Weekly InfoSec News Brief August 10-16

Microsoft Issues Fourteen Patches, Three for Critical Vulnerabilities

Last week was the first "Patch Tuesday" since the full release of Windows 10, and sure enough the new OS gets six patches of its own (which are bundled into a single installer, so it's essentially impossible to pick and choose which of them you want to install). The critical vulnerabilities patched include one (MS15-079) in Internet Explorer that could result in remote code execution from a malicious webpage, one in Office (MS15-081) that could allow code execution from a malicious document, and yet another vulnerability in a Windows graphics component (MS15-080) that could be exploited by a malicious font file (potentially embedded in a web page).
MS15-081https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms15-aug.aspx
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2970493/microsoft-windows/its-alive-patch-tuesday-survives-for-windows-10.html


Adobe Issues Flash Updates, Patches 34 Vulnerabilities

The regularly scheduled monthly patch for Adobe Flash this month patches 34 vulnerabilities. Adobe's bulletin this month does not list criticality levels for the various vulnerabilities, but nearly all are marked as potentially allowing remote code execution (meaning an attacker could exploit the vulnerability to run commands on a victim computer). Flash continues to prove highly problematic, and is viewed by many as the biggest weakness present on the typical desktop computer.
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-19.html
http://www.eweek.com/blogs/security-watch/adobe-patches-34-more-bugs-in-flash.html


Tech Company Loses Millions to Email-Based Wire Transfer Fraud

Proving once again that sometimes the biggest information security problems are not primarily technical in nature, networking gear maker Ubiquiti disclosed their loss of $46 million to fraudsters exploiting their email system to trick them into making large wire transfers. This type of fraud commonly stems from spoofed emails "from" a CEO or other senior official to the CFO or other financial personnel, instructing the recipient to make wire transfers. The scams are often well-researched and will involve genuine details of the organization's business dealings, banking and accounting relationships, etc. In some cases, the organizations' email systems were breached or otherwise abused to make the faked emails virtually indistinguishable from legitimate internal emails. The FBI emphasized the need to verify the destinations and requesters of large transactions, and to double-check on any unusual requests.
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/08/tech-firm-ubiquiti-suffers-46m-cyberheist/


Cisco Warns Users of Attackers Loading Malicious ROMMON Software

On Tuesday, Cisco issued a warning to customers about a number of cases they'd seen where attackers had replaced the ROMMON software on Cisco routers or switches with malicious software. The ROMMON on a router or switch is a software layer that loads on boot and manages the process of loading the IOS operating system on the device. A malicious ROMMON could allow an attacker to remotely control the device and monitor traffic passing through the device, and would persist across reboots or conventional software updates. It does not appear that the attackers in these cases exploited any vulnerability, but rather that they gained conventional administrative or physical access to the devices in order to modify the ROMMON. Does your organization use CISCO routers or switches? Do you know how to update or verify the ROMMON on your devices?
http://tools.cisco.com/security/center/viewAlert.x?alertId=40411
http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/08/attackers-are-hijacking-critical-networking-gear-from-cisco-company-warns/

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