Platform Security
PR Newswire | October 26, 2023
OpenText (NASDAQ: OTEX), (TSX: OTEX), today announced the Nastiest Malware of 2023, an annual ranking of the year's biggest malware threats. For six consecutive years OpenText Cybersecurity threat intelligence experts have analyzed the threat landscape to determine the most notorious malware trends. Ransomware has been rapidly ascending the ranks, with ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) now the weapon of choice for cybercriminals.
This year four new ransomware gangs, believed to be the next generation of previous big players, topped the list. Newcomer Cl0p takes the prize for this year's nastiest malware after commanding exorbitant ransom demands with its MOVEit campaign. Cl0p's efforts helped skyrocket the average ransom payment which is rapidly approaching three quarters of a million dollars. Black Cat, Akira, Royal, Black Basta also made their debut, joined by the always present, Lockbit.
A key finding this year is the RaaS business model is another win for the bad guys. Profit sharing and risk mitigation are top contributors to RaaS success along with the ability to easily evade authorities, said Muhi Majzoub, EVP and Chief Product Officer, OpenText. There is a silver lining as research shows only 29% of businesses pay ransom, an all-time low. These numbers indicate people are taking threats seriously and investing in security to be in a position where they do not need to pay ransom.
This year's list highlights the tenacity of cybercriminals as they continue to reinvent themselves, coming back stronger each time (often with new names). Their scrappy mentality allows them to go beyond the norm to find new ways to invade their target.
2023 Nastiest Malware
Cl0p, a RaaS platform, became famous following a series of cyberattacks, exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the MOVEit Transfer file software developed by Progress Software. MOVEit victims include such notable organizations as Shell, BBC, and the United States Department of Energy.
Black Cat, recognized in our 2021 Nastiest Malware report, believed to be the successor to REvil ransomware group, has built their RaaS platform on the Rust programming language. They made headlines for taking down MGM Casino Resorts.
Akira, presumed to be a descendant of Conti, primarily targets small to medium sized businesses due to the ease and turnaround time. Most notably, Akira ransomware targeted Cisco VPN products as an attack vector to breach corporate networks, steal, and eventually encrypt data.
Royal, suspected heir to Ryuk, uses Whitehat penetration testing tools to move laterally in an environment to gain control of the entire network. Helping aid in deception is their unique partial encryption approach that allows the threat actor to choose a specific percentage of data in a file to encrypt.
Lockbit 3.0, a main stain on the list and last year's winner, continues to wreak havoc. Now in its third epoch, Lockbit 3.0 is more modular and evasive than its predecessors.
Black Basta is one of the most active RaaS threat actors and is also considered to be yet another descendant of the Conti ransomware group. They have gained a reputation for targeting all types of industries indiscriminately.
To learn more about the findings of this year's Nastiest Malware analysis, visit the OpenText Cybersecurity Community, as well as tune in to our Nastiest Malware Webinar.
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Software Security
Palo Alto Networks | November 08, 2023
Palo Alto Networks plans to acquire Talon Cyber Security to enhance its Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution.
Talon's Enterprise Browser technology, when integrated with Prisma SASE, will provide secure access to business applications.
The acquisition reflects the importance of adapting SASE solutions to ensure consistent security for unmanaged devices.
Palo Alto Networks, a global cybersecurity leader, has announced its intent to acquire Talon Cyber Security, an enterprise browser technology pioneer, to enhance its Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution and provide comprehensive protection for managed and unmanaged devices. In today's digital landscape, unmanaged devices often connect to enterprise applications without adequate security measures, making them susceptible entry points for attackers seeking to access sensitive information.
Lee Klarich, Chief Product Officer of Palo Alto Networks, emphasized the importance of securing all work activity through an Enterprise Browser without compromising device privacy to protect users and applications effectively. He continued that the integration of Talon's technology with Prisma SASE aims to provide consistent security for all users and devices. Anand Oswal, SVP and GM at Palo Alto Networks highlighted the significance of securing unmanaged devices with the same robust security as managed devices, especially in today's dynamic threat landscape. HE further stated that the combination of Prisma SASE and Talon's Enterprise Browser is poised to revolutionize security measures in modern digital environments.
Talon Cyber Security's Enterprise Browser technology offers an innovative solution that, when integrated with Prisma SASE, will enable users to securely access business applications from any device, including non-corporate devices, while ensuring a seamless user experience. This strategic move by Palo Alto Networks addresses the evolving security challenges in a connected world.
