Hunters International, a new ransomware group, has acquired the source code and infrastructure from the Hive operation. According to Martin Zugec, technical solutions director at Bitdefender, the Hive group's leadership appears to have made the strategic decision to discontinue operations and transfer their remaining assets to this new group. Hive, a once-prolific Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) operation, was shut down in January 2023 as part of a coordinated law enforcement operation.

One of Australia’s biggest port operators is slowly recovering from a “nationally significant” cyber incident that struck late last week, potentially impacting imports and exports for weeks.  DP World Australia was forced to close operations at its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Fremantle facilities after the incident struck on Friday.  According to the country’s national cyber security coordinator, Darren Goldie, the port operator has currently begun to restart some operations but cautioned about the longer-term impact.

The BulletProftLink Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) platform, which provided over 300 phishing templates, has been seized, according to the Royal Malaysian Police. The operation started in 2015 but it has been more active since 2018, with thousands of subscribers, some of whom pay for access to batches of credential logs. Through "ready-to-use" kits and templates, page hosting, customization options, credential harvesting, and reverse proxying tools, PhaaS platforms provide cybercriminals with the tools and resources they need to conduct phishing attacks.

The notorious LockBit ransomware group has recently leaked gigabytes of files allegedly stolen from the systems of aerospace giant Boeing.  LockBit recently named Boeing on its leak website, claiming that “a tremendous amount of sensitive data” has been stolen.  However, it later removed the company from its site, saying that negotiations had started.  It has since been readded to the LockBit website, indicating that Boeing might have refused to pay the ransom.  Over 40 gigabytes worth of archive and backup files are available for download.

US mortgage giant Mr. Cooper recently announced that customer data was compromised in an October 31 cyberattack that led to service disruptions.  The company noted that as part of the attack, hackers gained access to certain systems and also prevented them from processing customer payments.  The company has since restored its automated phone systems and website, which enables users to access their accounts but has yet to fully restore its operations.  In a November 12 incident notification update, Mr.

Researchers at the University of Houston are working on improving cybersecurity through Machine Learning (ML). The Department of Defense (DoD) Army Research Office awarded Rakesh Verma and Gopal Pandurangan, computer science professors at the University of Houston College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, a grant in support of research into ML's ability to thwart cyberattacks. They are exploring deceptive attacks such as phishing performed via emailed job scams. They also plan to use ML techniques to identify areas of code that may contain bugs.

The Ransomed.vc group, which has claimed responsibility for attacks on Sony, a state government website, and a Colonial Pipeline supplier, announced its closure after six of its affiliates were arrested. The ransomware group first appeared in August, pressuring victims with the possibility of European data breach fines if ransoms for stolen data were not paid. However, several companies listed on the group's leak site said they were never hacked. The person behind the gang recently announced their interest in selling the entire operation.

A study conducted by Sharp researchers reveals that many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK are vulnerable to cyberattacks due to unsecured printers. According to an analysis conducted by the company, printer-related security risks are still greatly overlooked by many SMBs, with one-third revealing that they have not implemented security measures to protect them. Nearly one-fifth of companies have experienced a security breach caused by printers.

Google, Microsoft, and Meta have established a steering committee dedicated to improving app security through the newly restructured App Defense Alliance. The tech giants plan to broaden the Alliance's scope in order to promote collaborative implementation of industry standards for app security. Google formed the App Defense Alliance in 2019 to ensure the safety of the Google Play Store and the Android app ecosystem. It was primarily concerned with malware detection and prevention. In 2022, the Alliance widened its scope to include app security standards.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have become widely available to businesses, everyday citizens, and cybercriminals. There is a push for responsible AI development, with major players in this realm on a mission to secure their tools from malicious use. However, threat actors are already using the same technology to improve their skill sets. Companies are increasingly incorporating AI into internal workflows and external offerings, creating a new attack vector for hackers.