereby a script or program sends data silently from the client to a remote server without alerting the user or interrupting their activity.

While legitimate applications such as analysis tools also use beaconing, malicious actors favor the technology because it's a stealthy and hard-to-detect way to transmit stolen data, the researchers noted.

**How to Secure E-Commerce Sites From Cyberattack**

To protect e-commerce sites from stealthy card-skimmers — particularly on busy shopping days like Black Friday, which are a goldmine for cybercriminals — Sucuri recommends administrators conduct regular security audits, monitor unusual activity, and deploy a robust Web application firewall (WAF) to protect sites.

Related:'RomCom' APT Mounts Zero-Day, Zero-Click Browser Escapes in Firefox, Tor

They also should ensure that sites are consistently updated with the latest security patches, as "outdated software is a primary target for attackers who exploit vulnerabilities in old plug-ins and themes," Srivastava wrote.

Administrators also should ensure they use strong, unique passwords on e-commerce sites to bolster security and avoid having them easily cracked by attackers. Finally, implementing file integrity monitoring to detect any unauthorized changes to website files also can serve as an early warning system.

**About the Author**

Elizabeth Montalbano is a freelance writer, journalist, and therapeutic writing mentor with more than 25 years of professional experience. Her areas of expertise include technology, business, and culture. Elizabeth previously lived and worked as a full-time journalist in Phoenix, San Francisco, and New York City; she currently resides in a village on the southwest coast of Portugal. In her free time, she enjoys surfing, hiking with her dogs, traveling, playing music, yoga, and cooking.

Sneaky Skimmer Malware Targets Magento Sites Ahead of Black Friday

The lessons I've learned soaring through the skies have extended far beyond the runway.

Source: Stanislav Duben via Alamy Stock Photo

COMMENTARY

As a child, airplanes fascinated me — I was taken by their gravity-defying magic, their technical wonders, their sleek designs, and the adventures they unlocked. I dreamed of flying one myself.

Although I pursued a career in cybersecurity, flying always inspired me — so I chased my lifelong dream of becoming a licensed pilot. I continue to fly light aircraft in the little spare time I get alongside my role as the CEO of a leading cyber-risk management company. 

**Always Have Backup**

A recent experience prompted me to think more closely about the interplay between my two passions. 

Not long ago, I completed an advanced course for pilots of two-engine planes. Previously, I had only flown planes with one engine, which is a risk: If the engine malfunctions, you're in big trouble. 

In the final training session, we practiced different responses in the event of an engine breaking down. As our instructor walked us through different tactics, one thought went through my mind: the critical need for a "defense in depth" approach to security. Just as the smooth functioning of an airplane relies on multiple mechanisms supporting one another, a modern cybersecurity platform also leverages numerous defensive techniques, so that if a threat slips through one layer, it will be caught by another. 

That was when I realized: While aviation and cybersecurity may appear as far apart as the heavens and earth, the skills I've learned from flying have profoundly influenced my career.  

**Know Your Environment**

Even at the beginning of my career, as a junior systems analyst and IT team manager, I understood that an organization's cybersecurity posture is much broader than any single tool or platform. Effective cybersecurity requires a thorough understanding of the operating environment and all the tools therein. Before an organization can identify vulnerabilities and secure itself against attacks, it needs a complete understanding of its internal and external assets, digital surfaces, devices, brand assets, and more. 

Likewise, becoming a pilot not only required me to master the practical skills of navigating an aircraft through various conditions but also necessitated a deep understanding of the equipment on board. Flying without a confident grasp of my instruments or expected flight environment is like playing Russian roulette: potentially fine … or lethal. 

In cybersecurity, just as in aviation, one can never be passive. Full visibility into a technology environment is required to be able to manage risks, quickly adjust course, identify and communicate issues, and fix those issues under pressure. 

**Continuous Learning and Testing**

In the modern cybersecurity landscape, threats are always evolving, and hackers are constantly honing their skills. That’s why I ensure my company continuously tests its defenses and my employees constantly learn new skills to keep pace with the rapidly changing threat landscape. 

During a recent performance review with one of my direct reports, the employee suggested that some of our threat simulations and training sessions were so time-consuming that they prevented his team from carrying out other deliverables. I acknowledged that learning and testing take up a lot of time, but doubled down on the importance of learning from past incidents to understand future threats and tactics. A cybersecurity company that prioritizes this will serve its customers better in the long run, even if it means a routine report or product update will be slightly delayed. 

**Muscle Memory and Task Execution**

A little-known insight into a pilot's mindset: When landing my aircraft, I barely think about what I am doing. That's because I have practiced and repeated the same maneuver hundreds of times, making complex tasks feel like second nature. 

