THN Cybersecurity Recap: Last Week's Top Threats and Trends

Threat of the Week#

Flaws Found in CUPS: A new set of security vulnerabilities has been disclosed in the OpenPrinting Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) on Linux systems that could permit remote command execution under certain conditions. Red Hat Enterprise Linux tagged the issues as Important in severity, given that the real-world impact is likely to be low due to the prerequisites necessary to pull off a successful exploit.

🔔 Top News#

• Google's Touts Shift to Rust: The pivot to memory-safe languages such as Rust for Android has led to the percentage of memory-safe vulnerabilities discovered in Android dropping from 76% to 24% over a period of six years. The development comes as Google and Arm's increased collaboration has made it possible to flag multiple shortcomings and elevate the overall security of the GPU software/firmware stack across the Android ecosystem.
• Kaspersky Exits U.S. Market: Russian cybersecurity vendor Kaspersky, which has been banned from selling its products in the U.S. due to national security concerns, raised concerns after some found that their installations have been automatically removed and replaced by antivirus software from a lesser-known company called UltraAV. Kaspersky said it began notifying customers of the transition earlier this month, but it appears that it was not made clear that the software would be forcefully migrated without requiring any user action. Pango, which owns UltraUV, said users also had the option of canceling their subscription directly with Kaspersky's customer service team.
• Kia Cars Could Be Remotely Controlled with Just License Plates: A set of now patched vulnerabilities in Kia vehicles that could have allowed remote control over key functions simply by using only a license plate. They could also let attackers covertly gain access to sensitive information including the victim's name, phone number, email address, and physical address. There is no evidence that these vulnerabilities were ever exploited in the wild.
• U.S. Sanctions Cryptex and PM2BTC: The U.S. government sanctioned two cryptocurrency exchanges Cryptex and PM2BTC for allegedly facilitating the laundering of cryptocurrencies possibly obtained through cybercrime. In tandem, an indictment was unsealed against a Russian national, Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov, for his purported involvement in the operation of several money laundering services that were offered to cybercriminals.
• 3 Iranian Hackers Charged: In yet another law enforcement action, the U.S. government charged three Iranian nationals, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yasar (Yaser) Balaghi, who are allegedly employed with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for their targeting of current and former officials to steal sensitive data in an attempt to interfere with the upcoming elections. Iran has called the allegations baseless.