Security and Windows TCO
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SJVN ☛ Nasty Linux Bug, CVE-2024-1086, is on the loose
A few months back, CVE-2024-1086, a nasty use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter, was revealed. With a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score of 7.8, this bug, with the foundation for most Linux network firewall and Network Address Translation (NAT) programs, was a nasty little security hole. With it, Netfliter's table component could be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation.
Worse still, you didn't need to be terribly clever to use it, so a local attacker could escalate privileges from a regular user to root in no time flat. Adding insult to injury, this vulnerability was present in pretty much all the major Linux distributions, including Debian, Fedora, Red Hat, and Ubuntu. In short, pretty much any Linux distribution using any kernel version between 5.14 and 6.6.14 could be hacked.
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Krebs On Security ☛ Alleged Boss of ‘Scattered Spider’ Hacking Group Arrested
A 22-year-old man from the United Kingdom arrested this week in Spain is allegedly the ringleader of Scattered Spider, a cybercrime group suspected of hacking into Twilio, LastPass, DoorDash, Mailchimp, and nearly 130 other organizations over the past two years.
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Windows TCO
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[Repeat] Security Week ☛ Ascension Says Personal, Health Information Stolen in Ransomware Attack
In a subsequent update, Ascension noted that its investigation into the attack has determined that the attackers exfiltrated files from seven servers of the roughly 25,000 running across its network.
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Wired ☛ Ransomware Attacks Are Getting Worse
ProPublica recounts how, in 2016, a top cybersecurity specialist raised alarms about a cloud-based vulnerability at Microsoft, a major US government contractor. The weakness threatened to expose national security secrets among other sensitive data. The specialist “pleaded” with the company to address the problem, but his concerns were dismissed by the tech giant as it strived to secure a multibillion-dollar government contract in the cloud computing space. Frustrated, the specialist quit the company and, months later, as predicted, Russian hackers carried out SolarWinds, one of the largest cyberattacks in US history. The reporting brings into question testimony by Microsoft president Brad Smith, who assured Congress in 2016 there was no way the hackers had exploited his company’s software.
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