CERT-SE: Weekly Newsletter Edition No. 42 – CERT-SE

Hey there Bay Area Friends!

News has been buzzing around cybersecurity lately, so let’s take a break from our foggy days, get cozy with a cup of coffee, and dig into the latest happenings in the digital security world.

How about those massive Distributed Denial of Service, (DDoS) attacks we keep hearing about? They are breaking all sorts of records, thanks to the ‘Rapid Reset’ Zero-Day Exploit over at HTTP/2. Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it?

Meanwhile, Europe is cooking up a plan to open source the encryption algorithms used by TETRA emergency services. Making these algorithms publicly accessible could be a pretty big game-changer for all of us.

Are you plugged into the political scene? Void Rabisu, that rogue piece of code, is targeting female political leaders with a new slimmed-down variant. We didn’t see that one coming!

Speaking of surprises, did you hear about DarkGate malware finding its way through Skype? It’s causing quite a ruckus!

Here’s something closer to home: Did you know California’s neighbor, Kansas, has had some legal system stumbles with a possible ransomware attack on its Supreme Court? Not exactly the Wild West we were expecting, huh?

Now, let’s chat about some international intrigue. The Swedish Forces reported potential cyberattacks preparation by some mysterious foreign entity. Yikes!

And more shocking news – Ukraine’s 11 telecom providers were hit hard by cyberattacks last week, and Finland had to address some cyber etiquette by charging a hacker who targeted a psychotherapy clinic. Can you even believe it?

Oh, you social media mavens – Twitter experienced a glitch that allowed one of their CIA informant channels to be hijacked. Talk about a plot twist in 140 characters!

Did any of you get a strange email from 23andMe? Don’t panic, but some user data was leaked over to the Dark Web. Frightening, right?

Then there’s the hot topic of DNS Tunneling traffic. Who thought learning about this could be as exciting as planning your next Marin Headlands hike? Well, we assure you, it’s essential to know about these things in our tech-driven world.

One more thing: Did you know a good deal of this week’s web mischief was concealed in Web3 Smart Contracts? Shady actors called it “EtherHiding”, sounds like something out of Star Trek, doesn’t it?

So, Bay Area friends, that’s all the scoop we’ve got for you this week. As we walk across the Golden Gate and ponder these digital dramas, keep your passwords strong, your software updated, and remember, we’re all in this together. Stay safe out there!

by Morgan Phisher