Threat Intelligence Bulletin: 09/09/2022

U.S. Midterm Elections Series: Demystifying Harmful Online Information

Product Serial: B-2022-09-09a

TLP:CLEAR

In this brief, ZeroFox Intelligence explains mis-, dis-, and malinformation while providing examples and recommendations on how to combat this harmful content.

Standing Intelligence Requirements

GEO

For the most up-to-date list of ZeroFox Threat Research’s Intelligence Requirements, please visit:

https://cloud.zerofox.com/intelligence/advisories/14956

Link to Download

View the full report here.

Scope Note

ZeroFox Intelligence is derived from a variety of sources, including—but not limited to—curated open-source accesses, vetted social media, proprietary data sources, and direct access to threat actors and groups through covert communication channels. Information relied upon to complete any report cannot always be independently verified. As such, ZeroFox applies rigorous analytic standards and tradecraft in accordance with best practices and includes caveat language and source citations to clearly identify the veracity of our Intelligence reporting and substantiate our assessments and recommendations. All sources used in this particular Intelligence product were identified prior to 5:00 PM (EDT) on September 2, 2022; per cyber hygiene best practices, caution is advised when clicking on any third-party links.

Executive Summary

The production and promulgation of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation is transforming the public discourse—exacerbating simmering social, political, and geopolitical issues across all sectors of society. These terms are often used interchangeably and erroneously, and threat actors, both government-sponsored and self-serving, are motivated to craft convincing content at dizzying speed, making it difficult to discern fact from fiction.

Individuals and organizations must proactively adopt responsible information consumption practices, as well as monitor for sensitive data disclosures online. Tools and resources are available that can assist in verifying the legitimacy of content, and digital risk protection services can assist in identifying and mitigating the spread of sensitive information should such disclosures occur.

Key Findings

The promulgation of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation is transforming the public discourse—exacerbating simmering social, political, and geopolitical issues across all sectors of society.
Misinformation is false information created and shared without the intent to harm or deceive.
Disinformation is created and promulgated to be deliberately deceptive.
Malinformation is the disclosure or manipulation of real data and sensitive information that is leaked to cause economic and reputational damage intentionally.

Breach Disclosure: Authena AG

On May 14, 2022, a threat actor from the underground forum BreachForums posted a data breach package targeting Authena AG, a product authenticity and traceability service operating from Switzerland. From this package, ZeroFox extracted 5,732 usernames and/or email addresses. Of this total, 777 records contained hashed passwords.

Standing Intelligence Requirements

For the most up to date list of ZeroFox Threat Research’s Intelligence Requirements, please visit:

https://cloud.zerofox.com/intelligence/advisories/14956

Details

On May 14, 2022, a threat actor ("ecstasy") from the underground forum BreachForums posted a data breach package targeting Authena AG, a product authenticity and traceability service (with an IoT and blockchain platform) operating from Switzerland. From this package, ZeroFox extracted 5,732 usernames and/or email addresses. Of this, 777 records contained hashed passwords.

Recommendations

If not already enabled, turn on the compromised credentials rule for all relevant entities and ensure relevant emails are entered for those entities, or reach out to [email protected] for assistance
If one of your entities receives an alert, ZeroFox recommends immediate password changes for the affected account
Enable 2-factor authentication for all of your organizational accounts to help mitigate phishing and credential stuffing attacks

Breach Disclosure: 5turistov

On May 12, 2022, a threat actor from BreachForums posted a data breach package targeting 5turistov , an online hotel booking service provider operating from Russia. From this package, ZeroFox extracted 495,271 email addresses. Of this total, 246,527 records contained hashed passwords.

Standing Intelligence Requirements

For the most up to date list of ZeroFox Threat Research’s Intelligence Requirements, please visit:

https://cloud.zerofox.com/intelligence/advisories/14956

Details

On May 12, 2022, a threat actor "katala" from the undergrounfd forum BreachForums posted a data breach package targeting 5turistov, an online hotel booking service operating from Russia. From this package, ZeroFox extracted 495,271 email addresses. Of this total, 246,527 records contained hashed passwords. Other compromised data fields of note in this package include IP address, name, gender, and phone number.

Recommendations

If not already enabled, turn on the compromised credentials rule for all relevant entities and ensure relevant emails are entered for those entities, or reach out to [email protected] for assistance
If one of your entities receives an alert, ZeroFox recommends immediate password changes for the affected account
Enable 2-factor authentication for all of your organizational accounts to help mitigate phishing and credential stuffing attacks

Breach Disclosure: Cannabis Cafe

On July 14, 2022, a threat actor "Amunet" from the underground forum XSS posted a data breach package targeting Cannabis Cafe, a Spain-based discussion forum relating to the cultivation and consumption of cannabis sativa. From this package, ZeroFox extracted 50,262 usernames, email addresses, and hashed passwords.

Standing Intelligence Requirements

For the most up to date list of ZeroFox Threat Research’s Intelligence Requirements, please visit:

https://cloud.zerofox.com/intelligence/advisories/14956

Details

Cannabis Cafe, a Spain-based discussion forum relating to the cultivation and consumption of cannabis sativa, faced a data breach. On July 14, 2022, a breach package was leaked on the underground forum XSS by a user named Amunet. The user noted that the data package is from October 1, 2020, and includes part 1 (of a total of 8 parts) with 430,498 lines of user information. The data package was also circulated on other forums such as Amunet and Leet (on July 14, 2022 by the same user, Amunet) and in a Telegram channel "Data Leak Monitor" on the same day. From the package posted on XSS, ZeroFox extracted 50,262 usernames, email addresses, and hashed passwords.

Recommendations

If not already enabled, turn on the compromised credentials rule for all relevant entities and ensure relevant emails are entered for those entities, or reach out to [email protected] for assistance
If one of your entities receives an alert, ZeroFox recommends immediate password changes for the affected account
Enable 2-factor authentication for all of your organizational accounts to help mitigate phishing and credential stuffing attacks

Microsoft Patch Tuesday 09/14/2022 Notes

This advisory addresses and summarizes the vulnerabilities published by Microsoft this Patch Tuesday and highlights the most notable vulnerabilities that may affect our customers.

Standing Intelligence Requirements

For the most up-to-date list of ZeroFox Threat Research’s Intelligence Requirements, please visit:

https://cloud.zerofox.com/intelligence/advisories/14956

Recommendations

Keep up to date with the most recent vulnerabilities impacting you in our Vulnerabilities tab. Contact your account manager for more information Be sure to apply patches promptly to mitigate these and other vulnerabilities.

Details

Highlights: Microsoft's Patch Tuesday update for September 2022 contained 64 vulnerabilities in total, with:

3 vulnerabilities rated as Critical
53 vulnerabilities rated as High
2 zero-day vulnerabilities, with one of them actively exploited

Most notable vulnerabilities

Microsoft has listed two zero-day vulnerabilities (CVE-2022-37969: Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability and CVE-2022-23960: Cache Speculation Restriction Vulnerability) among the bugs fixed in the September Patch Tuesday security update. The former is being actively exploited in the wild.

CVE-2022-37969

CVE-2022-37969 (CVSS score: 7.8) is a Windows Common Log File System Driver privilege escalation vulnerability. Microsoft Windows could allow a local authenticated attacker to gain elevated privileges on the system, because of this bug. By sending a specially-crafted request, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated privileges. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain system privileges, Microsoft reported. This bug is being actively exploited in attacks.