Simply Cyber Newsletter #106

Start your work week off at full speed with expert analysis and actionable intel from top cybersecurity news stories. Share with your End Users, Peers, and Executives to support weekly security awareness with Simply Cyber Newsletter!

FOR END USERS

Meta removes over 2 million accounts pushing pig butchering scams. Meta has removed 2 million accounts involved in pig butchering and other scams. These scams use social engineering to lure victims into fraudulent investment schemes, costing billions globally. Meta is fighting this threat with stricter policies, technical tools, and partnerships with law enforcement. Stay alert and avoid unsolicited money requests.

What you need to know: Educate your end users about the dangers of scams, such as "pig butchering," which involve fraudsters posing as trusted individuals on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp. These scams manipulate victims into fake investments with promises of high returns, often using falsified data. Remind end users that unsolicited messages asking for money or investment are red flags, even if the sender seems legitimate. Encourage them to use two-factor authentication and scrutinize all requests critically. If contacted by someone claiming to need money urgently or offering too-good-to-be-true investment opportunities, they should avoid engaging and report the account to Meta. Additionally, stress the importance of not sharing personal or financial information on social media to minimize their risk of being targeted. Meta’s recent actions show progress, but staying vigilant is the best protection against these growing threats.

FOR PEERS

New NachoVPN attack uses rogue VPN servers to install malicious updates. "NachoVPN" vulnerabilities in Palo Alto GlobalProtect and SonicWall NetExtender clients enable rogue VPN servers to steal credentials, install malware, and perform man-in-the-middle attacks. AmberWolf released a tool to simulate these attacks. Patches are available—install SonicWall 10.2.341+ or Palo Alto 6.2.6+ immediately to secure systems.

What you need to know: Share this story with your peers and have conversations about what your organization is doing to secure VPN clients and defend against rogue servers. AmberWolf researchers identified ""NachoVPN"" vulnerabilities in Palo Alto GlobalProtect and SonicWall NetExtender SSL-VPN clients, which allow rogue VPN servers to execute arbitrary code, steal credentials, and install malicious updates. These attacks exploit users connecting to attacker-controlled VPN endpoints via phishing or social engineering.

Evaluate your VPN configurations and adopt proactive measures such as enforcing strict endpoint validation, segmenting network traffic for VPN connections, and limiting privileges for VPN client operations. Tools like NachoVPN can be leveraged in controlled environments to test defenses and better understand potential attack vectors. A layered approach combining robust configurations, user education, and continuous testing is essential to countering sophisticated threats like NachoVPN.

Lastly, strengthen employee awareness by providing clear and proactive communication. A well-timed email reminder can reinforce that IT or security teams will never ask employees to connect to unknown VPNs or share credentials via email. These messages, paired with training on recognizing phishing tactics, can significantly reduce the risk of employees inadvertently enabling such attacks.

FOR EXECUTIVES

Starbucks, UK grocers impacted by ransomware attack on Blue Yonder. A ransomware attack on supply chain software provider Blue Yonder disrupted operations at companies like Starbucks and UK supermarkets. Payroll, scheduling, and warehouse systems were impacted, highlighting vulnerabilities in supply chain infrastructure. Blue Yonder is working with cybersecurity experts, but the full extent of the damage remains unclear.

What you need to know: Ransomware attacks on critical supply chain providers, like the recent Blue Yonder incident, underscore the vulnerabilities inherent in interconnected systems. This breach impacted global operations, disrupting payroll and scheduling at Starbucks and warehouse management at major UK supermarkets like Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. For executives, the incident serves as a stark reminder that third-party software providers are often weak links in organizational security. Attacks on supply chain infrastructure can have far-reaching operational, reputational, and financial consequences, especially for enterprises relying on cloud-hosted managed services. This event highlights the urgency of conducting rigorous third-party risk assessments, strengthening supply chain security measures, and investing in real-time threat detection systems. With Blue Yonder’s restoration timeline uncertain and potential data exposure risks unresolved, this breach emphasizes the need for proactive partnerships with vendors to mitigate risks and ensure resilience against increasingly sophisticated ransomware threats targeting enterprise-level operations.

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As always, please send me feedback. Which tip above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a DM on X with #actionableintel in the subject so I can find it.

Find more about what’s happening this week in the Simply Cyber community, below!

Thank you sand see you again next Monday! Have a great week, #TeamSC!

Gerry

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