It's just as vital to develop this sort of muscle memory among security professionals. Security teams should regularly practice routine protocols for any scenario. Conducting tabletop exercises and attack simulation drills allows teams to react quickly and effectively when a real threat emerges. 

By promoting constant preparedness, I aim to ensure that my teams can execute the best course of action without hesitation, even in high-pressure situations.

**Small Issues Become Big Ones**

After flying for a few years, I felt like I'd finally memorized the dozens of separate tasks that form part of a pre-flight checklist. In reality, I'd started to prioritize — I knew that I'd always have to check whether there was enough fuel in the tank to complete the journey, but making sure each seatbelt on the plane was fastened correctly seemed secondary. 

One time, I experienced a particularly bumpy landing. I asked a fellow pilot why that might have occurred, and he suggested checking the air pressure in the tires. I took a look and realized that I'd completely forgotten to check the tires before the flight. A tire low on air won't cause the plane to fall from the sky, but landing on a flat tire can be extremely dangerous. If a flat tire hits the runway, it could burst and send the plane swerving. Incidents like this can easily be avoided — by running through the correct procedures to identify any small issue before it becomes a big one. 

In cybersecurity, small vulnerabilities in a system can easily be overlooked and are therefore ripe for exploitation. In short, cybersecurity is not just about responding to attacks — it's about mitigating risks before they can cause damage. By implementing best practices and checklist procedures, security teams can do just that.  

**The Sky's the Limit**

The lessons I've learned soaring through the skies have extended far beyond the runway. 

Learning from my mistakes and internalizing the discipline it takes to be a pilot have allowed me not only to lead my company with clarity and resilience; it also has provided me with a new perspective on the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity. Incorporating these lessons into the flight plan of my professional life has helped foster a culture of continuous improvement at our workplace, which ultimately has helped our customers. 

**About the Author**

CEO, Cyberint

Yochai Corem is the CEO of Cyberint, a leading external cyber-risk management provider that supports hundreds of organizations around the globe in understanding and managing their threat exposure. 

Yochai is a seasoned executive and strategic cybersecurity leader and innovator, with more than 25 years of experience in driving business success for cyber security companies. 

Prior to Cyberint, Yochai held multiple executive positions at CYE, Cyberbit, 3i-Mind, and Verint in the areas of sales, product strategy and services. 

Yochai has registered multiple patents in the area of cybersecurity, which have been applied in commercial products, and is often invited to share insights on the Israeli cyber security innovation and leadership landscape. 

Yochai is a former officer of the Israeli Intelligence Unit 8200 and holds an MBA from the Reichman University (IDC) in Herzliya and a BSc in electrical engineering cum laude from Tel Aviv University.

How Learning to Fly Made Me a Better Cybersecurity CEO

Over the past year, "Matrix" has used publicly available malware tools and exploit scripts to target weakly secured IoT devices — and enterprise servers.

Source: Kundra via Shutterstock

A Russian script kiddie using little more than publicly available malware tools and exploits targeting weak credentials and configurations has assembled a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) botnet capable of disruption on a global scale.

In assembling the botnet, the attacker has targeted not just vulnerable Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, as is the common practice these days, but also enterprise development and production servers, significantly increasing its potential for widespread disruption.

**Matrix Unleashed**

The attacker, whom researchers at Aqua Nautilus are tracking as "Matrix" after spotting the campaign recently, has established a store of sorts on Telegram, where customers can buy different DDoS plans and services. These include plans ranging from "Basic" to "Enterprise" that allow purchasers to unleash DDoS attacks of different durations at the transport and applications layers of targets of their choice.

"Although this campaign does not use advanced techniques, it capitalizes on widespread security gaps across a range of devices and software," said Assaf Morag, lead data analyst at Aqua in a blog post this week. "The simplicity of these methods highlights the importance of addressing fundamental security practices, such as changing default credentials, securing administrative protocols, and applying timely firmware updates, to protect against broad, opportunistic attacks like this one."

DDoS attacks have been a standard item in attacker playbooks for a long time. Though organizations have generally gotten better at dealing with them over the years, DDoS attacks remain hard to protect against entirely. Threat actors have continuously increased the volume and duration of DDoS attacks while developing techniques to target different layers of the network to maximize their disruptive impact. A Gcore study released earlier this year showed a 46% increase in DDoS attacks in the first half of 2024 compared with the same period last year. Some attacks peaked in excess of multiple terabits of attack traffic per second.

