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Orange Group Suffered Data Breach; Threat Actors Exposes Compromised Data

Threat actors aimed infiltrating on Orange’s systems; A case of Ransomware cannot be denied on the data breach that took place.

Orange has confirmed it has recently experienced a cyber-attack, that exposed compromised data. Orange insists it is still investigating the case. The data breach on Orange group when analyzed found it included thousands of internal documents, including sensitive user records and employee data, after infiltrating the company’s infrastructure.

As per reports one of Orange’s non-critical apps breached in an attack aimed at its Romanian operations after HellCat ransomware gang member “Rey” alleged exfiltrating thousands of internal files with user records and employee details, which have been leaked on Tuesday, according to BleepingComputer.

Key Breach details on Orange Group

  • The data breach aimed at Infiltration of Orange’s systems for more than a month via the exploitation of Jira software and internal portal vulnerabilities.
  • This facilitated the eventual breach and can be a ransomware case as of almost 6.5 GB of corporate data including about 12,000 files over a nearly three-hour period on Sunday.
  • The hacker, known by the alias Rey, is a member of the HellCat ransomware group, noted the intrusion to be independent from the HellCat ransomware operation.
  • The threat actor claims that they have stolen thousands of internal documents of current and former Orange Romania employee, contractor, and partner email addresses, some of which dated from over five years ago, as well as mostly expired partial payment card details.
  • The hacker claims that they gained access to Orange’s systems by exploiting compromised credentials and vulnerabilities in the company’s Jira software (used for issue tracking) and other internal portals.
  • The point was getting access to the company’s systems for over a month before executing the data exfiltration as per the hacker. They also stated that they had dropped a ransom note on the compromised system, but Orange did not engage in negotiations.
  • Orange emphasized that the attack has not impacted operations amid an ongoing investigation into the incident. The company is yet to disclose whether affected individuals will be notified or if additional security measures will be introduced to prevent similar breaches in the future.

Cyber Security Implications 

From cybersecurity point the incident reflected how major organization face cyber threats and what is their strategy for incident response?

How far is the preparedness of enterprises against a ransomware attack?

These are some of the eminent questions organizations must face in order to defend their brand name..Is it proactive, are organizations prepared as Ransomware groups are focusing with advanced techniques.

Cyber security preparedness the next step

It is important that security teams be on their toes to stop any ransomware attack at the source.

AI on the endpoints is the requirement of the day, detecting atypical behavior to predict and block attack advances, at the same time before encryption, having visibility full visibility from the kernel to the cloud enables one to spot signs of compromise .This can also be any ransomware chain or any early indicators of compromise.

Experts keep on warning how to protect assets from getting compromised warning customers and employees to remain vigilant for potential phishing attempts based on the data that has been leaked.

AI Leveraging Ransomware campaigns

Earlier we witnessed cybercriminals would encrypt data and provide the decryption key once payment was received.

Now threats has doubled up with double or triple extortion attacks to expose stolen information on data leak sites in exchange for larger ransoms.

The greater availability of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools has led to these gangs be more sophisticated in their attack methods. Now the attack vectors leverage AI and ML capabilities to evade detection, spread more effectively to reach their final goals.

AI Reshaping Cyber security Roadmap

AI in cybersecurity firstly integrates artificial intelligence technologies that are required to gain critical insights and automate time-consuming processes and this includes machine learning and neural networks, into security frameworks.

These technologies are a must to enable cybersecurity teams and systems to analyze vast amounts of data, recognize attack patterns, and being able to adapt new evolving threats that can be performed with minimal human intervention. Read our blog: AI Reshaping Roadmap for Cyber security

With AI capabilities what is the next scenario we may witness in Ransomware campaigns

    • Making ransom calls using Voice Cloning

    • Malware that can target key personnel within the organization

    • The ability to decipher financial data and demand ransom amounts accordingly

AI-driven systems learn from experiences and AI will empowers organizations, enterprises in future and still doing to enhance their cybersecurity posture and reduce the likelihood of breaches, identify potential risks by acting independently.

Sources:

https://www.scworld.com/brief/orange-group-hack-confirmed-following-leak-by-hellcat-ransomware-member

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Cybersecurity News

Sophisticated Phishing Attack Exposed Over 600,000 Users to Data Theft; 16 Chrome Extensions Hacked

A sophisticated phishing attack exposed 600, 000 user data to theft as 16 Chrome Extensions got hacked amounting to credential theft. The attack targeted extension publishers through phishing emails where Developers were tricked into granting access to a malicious OAuth app via fake Chrome Web Store emails. The malicious update mimicked official communications from the Chrome Web Store, stealing sensitive user data.

