One of the most dangerous ransomware groups, "Scattered Spider," has been using its clever social engineering approach to launch targeted, sophisticated phishing attacks against financial and insurance companies to steal high-level cloud permissions and deliver ransomware. Scattered Spider has been conducting smishing and vishing attacks to target the accounts of Information Technology (IT) service desk administrators and other high-privileged accounts.

According to the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and House Committee on Homeland Security, US seaports are dangerously dependent on Chinese cranes, which could threaten US port infrastructure security. A new joint report by the two committees focuses on Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a company owned and controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC) that operates about 80 percent of US Ship-to-Shore (STS) port cranes.

A record $65 million settlement was reached for a Pennsylvania healthcare company's medical record hack, which affected hundreds of patients and employees. The case involved about 135,000 patients and employees of the Pennsylvania-based independent healthcare network Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). LVHN's data breach exposed 600 patients' and employees' medical records and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). The exposed data included addresses, email addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers, passport information, medical data, and nude patient photos.

Aqua Security's Nautilus research team warns that "Hadooken" Linux malware has been targeting Oracle WebLogic servers to launch additional malware and steal credentials for lateral movement. The malware is used in attacks that exploit weak passwords for initial access. After compromising a WebLogic server, the attackers downloaded shell and Python scripts to fetch and run the malware. This article continues to discuss findings regarding the Hadooken malware targeting Oracle WebLogic applications and its link to multiple ransomware families.

The "RansomHub" ransomware gang is threatening to leak data allegedly stolen from Kawasaki Motors Europe (KME). The company has announced it is recovering from the cyberattack that disrupted service. The company is investigating and cleaning any suspicious material on its systems after the attack on its EU headquarters. KME is a subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a global Japanese company that makes motorcycles, utility vehicles, and other motorized products.

The Science of Security (SoS) Virtual Institutes (VIs) held their Mid-Year meeting at the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) on July 9-10, 2024.