The Top Cyber Attacks of August 2022

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Ransomware dominated the cybersecurity sphere yet again in August, with victims ranging from wealthy European nations to humble libraries to one of the most storied franchises in American sports. Also, people who send disgusting pranks via mail got some of their business put out on the street. What can we say, it was a weird month. Here are some of the breaches, hacks, and attacks that captured our attention in August 2022.

Biggest Cyber Attacks of August

Hackers Check Out a Major Library Supplier

The local library is a proud example of doing good work with limited resources, but even that stalwart reputation couldn’t keep one of the oldest library suppliers in the U.S. safe from the reach of cybercriminals. An August 19 ransomware attack on Baker & Taylor took down vital communications services and applications for the nearly 200-year-old business, which provides books, videos, music, and technological services to public libraries across the U.S.

The impact of this ransomware attack will likely be felt throughout the library community for a long while, as the incident impacted a number of Baker & Taylor’s business-critical functions.

In true librarian fashion, the company has remained quiet about who might be behind the attack, or how they were able to breach the system, but a number of key functions remained offline weeks afterward.

Records Exposed: Communication systems and applications

Type of Attack: Ransomware

Industry: Library supplies

Date of Attack: August 19, 2022

Location: Charlotte, NC

Key takeaway: We’ve seen time and again that a business does not need to be glamorous or cash-rich to be a juicy target for cybercriminals. Even one as seemingly stodgy as a centuries-old supplier of library books is as vulnerable as any hot-shot tech startup, and may even be a more desirable target, due to the perception that older businesses are less likely to have cutting-edge cybersecurity systems.

Luxembourg’s Cybersecurity Loses Energy

The tiny nation of Luxembourg became the latest victim in a worldwide rash of ransomware attacks that have exposed the fragility of the energy industry’s security and infrastructure.

A late July breach employed BlackCat ransomware to steal around 150 GB of documents and data from subsidiaries of Enevco, a large energy company partially owned by the government of Luxembourg. While energy services to customers do not appear to have been impacted, the breach still underscores the vulnerability of a vital national entity.

Authorities believe the Luxembourg attack to be the work of the Alphav gang, a cybercrime group thought to have been behind the notorious 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack in the U.S. This is the latest in a wave of energy-focused breaches that have plagued Western Europe for the past year, including attacks on multiple oil ports and wind power businesses.

While the gang’s efforts have yet to grind a power grid to a halt, they have succeeded in making many cybersecurity and energy industry observers deeply anxious about where and when the next hit will come.

Records Exposed: Internal documents and data

Type of Attack: Ransomware

Industry: Energy

Date of Attack: July 22, 2022

Location: Luxembourg

Key takeaway: As scary as the cybercrime community’s focus on energy producers is, it also makes quite a bit of sense. Businesses in indispensable industries such as energy make for irresistible targets partly because people depend on them to keep daily life running. Very few places in the world can afford to gamble with their power supplies, so it seems likely that attacks of this nature will continue to escalate in the foreseeable future.

Prank Customers Get Pranked

It’s safe to say that most people reading this harbor little love in their hearts for the perpetrators of cybercrimes. Every now and then, though, you come across a story where you just can’t help but cheer a little bit for the “bad guy.” Take the August hack on a prank website whose name can’t be printed in this family-friendly cybersecurity forum. Basically, this site allows customers to anonymously send packages of actual animal fecal matter to their enemies. It’s a living, we suppose.

The site in question received a rude greeting of its own on August 9, when infamous hacker pompompurin (whose FBI-hacking activities we’ve covered here before) visited the site with the intention of sending a box of feces to a cybersecurity expert with whom they had a beef.

Pompompurin noticed the site was vulnerable to an SQL injection attack and promptly stole, then publicized, a sampling of customer email addresses. That’s not great news for customers who were counting on their unpleasant gifts being sent anonymously. The site learned its lesson and quickly closed the vulnerability, while everyone who read about this bizarre snapshot of where we are today as an online society learned a few things they probably wish they could forget.

Records Exposed: Customer email addresses

Type of Attack: SQL injection

Industry: Home delivery

Date of Attack: August 9, 2022

Location: Unclear

Key takeaway: Look, if you’re going to run a website where anonymous people pay you to pull unpleasant revenge “pranks,” you’d best be sure you’re keeping those people anonymous.

As strange as this specific scenario is, it does have ramifications for more legitimate organizations whose customers value their privacy. In a world of tech-savvy consumers, even a basic customer transaction can spiral into an embarrassing public situation if the wrong person gets curious about the inner workings of your system.

Yet again, August demonstrates that no organization, from an austere European state to a deliverer of unwanted cowpies, is safe from the reach of bad actors online. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. It’s time for your organization to get ahead of the criminals by investing in Arctic Wolf cybersecurity.

For more, check out July’s biggest cyber attacks.

Arctic Wolf

Arctic Wolf

Arctic Wolf provides your team with 24x7 coverage, security operations expertise, and strategically tailored security recommendations to continuously improve your overall posture.
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