Combing through the fuzz: Using fuzzy hashing and deep learning to counter malware detection evasion techniques
Today’s cybersecurity threats continue to find ways to fly and stay under the radar. Cybercriminals use polymorphic malware because a slight change in the binary code or script could allow the said threats to avoid detection by traditional antivirus software ... continue reading
Protecting customers from a private-sector offensive actor using 0-day exploits and DevilsTongue malware
The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) alongside the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) has uncovered a private-sector offensive actor, or PSOA, that we are calling SOURGUM in possession of now-patched, Windows 0-day exploits (CVE-2021-31979 and CVE-2021-33771). Private-sector offensive actors are ... continue reading
Breaking down NOBELIUM’s latest early-stage toolset
As we reported in earlier blog posts, the threat actor NOBELIUM recently intensified an email-based attack that it has been operating and evolving since early 2021. We continue to monitor this active attack and intend to post additional details as ... continue reading
New sophisticated email-based attack from NOBELIUM
Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) has uncovered a wide-scale malicious email campaign operated by NOBELIUM, the threat actor behind the attacks against SolarWinds, the SUNBURST backdoor, TEARDROP malware, GoldMax malware, and other related components. The campaign, initially observed and tracked ... continue reading
Investigating a unique “form” of email delivery for IcedID malware
Microsoft threat analysts have been tracking activity where contact forms published on websites are abused to deliver malicious links to enterprises using emails with fake legal threats. The emails instruct recipients to click a link to review supposed evidence behind ... continue reading
Analyzing attacks taking advantage of the Exchange Server vulnerabilities
Microsoft continues to monitor and investigate attacks exploiting the recent on-premises Exchange Server vulnerabilities. These attacks are now performed by multiple threat actors ranging from financially motivated cybercriminals to state-sponsored groups. To help customers who are not able to immediately ... continue reading
GoldMax, GoldFinder, and Sibot: Analyzing NOBELIUM’s layered persistence
Microsoft continues to work with partners and customers to expand our knowledge of the threat actor behind the nation-state cyberattacks that compromised the supply chain of SolarWinds and impacted multiple other organizations. As we have shared previously, we have observed ... continue reading
HAFNIUM targeting Exchange Servers with 0-day exploits
Microsoft has detected multiple 0-day exploits being used to attack on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server in limited and targeted attacks. In the attacks observed, the threat actor used these vulnerabilities to access on-premises Exchange servers which enabled access to ... continue reading
Importance of Browser Updates and Browser Based Security Controls
Introduction This is John Barbare and I am a Sr. Customer Engineer at Microsoft focusing on all things in the Cybersecurity space. It has been a while since I have had time to sit down and write a security blog due to studying and making sure I ... continue reading
Azure DDoS Protection—2020 year in review
This blog post was co-authored by Anupam Vij, Principal PM Manager & Syed Pasha, Principal Network Engineer, Azure Networking. 2020 was a year unlike any other. It brought major disruptions to both the physical and digital worlds, and these changes ... continue reading
