Security Now - 16k MP3

This week we will plow into another two new serious vulnerabilities brought to the industry by Microsoft named SeriousSAM and PetitPotam. But we first look at how Chrome managed to hugely speed up its Phishing website early warning system (making it even earlier). We cover the striking news of Kaseya having obtained a universal decryptor which is effective for every one of their victims, we look at the massive HP printer driver mess and consider the larger lesson that it teaches, and then we look at the new security features GitHub is bringing to its support of the "Go" language. Then, after sharing one bit of listener feedback, we plow into SeriousSAM and PetitPotam.

This week we look at the continuing attacks on Chrome with yet another zero-day and at Mozilla's continuing work to give their users the most privacy possible. We reexamine that iOS WiFi SSID bug and a related bug which, it turns out, Apple apparently knew was a showstopper. Amazingly, two more new problems have surfaced with Microsoft printer technology. We have a review of last week's Patch Tuesday including the importance of also updating any instances of Adobe's Acrobat and Reader. We revisit an old friend and consider the folly of rolling one's own crypto. We look at the explosive revelations surrounding the widespread abuse of iPhone and Android "surveillance-ware" produced by the NSO Group. And finally, after sharing one fun piece of errata, we're going to finish by examining the curious, sudden, complete and total disappearance of the REvil ransomware organization.

The past week has been dominated by the unimaginable mess that Microsoft has created with what have become multiple failed attempts to patch the two PrintNightmare flaws, and the continuing "Cleanup on Aisle 5" following what is widely regarded as the single most significant ransomware supply chain attack event ever. So today we first catch up on the still sadly relevant PrintNightmare from which the industry has been unable to awaken. We'll cover a few more bits of security news. Then, as planned, we'll take a deep dive into the detailed operation of the REvil/Sodinokibi malware's cryptographic design.

The so-called Windows "PrintNightmare" remote code execution flaw, as bad as it is, was overshadowed by the Sodinokibi malware which the REvil ransomware gang managed to infiltrate into Kaseya, a popular provider of remote network management solutions for managed service providers. Since those MSP's all, in turn, have their own customers, the result was a multiplicative explosion in simultaneous ransomware attacks. Since those attacks reportedly numbered in excess of 1000(!), this makes it the worst ransomware event in history. So, while we'll definitely be covering the PrintNightmare and other events of the week, our topic will be the reconstruction of the timeline and details of the Kaseya Saga.

This week we look at the story behind an important Edge update and revisit Google's now-delayed FloC liftoff. We consider the cost of Ireland's recovery from the Conti ransomware attack, and ask who's responsible for the damage and data loss following the remote wiping of many Western Digital My Book NAS devices. We take a moment to observe the passing of an industry legend. Then, we look at the mess surrounding questions of where Windows 11 will run. I share my favorite web browser keyboard shortcut, and also my favorite web site cloning tool, which I just had the occasion to use. We have a worthwhile looking cybersecurity Humble Bundle, then we'll wrap up by responding to two pieces of closing the loop feedback from our terrific listeners. And that will bring us to the end of the first half of an event-filled 2021.

This week, believe it or not, we have yet another 0-day stomped out in Chrome. We also have some additional intelligence about the evolution of the ransomware threat. I also want to closely look at a curious WiFi bug that was recently discovered in iOS and what it almost certainly means about the way we're still programming today. Under our miscellany topic I want to share the SHA256 hash of the developer release .ISO of Windows 11 that Paul Thurrott, I and many others have been playing with this past week. I have a tip about creating an offline account and restoring Windows 10's traditional Start menu under Windows 11. A new purpose has also been discovered for this podcast which I want to share, and I've decided to explain in more detail than I have before what I've been doing with SpinRite's evolution - it's much more than anyone might expect - yet no more than is necessary. Then we're going to conclude with the view of ransomware from Russia, from two Russian security researchers who believe they know exactly why the Avaddon ransomware as a service decided to shutter its operations and publish its keys.

This week we're going to start by looking at a moment-by-moment reconstruction of a recent Chrome browser attack and patch battle. Then we're going to recap last week's industry wide June patch-fest followed by looking at TikTok's controversial but unsurprising privacy policy update. We need to also cover the wonderful spy-novel'ish ANOM sting operation which lowered the boom on as many as 800 criminals. For our happily infrequent Errata section we'll challenge an apparently erroneous statement I made last week, then I want to share an interesting laptop data recovery experience which BitLocker made much more complex a few weeks ago which I think our listeners will find interesting. Then we're going to tackle this week's topic of some very troubling research which again demonstrates just how difficult it is to design robustly secure networked systems.

This week I want to start off with a calm rant to summarize why today's computer security is so atrocious. I think it's worth a bit of a reality check on that. Then we're going to look at a new feature in Firefox and at Firefox's apparent jump in performance. We'll touch on three new ransomware victims, look at what's been learned about how Colonial Pipeline was breached, and at the curious news that the FBI somehow managed to snatch all of DarkSide's Bitcoins. We'll look at the latest good and bad news regarding WordPress, and at Github's updated policy regarding posting proofs-of-concepts for ongoing attacks. I've finished Project Hail Mary, so I have a comment to make there, and I want to address the surprisingly controversial question of NAT vs IPv6. Then we'll wrap up by examining the question of whether password managers should be intrinsic to our browsers or extrinsic. I think we're going to have some fun!

This week we begin by examining the recent advances made by the just-released Chrome 91 and revisit Google's configurable long-term activity logging. On the ransomware front we look at yet another likely addition to the ransomware ecosystem: trusted 3rd-party file decryptors. We anticipate next week's activation of the Amazon Sidewalk ultra-wide area network, look at the questionable claims of another massive cyberattack, and at WhatsApp's privacy struggles with India and Brazil – couldn't happen to nicer folks. Then we'll touch on just a single bit of trivia before plowing into a detailed examination of the operation of the newest ransomware in town: Epsilon Red.

This week we examine Firefox's just-released and welcome re-architecture under codename "Fission." We look at a new and recently active ransomware player named "Conti" and at a recently paid, high-profile mega ransom. We then ask the question, "When they say IoT, do they mean us?" We examine the implications of a new industry term, "mean time to inventory." We'll then lighten things up a bit with a new form of CAPTCHA and, of all things, a screensaver I discovered that I cannot take my eyes off of. (Leo, it's not quite as bad as whatever that game is that you cannot stop playing, but still.) We'll then share an ample helping of closing-the-loop feedback from our terrific listeners, after which I want to conclude by predicting what I would bet we're probably going to next see emerge from the evolving ransomware business model sad though it is to utter the phrase "ransomware business model."