Do you use one of these passwords?

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Is your password listed below?

On average, 80% of consumers have had their emails leaked onto the dark web. You could easily be among that majority without even knowing it.

Those leaked emails often lead hackers directly to your passwords for other online accounts and identity theft. Here’s a list of the 20 passwords most commonly found on the dark web, due to data breaches:

  1. 123456
  2. 123456789
  3. Qwerty
  4. Password
  5. 12345
  6. 12345678
  7. 111111
  8. 1234567
  9. 123123
  10. Qwerty123
  11. 1q2w3e
  12. 1234567890
  13. DEFAULT
  14. 0
  15. Abc123
  16. 654321
  17. 123321
  18. Qwertyuiop
  19. Iloveyou
  20. 666666

If you use any of the above passwords for any of your online accounts, you’d be wise to swap them out for something more secure. Cybersecurity experts often recommend picking something longer than the minimum number of recommended characters, and using uncommon characters – like punctuation marks or other symbols – in place of letters and numbers, to make your password harder to guess.

The majority of people reuse passwords for multiple accounts, which is a practice you should avoid whenever possible. If hackers can get into one of your accounts, you can at least make it harder for them to get into the rest of them.

You should also figure out which pieces of information about you and your family are publicly available, and avoid using passwords that include that information – including birthdays, anniversaries, names of loved ones and even your hometown.

U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at Al Salam Royal Palace, in Jeddah

Collaboration between the US and Saudi Arabia – Cybersecurity and 5G infrastructure.

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U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at Al Salam Royal Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 15, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Cybersecurity

The Saudi National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Cybersecurity Cooperation with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The MoU was signed on the sidelines of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Saudi Kingdom.

 

It aims to promote bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity to safeguard the cyberspace and vital interests in the Kingdom and the United States. It focuses on several areas such as sharing cyber threats information between both countries, and exchanging best practices and expertise in this field.

 

The new cyber agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia could boost Western goals of protecting telecom networks from Beijing’s hackers. They plan to collaborate on best practices, technologies, tools, and approaches to cybersecurity training and education.

5G infrastructure

Saudi Arabia will invest in new U.S.-led technology to develop and secure reliable 5G and 6G networks. This technology, known as Open Radio Access Network or Open RAN, emphasizes interoperable, rather than proprietary, technologies, making it easier to combine pieces of different vendors’ infrastructure.

 

Saudi Arabia’s support is a badly needed win for the U.S. in its efforts to promote Western 5G technology in a region where the Chinese vendor Huawei is dominant. It is widely deployed in the Middle East due to Chinese government subsidies so it’s difficult for other companies to compete.

 

Cloud-based Open RAN technologies carry significant cost advantages that should make them attractive in markets where Chinese subsidies would otherwise win the day.

 

Putting man back on the moon

Saudi Arabia signed the Artemis Accords with NASA to join the international alliance in civil exploration and the use of the moon, Mars, meteorites, and comets for peace and the beneficial use of space for all of humanity, and to bring Man back on the moon.

 

The Artemis Accords align national priorities for innovation that the Saudi Kingdom announced end of June 2022. This includes future economies, in which space is the next trillion opportunity for the world by 2040 and can aid in the growth of a multitude of sectors and create thousands of jobs.

 

In total, 18 agreements were signed between the two nations however, it is early days and so far it is just words.

Sports who have banned Russia following their invasion of Ukraine

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Following the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a lot of sporting bodies have made the move to exclude Russian and Belarus athletes from their competitions as well as cancelling any competitions based in Russia. The International Olympic Committee has called on sports federations to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, officials and teams from international events wherever possible.

Ukraine Profile: History, culture, geography, and more

FIFA and UEFA have banned Russian national and clubs teams from their competitions “until further notice”.

UEFA also announced that it is ending its partnership with Russian state energy giant Gazprom, which was believed to have been paying about 40 million euros ($45m) a year in a deal due to run until 2024.

Saint Petersburg, meanwhile, was stripped as host of UEFA’s Champions League final set for May 28. The game has been switched to the Stade de France in Paris.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) barred Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

The ITF suspended the Russian Tennis Federation and Belarus Tennis Federation membership and withdrew their entries from all ITF international team competitions until further notice.

The Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for September 25, has been cancelled along with any future events.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) suspended all Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs from its competitions until further notice. It also stripped Russia of the hosting rights for the 2023 junior world championships.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) suspended Russian President Vladimir Putin as its honourary president. The IJF also said it cancelled the 2022 Gran Slam in the Russian city of Kazan, planned to be held from May 20 to 22.

Ukrainian fencers withdrew from the world championships in Cairo to avoid a match with Russia.

Rugby’s world governing body banned Russia and Belarus from all international rugby “until further notice”. Russia’s membership in World Rugby was also suspended indefinitely, meaning its slim hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in France are over.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) cancelled all sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus, banning them from hosting future tournaments “until further notice” and ordering their flags and anthems banned from all BWF tournaments.

World Taekwondo said they were stripping Putin of an honourary black belt, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine goes against the sport’s motto: “Peace is more precious than triumph”.

The body also said no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems would be displayed and played at events, nor will any future events be organised in the two countries.

Swimming’s global governing body FINA called off the World Junior Swimming Championships that were to take place in Kazan (23 to 28 August). FINA also withdrew the order it awarded Putin in 2014.

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) executive board called for all international events to be removed from Russia and Belarus.

The World Curling Federation began the process of removing the Russian Federation’s entries from the World Championships.

World Athletics had already suspended the Russian Athletics Federation because of doping violations, although some Russian athletes were allowed to compete as ‘authorised neutral athletes’ in track and field at the Tokyo Olympics.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, athletics’ governing body has now banned “all athletes, support personnel and officials from Russia and Belarus” from participation in “all World Athletics Series events for the foreseeable future, with immediate effect”.

