Plus: Samooha raises $12.5M A from Snowflake Ventures to help companies build data clean rooms
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Russian hacker group Gamaredon has cyberattacked Ukraine with spyware, according to Ukrainian authorities. The state-backed threat actor is known for its hacking campaigns against Ukraine. More: - Gamaredon used GammaLoad and GammaSteel, two VBSscript-based tools that can steal information by spying on a device.
- The threat actor is also using infected files that deploy Powershell, a payload that enables hackers to take screenshots, deploy keylogging, etc.
- The group is also known as Actinium, Armageddon, Iron Tilden, Primitive Bear, Shuckworm, Trident Ursa, and UAC-0010.
- Gamaredon is known for having launched cyberattacks against Ukrainian since 2013. These attacks have intensified since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.
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IT industry leaders fear ChatGPT's consequences for cybersecurity, according to a new report by Blackberry. Fifty-one percent of IT professionals believe there will be a Chat GPT-based breach in 2023. More: - According to this report, 71% of the IT professionals surveyed believe that foreign states are likely to use Chat GPT as a tool to launch cyberattacks against other countries in the future.
- The survey was conducted with 1,500 people who work in North America, Australia, and the U.K.
- 53% of the surveyors also stated that the technology will let hackers with less experience and technical capabilities launch more complex hacking campaigns.
- 82% answered that they aim to invest in artificial intelligence-powered cybersecurity technology in the near future.
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Iranian hackers are launching cyberspying campaigns on Middle Eastern governments. The threat actors are believed to be backed by government institutions. More: - The infection chain begins with a .Net dropper malware called MrPerfectInstaller. Once it is clicked, the malware drops four different infected files.
- The dropper then creates a backdoor that lets the hackers steal the information they want.
- These stolen credentials are then used to send information from breached email accounts to public email accounts that could cause severe infrastructure damage that infects a large percentage of devices in the same network.
Zoom Out: - The group was also active in 2022, using Excel files as part of the first stage to send phishing emails to organizations and governments in the Middle East.
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Samooha has raised a $12.5M Series A funding round from Snowflake Ventures to help companies build "data clean rooms." More: - Samoha is an Enterprise Resource Planning platform that lets businesses securely exchange insights from their database, regardless of the differences in the tech stack they use.
- Samooha uses Snowflake's infrastructure to provide the security needed for the data that is exchanged in its platform.
- The company aims to target industries such as:
- entertainment,
- healthcare,
- financial services,
- advertising, and
- retail.
- According to company officials, several Fortune 500 brands already use the product.
- Altimeter Capital also participated in the funding round.
- Samooha is based in Singapore.
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Maryland-based cybersecurity company Foretrace has raised a $500,000 Seed round to expand its External Attack Surface Management platform. More: - Foretraace offers a cybersecurity platform that integrates hacking techniques to provide a playbook for companies regarding the kinds of attacks they might face and what steps to take.
- Through this platform, Foretrace offers solutions for:
- account exposure,
- phishing,
- metadata exposure,
- data leaks,
- repository leaks, etc.
- The company alerts clients in real time about incoming attacks and helps them implement the required changes in their system.
- The Seed round was backed by TEDCO, an investment organization that focuses on fostering the startup ecosystem in Maryland.
- Foretrace was established by the state of Maryland over 20 years ago.
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- The Abraham Accords, an agreement between Israel, Bahrain, and UAE to normalize relations, now includes cybersecurity as one of its main points.
- The use of Microsoft OneNote documents to deploy malware through phishing attacks is increasing, according to a new report.
- Researchers have tracked a new high-severity security flaw in Cisco IOx and F5 BIG IP devices that could enable hackers to breach their victims by using remote code execution. F5 was made aware of the flaw on Dec. 6, 2022.
- The 0Ktapus hacker group is reportedly launching new hacking campaigns in 2023 and is specifically targeting gaming companies.
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 |  | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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