Talon's Co-Founder and CEO, Ofer Ben-Noon, acknowledged the shifting work models and user preferences and the need for powerful last-mile security solutions. Talon's Enterprise Browser is designed to offer familiar user experiences with enterprise-grade protection. Ben emphasized that partnership with Palo Alto Networks is seen as a catalyst to accelerate its mission of delivering superior outcomes for customers.
Talon, founded by Ofer Ben-Noon and Ohad Bobrov, secured the RSA Conference's Innovation Sandbox contest in 2022. The co-founders will continue to lead their teams within the Prisma SASE team at Palo Alto Networks upon the completion of the acquisition.
Anand Oswal, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Palo Alto Networks, highlighted the advantages and security risks associated with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies. He noted that Talon's Enterprise Browser provided security teams enhanced visibility and control over work-related Software as a Service (SaaS) and web activity across all devices, including personal and unmanaged endpoints. Anand emphasized the need for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions to adapt in order to secure unmanaged devices with the same consistent security measures applied to managed devices. This would enable users to access business applications securely from any device and location.
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Network Threat Detection
PR Newswire | October 04, 2023
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD), the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider, today announced a strategic global alliance with Palo Alto Networks to provide end-to-end network and cybersecurity services, including the launch of a new service offering, powered by Prisma SD-WAN for enterprises and Industry 4.0 customers.
The alliance brings together Palo Alto Networks industry-leading platform security capabilities with Kyndryl's advanced network security services expertise to design, build, manage, and modernize mission-critical networking for customers across industries.
The companies are joining forces to capitalize on emerging opportunities in the SD-WAN infrastructure market that IDC estimates will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.1% through 2027. As the demands of enterprise mobility accelerate, enterprises are looking for greater operational agility to support their digital transformation. Businesses need to support the growing number of devices used to access the corporate network and cloud-based applications, while also meeting evolving security and compliance requirements.
Kyndryl and Palo Alto Networks are partnering to help businesses deliver consistent security and an enhanced user experience for customers everywhere, and across industries such as services, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and retail. Kyndryl's new SD-WAN offering, powered by Prisma SD-WAN, will enable customers to transform and modernize their networks and meet the growing bandwidth demands of the proliferation of devices and cloud traffic. The new approach to network connectivity will provide a single pane of glass management to their networks, and simplifies deployment to branch-offices and edge services. By helping customers transition into a flexible and scalable network, Kyndryl will be able to help enterprises build a roadmap and incorporate new security paradigms such as SASE with Kyndryl Consulting services.
At Kyndryl, we are at the forefront of helping enterprises with their network transformation to meet the growing trends of remote work, multi-devices usage, and cloud and data access. As organizations move away from traditional hardware-centric models to OPEX consumption models, the need for agile, highly secure and reliable networks is imperative, said Stephen Leonard, SVP of Global Strategic Alliances, Kyndryl. We are delighted to partner with Palo Alto Networks to provide robust and versatile network security services that will provide many benefits to our customers.
"Together with Kyndryl, we are enabling enterprises to digitally transform confidently and innovate securely, while reaping the benefits of consolidating disparate security solutions into an integrated, best of breed platform," said Prem Iyer, SVP of Global Ecosystems for Palo Alto Networks. "We are committed to helping our joint customers achieve better security outcomes while protecting the modern connected organization from increasingly sophisticated attacks."
The global partnership between Kyndryl and Palo Alto Networks builds on the companies' established collaboration around security services and solutions. In July Kyndryl launched its new Security Operations as a platform (SOaap) solution leveraging Palo Alto Networks Cortex technology to drive operational savings and time-to-value through automation and orchestration.
Earlier this year, Kyndryl and Palo Alto Networks, together with Nokia, established an innovation lab in support of joint enterprise customers. By the end of the year, customers will be able to view innovative industrial edge use cases running on cloud, 4.9G/LTE and 5G private wireless connectivity. This will include remote manufacturing process control and real-time analytics on factory production sites, provisioning and management of mobile devices to improve the employee and frontline worker experience for onboarding and communication, and IT and OT security integration for worker safety and operational efficiencies. Kyndryl's industrial edge platform will be integrated with a multi-factor zero trust model built on Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewalls, run on Nokia's MXIE Industrial edge as part of Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC)'s solutions, and with end-to-end managed services provided by Kyndryl.
About Kyndryl
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) is the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider, serving thousands of enterprise customers in more than 60 countries. The company designs, builds, manages and modernizes the complex, mission-critical information systems that the world depends on every day. For more information, visit www.kyndryl.com.
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