DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports
Events Video Library
Refcards
Trend Reports

Events

View Events Video Library

Zones

Culture and Methodologies Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Culture and Methodologies
Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering
AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture
Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding
Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks

How are you handling the data revolution? We want your take on what's real, what's hype, and what's next in the world of data engineering.

Generative AI has transformed nearly every industry. How can you leverage GenAI to improve your productivity and efficiency?

SBOMs are essential to circumventing software supply chain attacks, and they provide visibility into various software components.

Related

  • 10 Predictions Shaping the Future of Web Data Extraction Services
  • The QA Paradox: To Save Artificial Intelligence, We Must Stop Blindly Trusting Data—And Start Trusting Human Judgment
  • Real-Time Market Data Processing: Designing Systems for Low Latency and High Throughput
  • Parallel Data Conflict Resolution in Enterprise Workflows: Pessimistic vs. Optimistic Locking at Scale

Trending

  • Building Scalable and Resilient UI/UX With Angular and Node.js
  • Deploying LLMs Across Hybrid Cloud-Fog Topologies Using Progressive Model Pruning
  • Top Trends for Data Streaming With Apache Kafka and Flink
  • Build Your Private Cloud at Home
  1. DZone
  2. Data Engineering
  3. Data
  4. XData and SambaCry Add to the Whopping Number of Data Breaches This Year

XData and SambaCry Add to the Whopping Number of Data Breaches This Year

While the repercussions of WannaCry have finally been dealt with, a whole new batch of ransomware and malware is lurking right around the corner.

By 
Giridhara Raam user avatar
Giridhara Raam
·
Jun. 16, 17 · Analysis
Likes (1)
Comment
Save
Tweet
Share
4.0K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free

Image title

Weeks after WannaCry appeared center stage, networks around the world are still being bombarded with clusters of cyber threats including Adlykuzz and EternalRocks. But is that all? Nope. Two more threats, XData and SamabaCry, are already doubling the number of existing threats. Since WannaCry, almost half of all data breaches have affected the business sector, causing headaches for enterprises.

XData, which was first discovered by malware security researcher S!Ri, is eerily similar to WannaCry; XData even targets EternalBlue, the same exploit that WannaCry used. Like typical ransomware, XData encrypts the victim's files and then asks for a ransom to decrypt them. After encrypting the files, XData appends those files' names with the suffix XData (e.g.,"demo.jpg-xdata-"). It also creates a new file in each folder called "How_can_I_decrypt_my_files.txt," which is the XData ransom note shown below.

Image title

XData employs asymmetric cryptography, requiring both public and private keys to decrypt the files. Victims have to pay a ransom, usually between $500 and $1,000 to receive this private key from the XData developers. In most cases, however, paying the ransom hasn't gotten victims their files back. Cybersecurity researchers have stated that 90 percent of attacks related to XData have targeted individuals in Ukraine, but that doesn't mean individuals in other countries are safe. XData also has a lot of other ransomware variants like Stampado, ONYONLOCK, Cryptoviki, and Spora.

Even though these ransomware attacks have primarily targeted Windows users, Linux users are no longer an exclusion. Many Linux users rely on Samba, an open-source software suite, to seamlessly transfer files and print services to SMB/CIFS clients. Similar to how WannaCry exploited the SMB vulnerability in Windows, this new malware (nicknamed SambaCry) exploits a seven-year-old vulnerability in Samba. This vulnerability—indexed as CVE-2017-7494—affects how Unix machines communicate with Microsoft systems.

SambaCry uses three loopholes to exploit Linux systems:

  1. smbd running on TCP port 443.
  2. "nt pipe support" setting enabled in smb.conf.
  3. A writeable share is accessible by an attacker.

To initiate an attack, the hacker uploads a shared object to the writeable share and executes a small command to make the smbd execute that shared object. This allows the hacker to attain root privileges, granting them access to the entire system. In a strategic move, hackers released SambaCry during a major U.S. holiday, making the attack more difficult to resolve. Samba has already issued a patch to resolve the issue. Apart from this, users can avoid SambaCry by disabling the "nt pipe support" setting or by blocking their TCP port 445 from untrusted sources.

SambaCry is just the beginning for Linux users. Now, Linux users face another malware threat: LuaBot. This multicomponent trojan is said to detect honeypots, which makes it smarter than previous threats. LuaBot is an interconnected trojan that uses a pool of IP addresses to launch a brute force attack, targeting Telnet and SSH protocols. A detailed technical analysis explaining how this attack works is available from Dr.Web.

Patching is often the first line of defense against cyber threats, but when system administrators are firefighting on a daily basis, they don't have time to bolster their defenses. Some enterprises even temporarily shut off their network due to the amount of issues that can pile up. So, if you've got a moment to catch your breath between fires, ensure that all your linux patches are up to date. Complete tranquility cannot be realistically expected in the cybersecurity sector, but if we work together, we can stamp out threats before they spread like wildfire.

Data (computing)

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Related

  • 10 Predictions Shaping the Future of Web Data Extraction Services
  • The QA Paradox: To Save Artificial Intelligence, We Must Stop Blindly Trusting Data—And Start Trusting Human Judgment
  • Real-Time Market Data Processing: Designing Systems for Low Latency and High Throughput
  • Parallel Data Conflict Resolution in Enterprise Workflows: Pessimistic vs. Optimistic Locking at Scale

Partner Resources

×

Comments

The likes didn't load as expected. Please refresh the page and try again.

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Support and feedback
  • Community research
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Core Program
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 3343 Perimeter Hill Drive
  • Suite 100
  • Nashville, TN 37211
  • [email protected]

Let's be friends: