Security when using websites is necessary because all transactions and personal affairs are now done online. Identity theft can cause bank accounts to be completely stolen or identities to be misused by irresponsible individuals. Here are the 10 most interesting security news throughout this year.
1. CrowdStrike Update Causes 8.5 Million Computers to Be Affected
At the end of July, an issue involving the Crowdstrike security software update caused global operational disruptions. In Malaysia, Air Asia and KTM were also affected, causing flights to be canceled. This is a global issue with Microsoft estimating around 8.5 million Windows devices affected.
The issue was traced to the software's need to access the operating system kernel. The problematic update caused the system to continue to BSOD until the security patch was rolled back to the previous version. The economic impact of this Crowdstrike disruption cost hundreds of millions of dollars with the Malaysian government saying it would help local companies obtain compensation from Crowdstrike and Microsoft.
To prevent this incident from happening again, Crowdstrike will double its efforts to ensure that the software is fully checked before being provided to customers. Microsoft also developed Quick Machine Recovery, which makes it easy to restore the system and no longer requires a security system to access the Windows kernel.
2. Hackers Delete Notes of 13,000 School Students in Singapore
Hackers usually steal confidential data that is then sold on the black market. But in Singapore, a hacking attack caused 13,000 school students to lose notes used to revise before exams.
According to a CNA report, a cyberattack on the Mobile Guardian application used on student devices caused notes stored in the cloud to be completely deleted last August. The software installed on iOS and Chromebook devices used by students allows notes to be uploaded and at the same time guardians can monitor the use of students' devices under their care.
The issue was detected on devices used by students in 26 schools in Singapore when the application could not be accessed last Monday. Previously, in April, a cyberattack on Mobile Guardian caused personal data of school staff and guardians from 127 to be accessed without authorization.
3. Hackers Unlock Data for Free Out of Compassion for Victims in Indonesia
The National Data Center (PDN) was attacked by the Brain Cipher hacking group using the LockBit 3.0 ransomware. As a result, 210 Indonesian government agency services such as immigration and scholarships were disrupted for almost two weeks. Indonesia insisted that it would not pay the $8 million ransom demanded by the hackers.
Early last July, Brain Cipher issued a statement saying that they would release the data that was held hostage for free. This is because they are sorry to see the hardship experienced by the Indonesian people due to their attack. Therefore, Brain Cipher apologized for all the hardships faced.
Brain Cipher also advised the Indonesian government to invest in infrastructure and manpower to ensure that this shameful attack does not happen again. The first weakness of PDN is that there are no regular backups. The agency blames PDN for not backing up important data while the Ministry of Communications blames the agency for not doing it itself.
4. Former CIA Employee Sentenced to 40 Years for Leaking Secrets to WikiLeaks
Earlier this February, Joshua Adam Schulte was sentenced to 40 years in prison for leaking Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) secrets to WikiLeaks in 2017. The leaked information revealed the CIA's ability to access Android devices, OIS and TVs for spying purposes.
He committed the offense while working as a software engineer at the CIA and also supervised the Devlan network used by the agency for software development. In addition to revealing the CIA's spying capabilities, Schulte also leaked various software used by the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence. At that time, all the information was published by WikiLeaks as the Vault 7 documents and was the largest secret leak ever in CIA history.
Schulte became the second individual sentenced to prison for revealing documents to WikiLeaks. Before him, Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for exposing the US Army's war crimes in Iraq, leaking nearly 1 million documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables while working as a military intelligence officer. He was however released when he received a pardon from President Obama after serving seven years in prison.
5.Kaspersky Software Banned in the United States
The United States today banned the sale of all applications produced by Kasperksy Lab for security reasons. Kaspersky is said to pose a security risk because it is alleged to have close ties to the Russian government and can help become a spy agent when the software is used in the United States.
Licensing and sales of new software will no longer be possible after July 20 while updates to existing software will no longer be possible after September 29. The 100-day period given after the announcement of the ban was given to allow businesses that use Kaspersky software to find alternatives in the near future.
Previously, the software developed by Kaspersky was only banned from being used on government-owned hardware and networks also for security reasons. The sale of third-party application software that integrates Kaspersky services is also banned in the United States.
Kaspersky's software was later replaced with UltraAV without user consent in the United States last September. At the same time, Kaspersky closed its business in the UK.
6. Malaysians Lose RM1.6 Billion Due to Online Fraud
Loss of up to RM1.6 billion have been recorded in Malaysia due to online fraud over the past 19 months, according to Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department Director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf. This is the statistics up to July this year alone and during that period, 40,385 cases of online fraud were reported.
Of this total, 15,782 cases involved online purchase fraud, 8,655 investment fraud, 4,438 cases of telephone fraud and 1,362 cases of dating fraud. Online purchase fraud alone caused losses of RM243.5 million while telephone fraud amounted to RM224.2 million.
Previously, the PDRM said that Malaysians lose RM100,000 every day due to online fraud. The value of losses due to online fraud is increasing because 12 years ago, a loss of RM2.75 billion was recorded in five years.
7. BNM Launches National Fraud Portal (NFP) in Collaboration with PayNet
Hacker Pengodam
The National Fraud Portal (NFP) was officially launched in August. It was developed as a result of collaboration between Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and PayNet with 16 financial institutions that have joined it so far. It further welcomes the involvement of more institutions more generally to further strengthen the need to build a safe and secure financial system.
The introduction of the NFP is believed to be a 'powerful weapon' that can help combat the problem of online fraud that is currently plaguing society. At the same time, it will further enhance the capabilities of the National Scam Response Center (NSRC) launched in 2022 to be better.
Through the NFP, the NSRC process is now equipped with comprehensive automation capabilities to manage fraud reports, verify and track stolen funds, and enable early warning sharing among financial institutions so that a rapid response can be taken. The NFP, which also leverages the PayNet shared infrastructure, is able to provide proper payment data for NSRC operations which facilitates data detection.
Efforts to make it better are also underway by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to identify suspicious transactions through predictive analytics. At the same time, it is also being improved with the ability to allow users to report suspicious transactions directly from their mobile banking accounts.
8. United Nations Approves Cybercrime Treaty With the Support of Nearly 200 Countries
The United Nations approved its first cybercrime treaty in August in a unanimous vote with nearly 200 countries supporting it. The approval of this treaty is important and creates cooperation between member states to fight cybercrime globally. Through it, the UN will ask member states to ban the misuse of computing devices and equipment to commit crimes.
Among the things that want to be emphasized is ensuring that all countries ban the production and sale of sexual content involving children online, protect them from sexual abuse and planning to abuse children.
Authorities in each country are also given the power to collect and record data for prosecution and force telecommunications companies to hand over information and documents about crimes committed by customers.
9. BreachForum Seized by FBI But Then Lives Again
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) once again seized the BreachForum website in May because it was a place to sell stolen data. This was done just a few days after the Europol Platform for Expert (PPE) portal data was hacked and displayed on the dark web. However, no personal data leaks were reported.
As a result, the FBI now has full access to the data on the page, including social media platforms, especially Telegram, which was used as the main medium for distributing stolen data. The website also displays a notice stating that the website was shut down by the FBI with the help of several government agencies, including the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
This is the second shutdown involving the FBI and the site. For your information, the BreachForum website was previously shut down in June last year after its owner, Conor Fitzpatrick, who used the online name Pompompurin, was arrested in March. However, he escaped prison but will be monitored by the authorities for 20 years.
But later in June, Breachforum returned via its original URL with a new operator. It is still in operation and is a place to sell data such as 17 million leaked MyKad data which was later confirmed to be old data that had been stolen previously.
10. FBI Offers $10 Million Reward to Catch Lockbit Ransomware Developer
Lockbit ransomware has been attacking the cyber world since 2019 but began to gain public attention after prominent companies such as Thales, Royal Mail, TSMC and Continental fell victim. After a computer system is infected with Lockbit, data will be locked and can only be accessed again by paying a ransom worth tens of millions.
In May, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed charges against Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev who was among the administrators and developers of Lockbit. He faces 26 counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and extortion to damage computer systems. If convicted, Khoroshev could face up to 185 years in prison.
He is still at large and the FBI is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest before he is brought to justice. As of 2019, it is estimated that there have been over 2,000 Lockbit victims worldwide with a total of $500 million in ransoms paid. Khoroshev received 20% of each ransom paid.
In the 2022 attack on Thales, the stolen data was then leaked onto the dark web. Among the exposed data was a contract between Thales and Malaysia.