Cyber Risk Update 12 MAY 2023

Collaboration Resource:

• Local Government Cyber Watch discord server. This server is focused on cybersecurity collaboration with local government stakeholders. (TLP Clear Only) Invite: https://discord.gg/PGz3NDKb5V

Crypto at the CCISDA Conference

Data Breach

• San Bernardino County paid $1.1 million ransom to hacker of Sheriff’s Department computers https://www.sbsun.com/2023/05/04/san-bernardino-county-paid-1-1-million-ransom-to-hacker-of-sheriffs-department-computers/

• City of Dallas hit by Royal ransomware attack impacting IT services https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/city-of-dallas-hit-by-royal-ransomware-attack-impacting-it-services/

Critical Infrastructure

• Looming Threats Face California’s Water Infrastructure. The challenges of defending water infrastructure are numerous. Many of the systems in California – and nationwide – are still operating with outdated software, poor passwords and other weaknesses that could leave them at risk. https://www.govtech.com/security/looming-threats-face-californias-water-infrastructure

Breach Reporting

• Victims’ reluctance to report ransomware stymies efforts to curb cyberattacks, say federal officials. Federal officials say they need more victims to report when they've been hit by ransomware in order to better defend against the problem. https://cyberscoop.com/ransomware-data-task-force-washington/

Threat Hunting

• Threat hunting is an essential component of your cybersecurity strategy. Whether you're getting started or in an advanced state, this article will help you ramp up your threat intelligence program. https://thehackernews.com/2023/05/how-to-set-up-threat-hunting-and-threat.html

Cyber Insurance

• Did Oakland have right cyber insurance before ransomware hack? https://abc7news.com/technology/did-oakland-have-right-cyber-insurance-before-ransomware-hack/13240537/

Nation States

• This week, CISA and partners released a joint advisory for a sophisticated cyber espionage tool used by Russian cyber actors. Hunting Russian Intelligence “Snake” Malware provides technical descriptions of the malware’s host architecture and network communications, and mitigations to help detect and defend against this threat. CISA urges organizations to review the advisory for more information and apply the recommended mitigations and detection guidance. For more information on FSB and Russian state-sponsored cyber activity, please see the joint advisory Russian State-Sponsored and Criminal Cyber Threats to Critical Infrastructure and CISA’s Russia Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories webpage. https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-129a

Find more on Discord https://discord.gg/PGz3NDKb5V