Cycling’s governing body (UCI) has banned Russian or Belarusian national teams from taking part in any event on the UCI calendar and stripped UCI status from six teams from those countries, including the Pro Tour Gazprom-RusVelo team.

The UCI said it would not consider any team applications or requests to host events from the two countries.

World Rowing has banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from its international competitions with immediate effect.

Volleyball’s world governing body (FIVB) has cancelled the men’s World Championships which were due to be held in Russia in August and September.

World Archery has voted to remove the Russian and Belarusian national flags and anthems from international tournaments. It says no future events will be awarded to either country and chose not to invite its Russian board member Vladimir Esheev to the vote.

The International Basketball Federation (Fiba) has confirmed that Russian teams and officials will not be allowed to participate in Fiba basketball and 3×3 basketball competitions.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) has cancelled its remaining events in Russia and, in response to the IOC’s recommendation, ruled that “no Russian or Belarusian athlete shall participate in any FIS competition at any level” for the rest of 2021-22 season.

Norway’s Skiing Association had already moved to ban Russian and Belarusian skiers from competitions in the country “regardless of what conclusion FIS should come to”.

The International Skating Union (ISU) has, with immediate effect, banned skaters from Russia and Belarus from participating in international ice skating competitions.

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has ruled that while Russia and Belarus must not be represented at its remaining World Cup and IBU Cup events – including in the form of flags, symbols and national anthems – individual athletes from those nations will be invited to compete as neutral athletes.

World Triathlon, the international governing body for triathlon, has announced a ban stopping Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating in the sport for the foreseeable future.

Infamous Ransomware gang, REvil taken down by Russia

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Image rights – https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/

In what suspiciously looks like a political statement, Vladimir Putin has ordered the arrest of 14 members of the infamous gang, REvil. With tension and talks not currently being fruitful between Russia, NATO and the US about Ukraine, it seems this was a bit of a gift from Putin to the US Government. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are at their highest in years, with a Russian troop build-up near the border with Ukraine, indicating, come kind of military invasion could be imminent. US intelligence findings have estimated that Russia could begin a military offensive in Ukraine “as soon as early 2022.”

On Friday the 14th of January 2022, officials from FSB and the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs seized computer equipment, 20 luxury cars, and more than $5.5 million in rubles and cryptocurrency. They also seized control of cryptocurrency wallets used by the REvil gang and recouped nearly $1.2 million in foreign cash.

The arrests took place in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Lipetsk region south of the Russian capital.

For many years, the infamous REvil criminal gang has attacked numerous high profile targets ruthlessly. In May 2021, the criminals, along with its affiliates, disrupted production at meat supplier JBS. In the process, they managed to secure a $11 million ransom payment. Then in July, it incapacitated thousands of businesses as it exploited a vulnerability in the update mechanism of IT software services company Kaseya. With REvil being based in the seemingly safe haven of Russia, their attacks have largely gone unpunished. It would appear that Ukraine conflict is a bigger issue than ransomware so they gang have been sacrificed by Russia as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

Reports from Russia, claim the FSB took action following requests from the United States. Back in August president Joe Biden told Vladimir Putin that he must take action against cybercriminals operating in Russia. Considering the many pleas from countries all over the world which have been made to Russia to stop their numerous hacking gangs, it seems unlikely that Putin suddenly decided to comply without an ulterior motive being in play.

Law enforcement agencies around the world, including in Ukraine, have increasingly been working together in efforts to tackle ransomware hackers. Since February 2021, Europol has arrested five hackers linked to REvil and says 17 countries have been working on its investigations. These include the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia. This includes 22-year-old Ukrainian national Yaroslav Vasinskyi who was arrested in Poland and accused of conducting the Kaseya attack. Yevgeniy Polyanin, a 28-year-old Russian national, was also charged with deploying REvil’s ransomware. Polyanin is accused of conducting some 3,000 ransomware attacks and had $6.1 million of his assets seized in the process.

For now, several ransomware groups operating out of Russia remain highly active. The REvil takedown is a significant mark of progress, but it will be interesting to see if Vladimir Putin decides to pursue the other gangs as well, like the notorious DarkSide gang and its successor BlackMatter.

WHO IS REVIL?

REvil (aka Sodinokibi) is a ransomware variant first detected in April 2019. Initial attacks focused on users in Asia, but REvil’s attacks have expanded to target entities globally, with increasingly more significant extortion demands with one of the most recent being $70M for Kaseya. Since then, the variant has been actively used in ransomware attacks targeting organizations worldwide across various sectors, including healthcare, legal services, technology, government, retail, and financial services.

Timeline of some REvil attacks:

Aug 2019: Vendor breached to spread ransomware to 22 Texas cities
Jan 2020: REvil release stolen victim data on forum threads, later replaced by the “Happy Blog” website, if the ransom was not paid.
April 2020: Widespread exploitation of COVID-19 pandemic to spread ransomware
May 2020: Purported breach and sale of Trump-related information, as well as multiple celebrities over the following months, likely resulting from breach of the GSMS law firm
Jun 2020: Researchers discovered the variant scanning for point-of-sale (PoS) software and leveraging Cobalt Strike to deliver the ransomware. REvil adds an auction page to “Happy Blog.”
Mar 2021: Harris Federation breach, which leads to shutdown of the network for weeks, breach of hardware and electronics manufacturer Acer
Apr 2021: Offered Apple schematics and other company data for sale after breaching hardware vendor Quanta
May 2021: Attack on JBS, which forced a shutdown of US beef plant operations and disrupted operations at poultry and pork plants
Jun 2021: Attack on Invenergy
Jul 2021: Attacks on US DoD contractor HX5 and Kaseya MSP

Further reading