Matrix's campaign appears to have launched in November 2023 with the creation of a GitHub account. The attacker has been using the account primarily as a repository for various publicly available malware tools downloaded from different sources and which, in some cases, Matrix then modified for use in the DDoS campaign.

**Off-the-Shelf Attack Tools**

Aqua's analysis of Matrix's GitHub account showed a collection of commonly available DDoS botnet tools, including perennial favorite Mirai, DDoS agent, Pybot, Pynet, SSH Scan Hacktool, and Discord Go. Most of these tools are publicly available and open source; what distinguishes Matrix is how it's been able to integrate and use these tools effectively in assembling a DDoS botnet. "Instead of forking repositories, the tools are downloaded and modified locally, suggesting a level of customization and adaptability," Morag said.

Matrix has been using the tools to scan the Internet for IoT devices with known vulnerabilities in them that the owners have left unpatched. Many of the vulnerabilities that the threat actor's attack scripts scan for are older flaws, including one from 2014 (CVE-2014-8361) a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Realtek Software Development Kit.

Aqua listed vulnerabilities the attacker is targeting, including three from 2017 (CVE-2017-17215, CVE-2017-18368, and CVE-2017-17106); another three targeted vulnerabilities are from 2018 (CVE-2018-10561, CVE-2018-10562, and CVE-2018-9995). The vulnerabilities affect a range of Internet-connected devices including network routers, DVRs, cameras, and telecom equipment.

And in something of a departure from typical DDoS campaigns, the threat actor is scanning the IP ranges of several cloud service providers for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in telnet, SSH, Hadoop YARN, and other enterprise servers. One of the vulnerabilities that Matrix has targeted is CVE-2024-27348, a critical RCE vulnerability in Apache HugeGraph servers. Nearly half (48%) the scanning activity that Aqua observed targeted servers in AWS environments, 34% were in Microsoft Azure, and 16% on Google's cloud platform. For the moment at least, Matrix's primary focus appears to be China and Japan, likely due to the high density of IoT devices in those countries, Morag said.

**Brute-Force Attacks**

As is common in most such campaigns, Matrix has also been taking advantage of default and weak passwords and misconfigurations to compromise IoT devices and enterprise servers and making them part of the DDoS botnet. Aqua found Matrix using a brute-force script against 167 username and password pairs that organizations had used to secure access to their IoT and server environments. A startling 134 of the pairs granted root or admin level access on affected devices.

Aqua's analysis showed there are 35 million systems running the software that the attacker appears to be targeting. Not all of them are vulnerable. But if even if just 1% are exploitable, that would give the attacker a botnet of around 350,000 devices.

In comments to Dark Reading, Morag says only content delivery networks and organizations with visibility into Internet traffic logs can really say what the actual size of the botnet that Matrix has assembled. But indications are that it is large. "We have hundreds of honeypots, and we usually see an attack/campaign on one or two types of honeypots. But in this case, we saw attacks on our SSH, Telnet, Jupytar Lab, Jupytar Notebook, Hadoop, HugeGraph, and a few simulators of IoT devices," which is unusual, he says. "In addition, the attacker utilized some of our honeypots to attack Telnet and SSH, with a 95% success rate."

**About the Author**

Jai Vijayan is a seasoned technology reporter with over 20 years of experience in IT trade journalism. He was most recently a Senior Editor at Computerworld, where he covered information security and data privacy issues for the publication. Over the course of his 20-year career at Computerworld, Jai also covered a variety of other technology topics, including big data, Hadoop, Internet of Things, e-voting, and data analytics. Prior to Computerworld, Jai covered technology issues for The Economic Times in Bangalore, India. Jai has a Master's degree in Statistics and lives in Naperville, Ill.

Russian Script Kiddie Assembles Massive DDoS Botnet

Enterprise cybersecurity teams tell Omdia's Maxine Holt that they want to dig out from underneath mounting tech and pivot to a simpler platform model — but they are finding that tricky to pull off.

Omdia's survey of cybersecurity leaders demonstrated that they're currently in a conundrum — drowning in security products they want to pare down but instead having to add layers to cope with the exploding threat landscape.

It's a challenge they are looking at cybersecurity platforms to solve, but it's going to take time.

Maxine Holt, who leads the Omdia cybersecurity research group, joined the Dark Reading News Desk at Black Hat USA 2024 fresh off the Omdia Summit, where her team of analysts presented the detailed results of their 2024 survey of cybersecurity decision-makers. They found the typical organization is running somewhere between 21 to 50 separate cybersecurity tools. And while three-quarters of organizations indicated they were interested in cutting that number down to a more manageable number, 87% of respondents had nonetheless added tools to their systems over the past year.

