News
Zero-day in Microsoft Windows Used in Nokoyawa Ransomware Attacks
In February, Kaspersky experts discovered an attack using zero-day vulnerability in the Microsoft Common Log File System (CLFS). A cybercriminal group used an exploit developed for different versions and builds of Windows OS including Windows 11 and attempted to deploy Nokoyawa ransomware.
Microsoft assigned CVE-2023-28252 to this vulnerability and patched it on April 11th. The threat actor also attempted to execute similar elevation of privilege exploits in attacks on different small and medium-sized businesses in the Middle East and North America, and previously in Asia regions.
While most of the vulnerabilities discovered by Kaspersky are used by APTs, this one turned out to be exploited for cybercrime purposes by a sophisticated group that carries out ransomware attacks.
This group stands out by the usage of similar but unique Common Log File System (CLFS) exploits. Kaspersky has seen at least five different exploits of this kind. They were used in attacks on retail and wholesale, energy, manufacturing, healthcare, software development and other industries.
Microsoft assigned CVE-2023-28252 to the discovered zero-day. This is the Common Log File System elevation of privilege vulnerability which gets triggered by the manipulation of file format used by this subsystem.
Kaspersky researchers uncovered the vulnerability in February as a result of additional checks into a number of attempts to execute similar elevation of privilege exploits on Microsoft Windows servers belonging to different small and medium-sized businesses in the Middle Eastern and North American regions.
CVE-2023-28252 was first spotted by Kaspersky in an attack where cybercriminals attempted to deploy a newer version of Nokoyawa ransomware. Older variants of this ransomware were just “rebranded” variants of JSWorm ransomware, but in the aforementioned attack the Nokoyawa variant was quite distinct from JSWorm in terms of a codebase.
The exploit used in the attack was developed to support different versions and builds of Windows OS including Windows 11. Attackers used CVE-2023-28252 vulnerability to elevate privileges and steal credentials from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database.
“Cybercrime groups are becoming increasingly more sophisticated using zero-day exploits in their attacks. Previously it was primarily a tool of Advanced Persistent Threat actors (APTs), but now cybercriminals have the resources to acquire zero-days and routinely use them in attacks.
There are also exploit developers willing to help them and develop exploit after exploit. It’s very important for businesses to download the latest patch from Microsoft as soon as possible, and use other methods of protection, such as EDR solutions,” said Boris Larin, Lead Security Researcher with the Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky.
Truecaller has announced a corporate rebranding and launch of a brand new app icon that will be instantly recognisable on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The taming of the new brand identity aligns with a significant transformation taking place in the digital space. At the heart of this rebranding is Truecaller’s renewed sense of purpose, energy and enthusiasm.
Commenting on the announcement, Alan Mamedi, Co- founder and CEO, Truecaller said, “We are excited to unveil our new brand identity and logo. It signifies our continued commitment to our users and our focus to constantly evolve and improve, every day.”
“Our mission, to protect communication for all, is what guides us to develop new anti-fraud solutions like Search Context and engineer improvements to improve user privacy,” he added.
As part of this refreshed identity, Truecaller users also get a powerful new anti-fraud feature called Search Context, as a part of the Truecaller AI Identity engine.
While looking at the search results for any number, Truecaller users will be instantly notified if the name for the number has been recently changed or is being changed frequently.
The app also classifies this contextual message into three colour categories: blue, for a neutral change, yellow, which indicates a potentially suspicious name change and finally red, indicating multiple and frequent name changes which are highly indicative of fraudulent and scammer activity.
This message will be shown to all Truecaller users on all search results across Android, iPhone and Truecaller web.
Dr Olayemi Cardoso, on Friday, formally assumed duty as the acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to a statement by Isa AbdulMumin, CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Cardoso’s resumption in acting capacity is pending his confirmation by the Senate.
“This follows the resignation of Mr. Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the CBN,
“Similarly, the Deputy-Governors-designate have also assumed duty, in acting capacities.
“This is sequel to the formal resignation of Mr Folashodun Shonubi, Mrs Aishah Ahmad, Mr Edward Adamu and Dr Kingsley Obiora as deputy governors.
“Cardoso and his colleagues subscribed to the relevant oaths of office at a brief ceremony held at the Bank’s Head Office in Abuja,” AbdulMumin said.
He said that they had since settled down to the task of administering monetary and financial sector policies of the Federal Government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Cardoso was nominated by President Bola Tinubu as CBN governor on Sept. 15.
Tinubu also nominated Emem Usoro, Abdullahi Dattijo, Philip Ikeazor and Bala Bello as deputy governors
Flapmax has selected 12 startups for the second cohort of its FAST Accelerator start-up programme, which was formed in collaboration with Microsoft.
Starting in October, the FAST Accelerator’s cohort of 12 startups will embark on a five-week comprehensive acceleration programme in Silicon Valley, California.
The programme received over 1,200 applications from 35 African countries in Africa. Applicants represented a diverse range of cloud-based products and services that serve businesses across Africa, and which use AI to promote innovation, improve efficiency, and address crucial challenges in their respective fields.
The top performers in the 2023 cohort, and those that will travel to Silicon Valley, are: Zeeh Africa, Sumundi, Cotrust Equity, Trucki, Orange VFX, 10mg Pharma, Wallx, Moosbu, KCG Aquatec Fish Farming, Aibanc, Zendawa Africa, and Greenbii.
The cohort will collaborate closely with Intel and Microsoft on co-innovation projects, as well as receive sales and marketing assistance and go-to-market enablement to increase their audience reach.
Flapmax will also help the start-ups to apply optimised large language models, as well as scale and fine-tune these models on Microsoft Azure and Intel platforms.
Dr. Dave Ojika, founder and CEO, Flapmax, said: “Our goal is to use AI as a catalyst to enable startups and marginalised entrepreneurs to rapidly and sustainably develop their businesses and create new job opportunities.”
“Microsoft believes that African start-ups and SMEs are well-positioned to become a bedrock for the African digital economy, with relevant solutions to local societal and economic challenges,” said Mame-Fatou Gueye, SME programme manager, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office.
“Participation in the FAST Accelerator programme will help these entrepreneurs capture growth opportunities and expand their market reach,” she added.
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