Cyber Creatures

CrowdStrike is a leading EDR solution , used across a wide range of systems including point-of-sale terminals and ATMs . What’s the Hype about? On July 19, 2024, CrowdStrike rolled out a faulty sensor configuration update for Windows systems , causing widespread system crashes and the notorious “ blue screen of death ” ( BSOD ). This issue affected Windows hosts with Falcon sensor versions 7.15 and 7.16 , while Mac and Linux systems remained unaffected . Although this is not a security breach or cyber-attack , it is a significant complication arising from a routine software update . The incident is expected to be one of the largest ‘cyber’ events ever in terms of its impact. A diverse range of sectors, including airlines, financial institutions, food and retail chains, hospitals, hotels, news organizations, railway networks, and telecom companies, have been hit . Consequently, CrowdStrike’s shares dropped by 15% in U.S. premarket trading . What’s the technicality behind it?...

On Friday, the nonprofit group Health-ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) issued an alert about the group, saying that Russia-linked Black Basta has ‘ recently accelerated attacks against the healthcare sector. ’ A cyberattack that affected clinical operations at St. Louis-based Ascension health system was perpetrated by Russia-linked ransomware group Black Basta, according to a report . CNN, citing four sources, reported Friday that the group was responsible for the data breach at Ascension Wednesday. On Friday, the nonprofit group Health-ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) issued an alert about the group, saying that Black Basta has “ recently accelerated attacks against the healthcare sector. ” CRN has reached out to both Ascension and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which has been aware of the group and issued its own alert in March 2023. HHS said that Black Basta was initially spotted in early 2022, known for its double extortion attack. The...