Managed Security Services

Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) Market News: 2 January 2024

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Each business day, MSSP Alert delivers a quick lineup of news, analysis and chatter from across the managed security services provider ecosystem.

  • The Content: Written for MSSPs and MSPs; threat hunters; security operations center as a service (SOCaaS), managed detection and response (MDR) and eXtended detection and response (XDR) providers; and those who partner with such companies.
  • Frequency and Format: Every business morning. Typically, one or two sentences for each item below.
  • Reaching Our Inbox: Send news, tips and rumors to Managing Editor Jim Masters: [email protected].

Today’s MSSP, MSP, MDR, XDR and Cybersecurity Market News

1. Cyber Deal Closes: Palo Alto Networks announced that it has completed its acquisition of Talon Cyber Security, an enterprise browser technology specialist. MSSP Alert first reported the deal in November. Palo Alto Networks will incorporate Talon's enterprise browser technology into its Prisma SASE solution. In doing so, Prisma SASE customers can use enterprise browser to securely access their applications from any device.

2. Product Launch: Cypago, a specialist in governance risk compliance (GRC) automation, has introduced a new capability that can scan employees' user records across the entire tech stack and identify gaps or inconsistencies in user accounts, thereby enabling swift remediations. Cypago's technology empowers companies to curate a robust security posture, streamline access management and proactively address evolving cybersecurity threats, the company said.

3. Cyberattack on Hospital: Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, Massachusetts, experienced a cyberattack on December 25 that resulted in an outage of its medical record system. Ambulances were diverted to other hospitals in the area until systems could be restored. On December 26, the emergency department started accepting patients. Few details have been released at this stage about the exact nature of the cyberattack and it is too early to tell if the attackers gained access to patient information. Third-party cybersecurity experts are investigating the attack. (Source: The HIPAA Journal)

4. Australia State Court Hacked: Hackers accessed the court recordings database in Australia's Victoria state and disrupted the audio-visual in-court technology network, impacting recordings and transcription services, an official said on January 2. Court Services Victoria did not reveal whether it received any ransomware demands. (Source: Reuters)

5. Hacker Alert: Security researchers have detailed a new variant of a dynamic link library (DLL) search order hijacking technique that could be used by threat actors to bypass security mechanisms and achieve execution of malicious code on systems running Microsoft Windows 10 and Windows 11. The approach "leverages executables commonly found in the trusted WinSxS folder and exploits them via the classic DLL search order hijacking technique," cybersecurity firm Security Joes said in a new report. In doing so, it allows adversaries to eliminate the need for elevated privileges when attempting to run nefarious code on a compromised machine as well as introduce potentially vulnerable binaries into the attack chain, as observed in the past. (Source: The Hacker News)

6. Phishing Technique Drains Crypto Wallets: Cybersecurity researchers are warning about an increase in phishing attacks that can drain cryptocurrency wallets. "These threats are unique in their approach, targeting a wide range of blockchain networks, from Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain to Polygon, Avalanche and almost 20 other networks by using a crypto wallet-draining technique," Check Point researchers reported. A prominent contributor to this trend is a phishing group called Angel Drainer, which advertises a "scam-as-a-service" offering by charging a percentage of the stolen amount, typically 20% or 30%, from its collaborators in return for providing wallet-draining scripts and other services. (Source: The Hacker News)

Jim Masters

Jim Masters is Managing Editor of MSSP Alert, and holds a B.A. degree in Journalism from Northern Illinois University. His career has spanned governmental and investigative reporting for daily newspapers in the Northwest Indiana Region and 16 years in a global internal communications role for a Fortune 500 professional services company. Additionally, he is co-owner of the Lake County Corn Dogs minor league baseball franchise, located in Crown Point, Indiana. In his spare time, he enjoys writing and recording his own music, oil painting, biking, volleyball, golf and cheering on the Corn Dogs.

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