Weekly Infosec News Brief: 22-28 February

Ransomware Observed to Jump from One Device to Another via the Cloud

Researchers described last week an incident where they observed malicious "ransomware" propagating from one device to another via cloud-based file synchronization. When the ransomware encrypted files on one machine that synchronized files to a specific folder, it spread to other PCs that synchronized to that same folder. This type of phenomenon is simply another reason for organizations to serious consider limiting or eliminating the use of such file-synchronizing software within their networks.
http://www.scmagazine.com/researchers-confirm-cases-of-ransomware-encryption-jumping-devices-via-cloud-apps/article/479572/


New OpenSSL Patches Soon to Come

The OpenSSL project team announced last Thursday that they are working on patches to fix at least two "high" severity vulnerabilities in OpenSSL. This is the software that powers the cryptographic security layer of many web servers, browsers, and other software. The most high-profile OpenSSL vulnerability in recent times was the "Heartbleed" information-leaking bug that was found in 2014. These vulnerabilities are "high" severity, rather than "critical," but given how vital this software is it would be wise to ensure that affected software is patched as soon as possible after the patch is released.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/vital-openssl-patch-coming/
https://mta.openssl.org/pipermail/openssl-announce/2016-February/000063.html


 Most Popular Linux Distro Has Distribution Website Hacked, Backdoored Version Distributed

Linux Mint, which currently ranks as the most popular "flavor" of Linux worldwide, had their website compromised, it was announced last week. The website that hosts the Linux distribution's download site and forums runs on WordPress, and hackers apparently gained access to the site, including the ability to make changes. They then created a modified version of the most recent Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon edition, adding a malicious backdoor to the operating system, and changed download links to point to this modified version. In addition, they stole username and password info from the site's user forums. The incident highlights the need for organizations to validate the validity of downloaded software. The most common method is to compute the downloaded file's hash value (MD5 or SHA1 hash) and compare to an independently-obtained value for the proper hash of the actual software file. The key is to obtain the correct hash value from a source that is independent of the download source.
http://www.eweek.com/security/hackers-breach-linux-mint-distribution-forums.html


 Former Employee Convicted for Destroying Software Company's Key Data

A New Jersey man was sentenced last week for sending malicious software into his former employer's servers to destroy their intellectual property. Nikhil Nilesh Shah left Smart Online in March of 2012 for another tech company, and then three months later accessed his former employer's servers and planted malware there. The malware destroyed large amount of Smart Online's intellectual property. A key piece of evidence was the finding that Shah has emailed documents regarding the company's server, VPN, and firewall configurations to his personal Gmail account before leaving. The case highlights the need for careful measures to be taken when key employees depart, as well as for separation of duties for key insiders.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/24/it_manager_goes_to_jail/
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-software-company-employee-sentenced-30-months-prison-sending-damaging-computer-code

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