March 5th 2018 resources update

Update to Ransomware Recovery and Prevention

• For Tripwire, Paul Norris writes about How PCI/DSS Compliance Can Protect Your Systems against New Ransomware Threats. His take on the history of ransomware is a little wobbly, and I’m not sure that PCI/DSS is The Answer, but I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage organizations from considering compliance as a Good Thing.

Update to Cryptocurrency/Crypto-mining News and Resources

• Lisa Vaas for Sophos: Bill Gates: Cryptocurrencies killing people in “fairly direct way”. As she notes, Gates has not always been so sceptical, but he does have a point.
• Cited in that article: Bitcoin Transactions Aren’t as Anonymous as Everyone Hoped “Web merchants routinely leak data about purchases. And that can make it straightforward to link individuals with their Bitcoin purchases, say cybersecurity researchers.” Citing in its turn research from Steven Goldfeder et al: When the cookie meets the blockchain: Privacy risks of web payments via cryptocurrencies.
• The Register: Bitcoin heist with a twist: This time it’s servers that were stolen – “Icelandic cops cuff 11 on suspicion of data centre robberies”

Update to Specific Ransomware Families and Types

• John E. Dunn for Sophos:  World’s largest DDoS attack thwarted in minutes.
  • About the Memcached attack on Github.
• David Bisson for Tripwire: Another Ransomware Variant Strikes Colorado DOT Days after Initial Attack. “On 1 March, a variant of SamSam ransomware targeted employees at CDOT. “

Update to Meltdown/Spectre – Related Resources

• Pierluigi Paganini: SgxPectre attack allows to reveal the content of the SGX enclave

David Harley

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from The AVIEN Blog authored by DHarley. Read the original post at: https://avien.net/blog/march-5th-2018-resources-update/