Europol report highlights the presence of numerous dangerous crime gangs across the EU.

Europol's first report on the most threatening criminal networks active in the EU, unveils the presence of 821 dangerous criminal gangs across the EU, primarily engaged in drug trafficking and other illicit activities. These organizations operate transnationally, posing significant challenges to law enforcement. Efforts to combat them require enhanced coordination and initiatives to protect legal officials from intimidation and bribery.

There is a special section dedicated to Cyber-Attacks (pag 36) that highlights the disruption of lockbit ransomware group as case example:

Few points to highlight from the report:

• Agile: The most threatening criminal networks exhibit remarkable agility. (pag 10).
• LBS: Legal Business Structures. 86% of the most threatening criminal networks make use of LBS.
• Some sectors particularly at risk; all sectors potentially affected: Three sectors are particularly affected by criminal infiltration or abuse: construction, hospitality and logistics (i.e. transport and import/export companies).  The data show clearly that LBS are infiltrated or misused by criminal networks across almost all sectors, including tourism, recycling, wellness and sports, retail and cultural associations.The data show clearly that LBS are infiltrated or misused by criminal networks across almost all sectors, including tourism, recycling, wellness and sports, retail and cultural associations.
• The most threatening criminal networks in the EU use real estate as one of the main industries to launder their illicit profits (41 %).
• Main nationalities of the criminal networks are: Albania, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Türkiye and Ukraine. Most criminal networks are made up of both EU and non-EU nationals.
• 82% focus on one criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or organised property crime. The remaining 18% are truly poly-criminal networks active in multiple main crime areas.
• Frauds (mainly investment and romance): is the second most common activity of the most threatening criminal networks. (pag 30).
• Money laundering activities take place in more than 80 countries.  (pag 45)

Pag 45

• The criminal networks that use countermeasures against law enforcement strategically as part of their day-to-day operations mostly use technologies such as encrypted applications or devices (EncroChat or SkyECC) on which they use code language to communicate.

• Cyber expertise required: Cyber-service and technological solution providers offer critical support to networks involved in fraud schemes. Specifically, they devise mass mailing and phishing campaigns, create fake websites, advertisements and social media accounts, and support other cyber-based processes related to investment frauds and online fraud schemes. Networks involved in cyber-attacks play a critical role in programming malware, ransomware and hosting botnets. These individuals also occupy a crucial position in networks engaged in drug trafficking, extortion and racketeering and money laundering. They support the networks by advising them on online means for the movement of money and cryptocurrency payments (pag 56).

Pag 57

This report marks a significant milestone in enhancing our comprehension of the primary characteristics of criminal networks posing the highest risk to EU's internal security. It represents the first comprehensive evaluation at the EU level from the perspective of criminal actors, drawing upon recent data provided by EU Member States and third countries. Each of the 821 identified highly threatening criminal networks exhibits unique traits, including composition, structure, criminal activities, territorial influence, longevity, cooperation methods, and other factors. However, what distinguishes one network as more threatening than another are key capabilities encapsulated in the ABCD model: Agile, Borderless, Controlling, Destructive.

Key insights from the report by the Cyber Safety Review Board on the Microsoft Exchange Online incident of Summer 2023

What: a threat actor compromised the Microsoft Exchange Online mailboxes of 22 organizations and over 500 individuals around the world.

Who: The actor—known as Storm-0558 and assessed to be affiliated with the People’s Republic of China

How: —accessed the accounts using authentication tokens that were signed by a key Microsoft had created in 2016.

When: In May and June 2023

Why: in pursuit of espionage objectives— This intrusion compromised senior United States government representatives working on national security matters, including the email accounts of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, United States Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China R. Nicholas Burns, and Congressman Don Bacon.

Context: SEV-0 rating intrusion. The hightes urgency level. This meant that the incident required robust comunication, visibility, and coordination across Microsoft and up to its most senior leadership, including its Board of Directors.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued the findings and recommendations report of the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) concerning the review of the summer 2023 Microsoft Exchange Online Intrusion. This report is invaluable from all perspectives, particularly for professionals working in the CyberDetection field.

Following an initial review of the report, below are some of the key insights gleaned:

• Biggest risk of using cloud infrastructure

Pag 11

• Must-have custom detection to alert on potential anomalous access to mailboxes

Pag 14

Pag 16

Pag 17

• 2 main mistakes that left the cloud vulnerable to intrusions

Microsoft's failure to implement automated signing key rotation and lack of an alerting system for aging keys in its consumer MSA identity infrastructure left it vulnerable to intrusions, as read on:

Pag 11

• The criticality of storing log data for threat hunting or forensic analysis

Pag 15

Pag 16

Pag 25

• Victim notification via email is a flawed system

Pag 18

Out of the 46 different hypotheses being investigated, which one ranked as the top one?

Pag 20

• Microsoft's security culture was deemed inadequate, supported by substantial evidence and analysis.

Pag 22

• Given the reported $17.4 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2023 (Azure), this sentence is alarming from a business standpoint.

