Risky Business #747 -- Lockbit Leader Has A Very Bad Day
May 8, 2024
auto_awesome
Silas Cutler, a long-time infosec researcher, discusses the doxxing of LockbitSupp and the Revil hacker's sentencing. Microsoft's security efforts and flaws in VPN clients are highlighted. The ongoing incident response at Gitlab and cyberattacks by China and Russia are also covered.
LockbitSupp hides $100 million after being doxxed by the west
Revil hacker receives 14-year sentence for Kasaya breach
Fun flaw in VPN clients exposes security vulnerabilities
Deep dives
Threat Intelligence and Internet-wide Scanning Revealed
The podcast episode delves into the significance of conducting Internet-wide scanning and leveraging threat intelligence to track malicious activities. By actively scanning the internet, valuable insights can be garnered about malware control servers and malicious infrastructure, moving beyond medium to high confidence in identifying malicious entities.
Unearthing Critical Insights from Speaking 'Duck'
The importance of reverse-engineering malicious protocols to effectively communicate with malware control servers is discussed. By understanding these protocols, researchers can extract detailed insights, such as full beacon samples from Cobalt Strike, enhancing threat detection and response capabilities.
Discovering Security Flaws and Insights in Malicious Operations
The episode highlights instances where security researchers uncover critical vulnerabilities in malicious operations. From finding exposed home directories to inadvertently accessing sensitive data like user credentials and purchase records from a firearms auction website, the discussion underscores the value of proactive threat detection.
Utilizing Internet-wide Scanning for Advanced Threat Hunting
The podcast elaborates on the strategic use of Internet-wide scanning for advanced threat hunting practices. By integrating tools like Stairwell, researchers can identify new malware samples, trace back to their origins, and swiftly dissect malicious activities, enhancing the speed and efficacy of threat detection.
Navigating Legal and Ethical Boundaries in Security Research
The ethical considerations and limitations surrounding the discovery of security vulnerabilities are explored. Despite uncovering potential exploits, the need to adhere to legal boundaries and ethical standards is emphasized, reflecting on the complexities of responsibly handling discovered vulnerabilities.
Patrick dials in from RSA in San Francisco to discuss the week’s security news with Adam, including:
The west doxxes LockbitSupp, who must now hide his hundred million dollars
Revil hacker behind Kasaya breach gets 14 years
Microsoft makes some positive sounding* noises on security
A fun flaw in nearly all VPN clients
Gitlab admins continue their never-ending incident response
And much, much more.
This week’s sponsor is Stairwell. Long time infosec researcher Silas Cutler joins us to talk through his adventures in attacker C2 systems, and how this feeds into Stairwell’s data.
* we’re still sceptical they’ll get it right, but they do at least seem to realise how deep the doo-doo they’re in is… Pat speculates they have … tentacles, and a regulatory-threat-gland.