By: Chris Bartlett, Ottawa ON. June 27, 2022
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are warning all IT users to boost their cybersecurity in the face of increased malware attacks. On February 26, 2002, these agencies issued a joint Cybersecurity Advisory detailing destructive malware that has been used to target organisations in Eastern Europe, along with guidance on how organisations can detect and protect their networks.
The joint Advisory (Alert AA22-057A), “Destructive Malware Targeting Organisations in Ukraine,” provides information on the types of malware currently being deployed in this conflict.
“On January 15, 2022, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) disclosed that malware, known as WhisperGate, was being used to target organisations in Ukraine,” said the Advisory. “According to Microsoft, WhisperGate is intended to be destructive and is designed to render targeted devices inoperable. On February 23, 2022, several cybersecurity researchers disclosed that malware known as HermeticWiper was being used against organisations in Ukraine. According to SentinelLabs, the malware targets Windows devices, manipulating the master boot record, which results in subsequent boot failure.”
In a bid to strengthen cyber defences, the Advisory provides detailed advice on how organisations should enhance their cybersecurity. The “Best Practices and Planning Strategies” covered include proper network structuring and communication flow management, effective network access control, monitoring aimed at detecting unauthorised access attempts, safe file distribution management, system and application hardening to resist tampering, ‘recovery and restitution planning’ to assess possible impacts from hacking attacks and how to mitigate them, and incident response to contain malware attacks should they occur.
While this is going on, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency has issued a Safety Information Bulletin (SIB) that reports instances of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) being jammed or ‘spoofed’ (having their data replaced by false data) in four areas of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. “The effects of GNSS jamming and/or possible spoofing were observed by aircraft in various phases of their flights, in certain cases leading to re-routing or even to change the destination due to the inability to perform a safe landing procedure,” said the SIB.
Clearly, it is more important now than ever to protect military platforms (aircraft, land vehicles, and ships) from cyber attacks, such as the ones outlined by CISA/FBI and EASA.
This is where CCX Technologies can help. This Ottawa-based cybersecurity company designs and develops innovative products and custom-engineered solutions for government and military clients, so that they can keep their Air, Land, and Sea platform assets safe from malware and other cyber threats.
The core of this protection comes from SystemX, CCX Technologies’ cyber defence and security software platform. SystemX Aviation protects platform networks.
“SystemX provides the defensive protection needed to defend and protect vulnerable platform networks,” said Chris Bartlett, President of CCX Technologies.
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