In the digital age, safeguarding our devices has never been more critical, it is advised to restart of your smartphone weekly not just a routine task but as a crucial security measure.

This might sound trivial, but this simple action can effectively neutralize zero-click exploits where hackers can infiltrate your device by merely sending a specially crafted code.

By regularly restarting your phone, you’re reinforcing your digital defenses and ensuring better protection against these nefarious intrusions. Remember, in the battle against cyber threats and insecurity, even the smallest actions can make a significant difference.

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TECHDIGEST – The Computer Security Incidents Response Team (CSIRT) set up by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the telecoms sector, has discovered two new separate cyber threats targeting Windows Platforms and a particular kind of routers respectively.

The discoveries, according to a statement signed by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs at NCC and made available to TechEconomy.ng today, were made known in two separate advisories released by the cyber-space protection team earlier this week.

The first cyber threat is a ransomeware known as ‘Lokilocker’, which is capable of wiping data from all version of Windows Operating System (OS) or platforms. It causes data loss, and denial of service (DDoS), which reduces user’s productivity.

“Lokilocker”, is a relatively new ransomware that has been discovered by security researchers and belonging to the ransomware family. Lokilocker operates by encrypting user files and renders the compromised system useless if the victim does not pay the demanded ransom in time.

To hide the malicious activity, the ransomware displays a fake window update screen, cancel specific processes and services, and completely disables the task manager, windows error reporting, machine firewall and windows defender of the compromised system.

Sadly, it also has in-built processes that prevent data recovery as it deletes backup files, shadow copies, and removes system restore points.

It also overwrites the user login note and modifies original equipment manufacturer (OEM) information in the registry of the compromised system.

READ ALSO : Weak identity protection poses cyber threats to African Businesses- Microsoft

“To protect against infections by LokiLocker and similar ransomware, the best rule is to always have a backup copy of your data, which should be stored offline,” the advisory stated.

Additionally, according to CSIRT, “all downloads and email attachments should be opened with caution, even if they are from trusted sites or senders. Users should also ensure they attachments are scanned with an up-to-date antimalware solution, before opening.”

The second cyber threat discovered by the NCC CSIRT is a Botnet that targets the Microtik version of Routers. As CSIRT revealed, thousands of routers from Microtik which have been found to be vulnerable are being used to constitute what has been named one of the largest botnets in history

To be protected against this botnet, NCC CISRT asdvised users to update or apply the latest patches to their routers early, set strong router passwords, disable the administration interface of the routers from the public, stay away from illegitimate or cracked software versions of legitimate applications, and use decent antivirus software with in-built web-filtering, and apply the latest patches as soon as they arrive.

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For organisations looking to protect themselves and prevent their identities from being misused or stolen, the highest priority remains to have strong passwords.

These were the words of Modern Workplace and Security Business Group Lead for Microsoft Middle East and Africa Emerging Markets, Mohamed El Nemr, in Lagos.

He said there could be little doubt that cybercriminals have firms’ passwords in their sights. This is particularly the case in Africa where businesses are often more prone to cyber-attacks than companies anywhere else in the world.

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According to him, Microsoft’s threat and data research shows just 22 per cent of Cloud Identity Solution and Azure Active Directory users have implemented strong identity authentication protection.

“What would you imagine your username and password are worth to a hacker? According to Microsoft’s latest threat and data research, the average price for 1,000 stolen username password pairs is around $0.97. What’s more, securing 400 million username and password combinations in bulk will earn a cybercriminal around $150.”

He explained that: “As part of the first edition of Cyber Signals, Microsoft’s new quarterly cyber threat intelligence brief, we take a closer look at the dangers of the rising mismatch in scale of identity-focused attacks in relation to levels of organizational preparedness.”

He said the brief, which offers an expert perspective into the current threat landscape, aims to be a valuable resource to Chief Information Security Officers in Nigeria, as they navigate the constantly changing threat landscape.

“Cyber Signals aggregates insights we see from our research and security teams on the frontlines, including analysis from our 24 trillion security signals combined with intelligence we track by monitoring more than 40 nation-state groups and 140 threat groups.”

He said the newly released research shows that though threats have been rising fast over the past two years, there has been low adoption of strong identity authentication, such as multifactor authentication and password-less solutions. In fact, just 22 per cent of Microsoft’s Cloud Identity Solution, Azure Active Directory, users had implemented strong identity authentication protection as of December 2021.
However, he said the consequences of a data breach are now front of mind for 64 per cent of companies in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) according to current Microsoft-IDC research. In fact, risk experts across MEA rank cyber incidents as the second highest risk facing the region, largely because of the increase in both size and expense of data breaches.

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TECH DIGEST – Cyber security software company, Sophos, has revealed the pattern cyber attackers will adopt to ravage individuals and corporate organizations 2021.

According to the company, the report provides a three-dimensional perspective which includes the gap between ransomware operators at different ends of the skills and resource spectrum will increase.

It said: “At the high end, the big-game hunting ransomware families will continue to refine and change their tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) to become more evasive and nation-state-like in sophistication, targeting larger organizations with multimillion-dollar ransom demands. In 2020, such families included Ryuk and RagnarLocker.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Sophos anticipates an increase in the number of entry level, apprentice-type attackers looking for menu-driven, ransomware-for-rent, such as Dharma that allows them to target high volumes of smaller prey.

Another ransomware trend is “secondary extortion,” where alongside the data encryption the attackers steal and threaten to publish sensitive or confidential information, if their demands are not met. In 2020, Sophos reported on Maze, RagnarLocker, Netwalker, REvil, and others using this approach.

“The ransomware business model is dynamic and complex. During 2020, Sophos saw a clear trend towards adversaries differentiating themselves in terms of their skills and targets.

Principal research scientist of the company, Chester Wisniewski, said: “We have also seen ransomware families sharing best-of-breed tools and forming self-styled collaborative ‘cartels,’.

“Some, like Maze, appeared to pack their bags and head for a life of leisure, except that some of their tools and techniques have resurfaced under the guise of a newcomer, Egregor.’’

“The cyber threat landscape abhors a vacuum. If one threat disappears another one will quickly take its place. In many ways, it is almost impossible to predict where ransomware will go next, but the attack trends discussed in Sophos’ threat report this year are likely to continue into 2021.”

In another dimension, the company said that everyday threats such as commodity malware, including loaders and botnets, or human-operated Initial Access Brokers, will demand serious security attention.

It said: “Such threats can seem like low-level malware noise, but they are designed to secure a foothold in a target, gather essential data and share data back to a command-and-control network that will provide further instructions.

If human operators are behind these types of threats, they’ll review every compromised machine for its geolocation and other signs of high value, and then sell access to the most lucrative targets to the highest bidder, such as a major ransomware operation. For instance, in 2020, Ryuk used Buer Loader to deliver its ransomware.’’

Also, it noted that in the last dimension, “All ranks of adversaries will increasingly abuse legitimate tools, well-known utilities and common network destinations to evade detection and security measures and thwart analysis and attribution.’’

The abuse of legitimate tools enables adversaries to stay under the radar while they move around the network until they are ready to launch the main part of the attack, such as ransomware. For nation-state-sponsored attackers, there is the additional benefit that using common tools makes attribution harder.

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