Tag Archive for: January

LockBit 3.0 remains the most active threat actor as ransomware attacks drop in January

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In a surprising finding, a new report from NCC Group plc finds that the number of ransomware attacks dropped in January from December, but the number of attacks was still the highest for January in three years.

The NCC Group Monthly Threat Pulse for January 2023 details 165 ransomware attacks in January, down 38% from December 2022. Lockbit 3.0 was found to remain the most active threat actor, with 50 attacks, 30% of those detected. Vice Society sat in second place with 13% of attacks, followed by Blackcat at 12%.

Lockbit 3.0, which emerged midway through last year, targeted 32% of its attacks against the industrial sector, followed by consumer cyclicals at 16% and technology organizations at 14%. By contrast Vice Society, a Russian ransomware-as-a-service group, targeted 45% of their attacks at academic and educational services.

BlackCat had a broader attack range, with 25% of its attacks targeting the industrial sector, followed by basic materials, healthcare and consumer cyclicals, each hitting 15% of the group’s targets.

By region, North America topped the ransomware attack list in January, attracting 41%, or 68 attacks, followed by Europe at 34% and Asia at 12%. By sector, industrials attracted 30% of attacks, followed by consumer cyclicals at 15% and academic and education at 11%. The report notes that it was the first time in a year that academic and education had surpassed the technology and government sectors into third place, driven by a spike in activity from Vice Society.

The report also highlights the rise of threat actor “AcridRain.” The group first emerged in October 2022 and has started to gain traction with a revamped “infostealer,” which is malware designed to steal victim information, including passwords.

The new iteration of malware from AcridRain is described as “one to look out for,” since it rebrands itself to fit the current “market” standard functionality of infostealers. This is said to allow the group to refocus on targeting cryptocurrency and crypto wallets specifically, renting out stealer software to other actors. NCC Group expects AcridRain to evolve further and develop its operations, capability and reach over the coming…

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Live updates: China confirms Hong Kong crossing will reopen on January 8

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A US-made M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as Himars, is deployed during military exercises near Skede, Latvia © Gints Ivuškāns/AFP/Getty Images

The Australian government said on Thursday it would spend more than A$1bn (US$680mn) on advanced missile defences, including the US-made Himars system that has proved successful in defending Ukraine from Russian invasion.

The Himars package, which includes launchers, missiles and training rockets, will provide the Australian army with a “significant capability boost”, said Richard Marles, the country’s defence minister.

CEA, an Australian company, will provide a radar system to be integrated with the Himars launchers, he added.

The US state department said in May that it had approved the sale of Lockheed Martin’s M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers and related equipment for an estimated US$385mn.

The system is expected to be deployed in Australia in 2026-2027.

“In the current strategic environment, it’s important the Australian Defence Force is equipped with high-end, targeted military capabilities,” Marles said.

The Himars announcement comes a day after Canberra signed a deal with Norwegian group Kongsberg to supply naval missiles for Australian destroyers and frigates from 2024.

Australia in recent years has taken a more high-profile defence posture, with the previous conservative government increasing military spending and signing a trilateral security pact with the US and UK in 2021.

Last month, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said after a meeting with Marles that Washington would “deepen our defence co-operation” with Canberra.

Austin said the US plans to deploy more fighters, bombers and other assets in Australia in the face of “dangerous and coercive” Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Samsung Galaxy A10 gets the January 2023 security update

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Having launched in early 2019, the Galaxy A10 will soon have its fourth birthday, so by industry standards, the A10 is a rather old smartphone. It was also one of the most affordable phones Samsung launched back in 2019, but none of those facts stop the Korean giant from updating the Galaxy A10 on a somewhat regular basis, at least in some markets.

This week, the Galaxy A10 has received yet another new software update. Support for major OS upgrades for the Galaxy A10 ended with Android 11 back in August, 2021, and the phone has been on life support ever since, only receiving security updates for the most part. And that’s the case with the latest Galaxy A10 update, as well.

Galaxy A10 is among the first Samsung phones to get January 2023 security update

The newest Galaxy A10 firmware, which brings the January 2023 security patch, comes with version number A105MUBS8CVL1 and is rolling out in some South American markets. It’s a minor update that won’t change anything about the phone’s software except make it more secure against the many vulnerabilities that are fixed in the January security patch.

As is often the case with Samsung’s updates, the January 2023 update won’t immediately reach all regions where the phone is sold. The Galaxy A10 is on Samsung’s biannual security update schedule, so owners of the phone in some countries might even have to wait a month or more before the next update comes along, possibly with a newer security patch bundled with it.

You can always check if a new update is available for your Galaxy A10 using the SamMobile firmware archive; our archive also has the necessary firmware files available for manual upgradation using a Windows PC. However, the best way to get the update is over the air – just open the phone’s Settings app, tap Software update, followed by selecting the Download and install option.

Image of Galaxy A10

SamsungGalaxy A10

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PSI Fee Change Goes Into Effect on January 1

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Starting January 1, flight schools and FBOs that administer the online aviation knowledge tests will see their cut of the $175 fee drop from $65 to $22 per test. That’s roughly a 70 percent drop in revenue for the businesses in question.

At the present time PSI Services LLC, owned by Lifelong Learner Holdings (LLH), is under contract with the FAA to provide the tests. In years past, there were two other companies, CATS and LaserGrade, but they have gone out of business, giving PSI the monopoly.

On November 18 PSI contacted the flight schools and FBOs to advise them of the fee change. The flight schools and FBOs are third-party providers that offer tests to their customers as a convenience and have no say in the cost of the tests. FBOs and schools contacted by FLYING said the $22 will not cover their costs of administering the tests, therefore they will likely cease to proctor them.

READ MORE: Flight Schools Consider Dropping Knowledge Tests

“This will really damage the fabric of general aviation flight training,” says David St. George, executive director of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE). St. George has been a flight instructor and designated pilot examiner for decades and was one of the first aviation stakeholders to express concern about the impact the change in fee structure will have on the third-party vendors. He describes them as the small mom-and-pop FBOs that provide aviation testing as both a convenience to their customers and as a means to bolster the income during inclement weather when there isn’t a lot of flying.

“There are some 800 of these small testing facilities in the United States, some of them in very out of the way places,” he told FLYING. “They rely on that income from the tests.”

St. George noted that there has also been an increase in knowledge test taking over the past three years or so because of the number of persons desiring to be commercial drone pilots. “If you look at the FAA database on pilot certificates, you will see about half of them are drone pilots now.”

St. George sent a letter to the FAA’s Airman Testing Standards Branch, AFS-630, expressing his…

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