Pag 22

• Microsoft customers lack crucial information necessary to conduct their own risk assessments regarding the security of Microsoft Cloud environments.

Pag 23

• Despite the absence of any mention of Microsoft's Security Copilot in the report, Microsoft persistently promotes the utilization of artificial intelligence as a revolutionary asset for organizations, enabling them to thwart cyberattacks at machine speed.

STRATEGY RELATED STATEMENTS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION

• To prioritize security improvements over feature developments.

Pag 24

• Course of business of pay per advanced logging capabilities should stop.

Pag 24

Microsoft has not yet determined how Storm-0558 obtained the 2016 MSA key and says that it is continuing to investigate. 

Source: https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/CSRB_Review_of_the_Summer_2023_MEO_Intrusion_Final_508c.pdf

Securing hybrid environments: maximizing cybersecurity and cost efficiency with SIEM over EDR

In today's hybrid environments, where organizations operate a mix of on-premises and cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity teams face daunting challenges in monitoring and securing their digital assets. While both Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions play crucial roles in defending against cyber threats, understanding their respective advantages is essential for maximizing cybersecurity effectiveness. This article explores the complexities of operating SIEM in hybrid environments, introduces the EDR topic, and highlights the advantages of SIEM over EDR in this context.

Source of the picture

Complexities of operating SIEM in hybrid environments

• Data integration challenges: Integrating security data from disparate sources across hybrid environments, including on-premises servers and cloud platforms, poses significant challenges for SIEM operations. Ensuring seamless data ingestion, normalization, and correlation across diverse environments is essential for effective threat detection and response.
• Compliance and Governance Complexity: Managing compliance requirements across hybrid environments requires robust monitoring, reporting, and auditing capabilities. SIEM solutions must support compliance with regulations spanning multiple cloud providers and geographic regions, adding complexity to governance and risk management processes. For instance: regional instances of SIEM data only for Switzerland, APAC or restricted EMEA regions poses unique challenges to data governance.
• Network Visibility: Hybrid environments encompass complex network architectures, including virtual private clouds, multi-cloud deployments, and interconnected on-premises networks. Maintaining visibility into network traffic (without incurring on high costs) and communication patterns is essential for detecting and mitigating threats effectively.

EDR solutions focus on monitoring and securing endpoints, such as desktops, laptops, servers, and mobile devices, against advanced threats and malware. EDR platforms provide real-time visibility into endpoint activities, enabling rapid detection, investigation, and response to security incidents at the endpoint level. While EDR solutions excel in endpoint-focused threat detection and response, their scope is limited compared to the broader visibility offered by SIEM.

In the dynamic landscape of hybrid environments, achieving robust cybersecurity while managing costs is paramount for organizations. One strategy to balance these priorities involves leveraging SIEM solutions over EDR, particularly by harnessing the concept of security-relevant telemetry.

Security-relevant telemetry refers to the collection of essential security data, such as logs, network traffic, and endpoint activities, that are indicative of potential threats. By focusing on telemetry that directly contributes to threat detection and response, organizations can optimize their cybersecurity investments and avoid unnecessary data collection, usually tied to compliance related activities, that may inflate costs.

Security-relevant telemetry provides contextual insight into security events and incidents, enabling more accurate threat detection and response. By correlating telemetry data across diverse sources, including on-premises servers and cloud platforms, organizations can gain a holistic view of their hybrid environment's security posture without the need for additional security tools or solutions.

SIEM solutions offer centralized visibility into security-relevant telemetry across hybrid environments, enabling organizations to monitor and analyze essential security data in real-time. By aggregating and correlating telemetry data from diverse sources, SIEM enhances threat detection capabilities while minimizing costs associated with managing multiple security tools or platforms.

Prioritizing SIEM's security-relevant telemetry over EDR allows organizations to optimize their cybersecurity investments by focusing resources on data that directly contribute to threat detection and response. By eliminating unnecessary data collection and analysis, organizations can reduce operational costs associated with managing and maintaining security tools, ultimately maximizing cost efficiency in hybrid environments.

Organizations should conduct a thorough assessment of their security telemetry needs and rationalize data collection efforts to focus on security-relevant telemetry. This involves identifying critical security data sources and configuring SIEM solutions to prioritize telemetry that aligns with threat detection and response objectives.

To maintain cost efficiency over time, organizations should continuously optimize their telemetry collection and analysis processes based on evolving cybersecurity requirements and threat landscapes. This includes refining correlation rules, adjusting data retention policies, and leveraging automation to streamline telemetry management operations.

While both SIEM and EDR solutions are essential components of a robust cybersecurity strategy, organizations operating in hybrid environments can benefit significantly from leveraging the advantages offered by SIEM over EDR. By providing centralized visibility, comprehensive threat detection, and seamless integration with cloud environments, SIEM empowers organizations to effectively monitor, detect, and respond to security threats across diverse on-premises and cloud infrastructure. As organizations continue to navigate the complexities of hybrid environments, investing in robust SIEM solutions will be essential for maximizing cybersecurity effectiveness and safeguarding against evolving threats.