Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released Phishing-Resistant Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Success Story: USDA’s FIDO Implementation. This report details how USDA successfully implemented phishing-resistant authentication for its personnel in situations where USDA could not exclusively rely on personal identity verification (PIV) cards.
USDA turned to Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) capabilities, a set of authentication protocols that uses cryptographic keys on user devices, to offer a secure way to authenticate user identities without passwords. USDA’s adoption of FIDO highlights the importance of organizations moving away from password authentication and adopting more secure MFA technologies.
This report offers examples to help organizations strengthen their cybersecurity posture through use cases, recommended actions, and resources. USDA successfully implemented MFA by adopting a centralized model, making incremental improvements, and addressing specific use cases. Organizations facing challenges with phishing-resistant authentication are encouraged to review this report.
For more information about phishing-resistant MFA, visit Phishing-Resistant MFA is Key to Peace of Mind and Implementing Phishing-Resistant MFA.
Today, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) released updates to #StopRansomware: BianLian Ransomware Group on observed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise attributed to data extortion group, BianLian.
The advisory, originally published May 2023, has been updated with additional TTPs obtained through FBI and ASD’s ACSC investigations and industry threat intelligence as of June 2024.
BianLian is likely based in Russia, with Russia-based affiliates, and has affected organizations in multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors since June 2022. They have also targeted Australian critical infrastructure sectors, professional services, and property development.
CISA and partners encourage infrastructure organizations and small- to medium-sized organizations implement mitigations in this advisory to reduce the likelihood and impact of BianLian and other ransomware incidents. These mitigations align with the Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals developed by CISA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
This advisory is part of CISA’s ongoing #StopRansomware effort.
CISA has added two new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.
These types of vulnerabilities are frequent attack vectors for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise.
Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities established the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog as a living list of known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) that carry significant risk to the federal enterprise. BOD 22-01 requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to remediate identified vulnerabilities by the due date to protect FCEB networks against active threats. See the BOD 22-01 Fact Sheet for more information.
Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in collaboration with the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute (HSSEDI), operated by MITRE, has released the 2024 CWE Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Weaknesses. This annual list identifies the most critical software weaknesses that adversaries frequently exploit to compromise systems, steal sensitive data, or disrupt essential services.
Organizations are strongly encouraged to review this list and use it to inform their software security strategies. Prioritizing these weaknesses in development and procurement processes helps prevent vulnerabilities at the core of the software lifecycle.
Addressing these weaknesses is integral to CISA’s Secure by Design and Secure by Demand initiatives, which advocate for building and procuring secure technology solutions:
Recommendations for Stakeholders:
By following CISA’s initiatives, organizations can reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen application and infrastructure security. Incorporating the 2024 CWE Top 25 into cybersecurity and procurement strategies will enhance overall resilience.
For further details, refer to the full 2024 CWE Top 25 list here.
Apple released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple Apple products. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.
CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following advisories and apply necessary updates: