Security News for the Week Ending January 7, 2022
Don’t Copy-Paste Commands from a Web Page – You can Get Hacked
People often copy-paste data from a website into some other place like a command prompt or another browser window, but a researcher has demonstrated how a malicious website could change the data in the paste buffer, causing you to execute something that you did not plan on executing. The researcher has created a simple proof of concept demo. If you are paying attention to what you are pasting, you might detect the change, depending on how obvious it is, but it does require you to pay attention. Credit: Bleeping Computer
German Chip Factory Fire Could Make Shortage Worse
ASML is the sole provide of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines used by TSMC, Samsung and others. Extreme ultraviolet lithography is used to create some of the most high tech chips in the world. A fire earlier this week shut down part of the factory and AMSL is trying to figure out the impact. While the fire only affected about 200 square meters, given that the factory is and has been running at 100% capacity, any shutdown will have a negative affect on the chip market. Credit: Computing
CISA Says Manufacturing At Increased Threat During Pandemic
CISA says that manufacturing organizations are at higher risk of being targeted by hackers during the pandemic due to increased remote work which provides a higher attack surface and limited cybersecurity workforce. CISA is particularly concerned about critical manufacturing organizations, the shutdown of which due to cyberattacks could have a serious negative impact on the country. Credit: The Hill
Don’t Get Sucked Into Instagram Copyright Infringement Scams
Cybercriminals are using scare tactics to get you to give them your money. Gee, that is unusual. In this scam, the scammers pretend to be a social network like Instagram and send you an email that you have a post that infringes someone’s copyright and that your account will be removed if you don’t fill out the objection form. These hackers will attempt to steal your credentials and have done a very believable job at trying to con you. For details on how the con works and what not to do, read the Sophos article at the link. Credit: Sophos
Cyberattack in Space
Researchers think that as the number satellites explodes, so will the likelihood of a cyberattack in outer space. 1,300 new satellites were launched in the first 9 months of 2021, which is 200 more than all of 2020 and five times the number of new satellites launched in 2019. Most of these are low earth orbit satellites like those used by Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite based Internet service. While satellites were not the target of ransomers in 2021, one expert thinks that might change in 2022. Think about what would go through the mind of a satellite owner if one or more of their satellites were attacked by ransomware and out of their control. Read the details at the link. Credit: Cybernews
by 