"They're struggling with the threat landscape," Holt said. "It's not as easy as unplugging one thing and plugging in something else."

These organizations will have the opportunity to migrate over to a cybersecurity platform over the next three to five years, as their contracts sunset, according to the survey.

Major players in the cybersecurity platform space, including CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Check Point, stand to gain market share in the next few years as the shift occurs, but Holt stressed the need for a healthy ecosystem of vendors.

"We have to support the thousands of vendors in the space so they can innovate," Holt said.

News Desk 2024: The Rise of Cybersecurity Platforms

GenAI's 30%-50% coding productivity boost comes with a downside — it's also generating vulnerabilities. Veracode's Chris Wysopal talks about what he finds out in this News Desk interview during Black Hat USA.

It's faster, for sure, but generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is learning how to code just like a human developer would — and that means picking up mistakes along the way.

GenAI and large language models (LLMs) learn how to code based off of open source models, which themselves are flawed, explained Chris Wysopal, CTO and co-founder of Veracode, at this year's Dark Reading News Desk at Black Hat USA 2024.

"\[GenAI\] can write a lot more code a lot faster," he said. "So what you end up with is more code and more vulnerabilities per unit of time."

The trick then becomes finding and fixing vulnerabilities at the same pace.

In his research presented at the conference, "From HAL to HALT: Thwarting Skynet's Siblings in the GenAI Coding Era" (a titled itself written by an LLM), Wysopal proposes the best way forward is using AI to find and fix the vulnerabilities in AI-generated software code. But we're not there yet.

According to research, the current model that can write code the best is an LLM called StarCoder. That's not to say it writes code completely free of vulnerabilities, but it's the best thing going. ChatGPT 4.0 and ChatGPT 2.5 were also found to be fairy adept at writing secure code.

"A general purpose LLM can fix some security bugs, but it turns out it's not great at it," Wysopal says. "And so we're seeing specialized LLMs that are trained just to secure code."

Wysopal and his team at Veracode are working on that, as well as other companies, he adds.

News Desk 2024: Can GenAI Write Secure Code?

The preview version now includes multiple security-focused additions Microsoft had promised to add, such as SecureBoot, BitLocker, and Windows Hello.

Source: Mundissima via Shutterstock

Six months after announcing (and modifying and delaying) Windows Recall, Microsoft has released a first-look preview of a reworked version for Windows Insiders via its Dev Channel. 

The preview is available only to Windows Insiders with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Plus Copilot+ PCs. The build of Windows that includes Recall (preview) with Click to Do (Preview) is Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2415 (KB5046723), Microsoft said. Support for Intel- and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs will be available at a later date.

Recall takes "snapshots" of a user's PC that can be searched at anytime, thus allowing users to "recall" any application action, website visited, or image or document previously accessed on the system. Recall uses optical character recognition (OCR) to extract the text in screenshots and saves both of the images and text into a searchable database. When users describe what they are looking for, Recall searches the database to help them find it. The built-in neural processing unit is capable of running artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning workloads locally and does not store anything in the cloud. This means Microsoft doesn't have access to any Recall snapshots, and none of the snapshots will be used to train Microsoft's AI models.

Recall was initially scheduled to be released last summer, but Microsoft had repeatedly delayed it to address privacy concerns. In September, the company explained how it was working to secure Recall snapshots.

Several of the new security-focused additions are available in the preview. Those who download the preview must opt in to saving snapshots, which is a change from the original plan to make it an opt-out feature. Recall now requires BitLocker disk encryption and Secure Boot to be enabled. Users must also be enrolled in Windows Hello because they must reauthenticate with Hello each time they access Recall's database. Users have the ability to delete any snapshot they want, and the system can detect sensitive personal data, like credit card numbers, passwords, and PINs, and won’t save them.

Users can also opt out of using Recall on specific apps and websites or just uninstall it altogether. For enterprise and education users, Recall will be managed by IT administrators. Administrators can also completely uninstall Recall if they are concerned about data exposure. 

The purpose of the Windows Insider preview is to give users the ability to try out the feature in real-world scenarios and help Microsoft identify issues that need to be addressed. Users can submit their feedback of the preview versions of Recall and Click to Do (recognize text and images in Recall snapshots and then copy the text or save images out of the snapshots) via the Feedback Hub. Insiders are asked to provide feedback on Recall's "updated security and privacy architecture" through the Windows Insider Preview Bug Bounty Program. 

Microsoft did not say how long it plans to keep Recall in preview before it would be considered ready for general release.

Source

DARKReading