This breach puts Facebook ad users at high risk of account hacking or unknown access

Summary of the attack

The phishing email was designed to create a sense of urgency posing as Google Chrome Web Store Developer Support, warns the employee of the extension removal for policy violations. The message urges the recipient to accept the publishing policy.

As per Cyberhaven, a cybersecurity firm report mentioned about the impacted firms as the attack occurred on December 24 and involved phishing a company employee to gain access to their Chrome Web Store admin credentials.

16 Chrome Extensions, including popular ones like “AI Assistant – ChatGPT and Gemini for Chrome,” “GPT 4 Summary with OpenAI,” and “Reader Mode,” were compromised, exposing sensitive user data.

Response & Recommendations:

The attackers targeted browser extension publishers with phishing campaigns to gain access to their accounts and insert malicious code.
Extensions such as “Rewards Search Automator” and “Earny – Up to 20% Cash Back” were used to exfiltrate user credentials and identity tokens, particularly from Facebook business accounts.
Malicious versions of extensions communicated with external Command-and-Control (C&C) servers, such as domains like “cyberhavenext[.]pro.”

  • Cyberhaven released a legitimate update (version 24.10.5), hired Mandiant to develop an incident response plan and also notified federal law enforcement agencies for investigation.
  • All users advised to revoke credentials, monitor logs, and secure extensions; investigations continue.
  • As per Cyberhaven, version 24.10.4 of Chrome extension was affected, and the malicious code was active for less than a day.
  • The malicious extension used two files: worker.js contacted a hardcoded C&C server to download configuration and executed HTTP calls, and content.js that collected user data from targeted websites and exfiltrated it to a malicious domain specified in the C&C payload.

Cybersecurity News

Blue Yonder SaaS giant breached by Termite Ransomware Gang

The company acknowledged it is investigating claims by a public threat group linked to the November ransomware attack. 

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Security Advisory

Advisory on MUT-8694: Threat Actors Exploiting Developer Trust in Open-Source Libraries

MUT-8694: Threat Actors Exploiting Developer Trust in Open-Source Libraries

Overview

In November 2024, a supply chain attack designated as MUT-8694 was identified, targeting developers relying on npm and PyPI package repositories. This campaign exploits trust in open-source ecosystems, utilizing typosquatting to distribute malicious packages. The malware predominantly affects Windows users, delivering advanced infostealer payloads.

MUT-8694 Campaign Details

The threat actors behind MUT-8694 use malicious packages that mimic legitimate libraries to infiltrate developer environments. The campaign employs techniques such as:

  • Typosquatting: Using package names that closely resemble popular or legitimate libraries.
  • Payload Delivery: Embedded scripts download malware such as Blank Grabber and Skuld Stealer hosted on GitHub and repl.it.
  • Targeted Ecosystems: npm and PyPI, critical platforms for developers.

             Source: Datadog

Key Findings

One identified package, larpexodus (version 0.1), executed a PowerShell command to download and run a Windows PE32 binary from github[.]com/holdthaw/main/CBLines.exe. Analysis revealed the binary was an infostealer malware, Blank Grabber, compiled from an open-source project hosted on GitHub. Further inspection of the repository exposed another stealer, Skuld Stealer, indicating the involvement of multiple commodity malware samples.

Capabilities of Malware

The deployed malware variants include advanced features that allow:

  • Credential Harvesting: Exfiltrating usernames, passwords, and sensitive data.
  • Cryptocurrency Wallet Theft: Targeting and compromising crypto assets.
  • Application Data Exfiltration: Stealing configuration files from popular applications

Affected Packages

Some known malicious packages include:

  • larpexodus (PyPI): Executes a PowerShell script to download malware.
  • Impersonations of npm libraries: Host binaries leading to infostealer deployment.

Remediation:

To mitigate the risks associated with this attack, users should:

  • Audit Installed Packages: Use tools like npm audit or pip audit to identify vulnerabilities.
  • Validate Package Sources: Verify package publishers and cross-check names carefully before installation.
  • Monitor Network Activity: Look for unusual connections to GitHub or repl.it domains.
  • Use Security Tools: Implement solutions that detect malicious dependencies.

General Recommendations:

  • Avoid downloading software from unofficial or unverified sources.
  • Regularly update packages and dependencies to the latest versions.
  • Conduct periodic security awareness training for developers and IT teams.

References:

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