---
title: "Cyber Security News Update, Week 24 of 2020 | DuoCircle"
description: "You know it’s a bad week when the two people running for President of the United States are as likely to get phished as anyone else."
image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png"
canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/announcements/cyber-security-news-update-week-24-of-2020/"
---

Quick Answer

Google's Threat Analysis Group reported that Chinese APT31 and Iranian APT35 are running phishing campaigns against staff for both the Biden and Trump 2020 campaigns. Recruiters are being targeted by fake CVs that deliver the More\_eggs backdoor. GoDaddy disclosed an October 2019 incident in which an attacker accessed about 28,000 hosting accounts via SSH. Austrian traffic-tech firm SWARCO was hit by ransomware affecting traffic-management systems. The University of California San Francisco paid $1.14 million to recover files encrypted by the Netwalker gang, and printing vendor Conduent disclosed a separate Maze attack. Verizon's 2020 DBIR was also covered: 86% of breaches were financially motivated, and 67% involved credential theft, errors, or social engineering.

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![Cyber Security](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/06/spf-record-6275.jpg) 

_You know it’s a bad week when the two people running for President of the United States are as likely to get phished as anyone else_. From [SC Magazine](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/government-and-defense/election-coverage/chinese-iranian-phishing-campaigns-target-biden-trump-campaigns/), “according to the Google Threat Analysis Group (TAG), both are the targets of **phishing campaigns** by nation-states like China and Iran. Recently TAG saw China APT group targeting Biden campaign staff & Iran APT targeting Trump campaign staff with phishing.” Stay safe out there.

## Fake CV Scam

_Hackers seem to always prey on the most vulnerable, like those desperately looking for a job_. For those who are, it’s time to look out for the **fake CV phishing scam**. According to [CISO Magazine](/phishing-protection/a-ransom-may-not-be-the-most-expensive-part-of-a-phishing-attack/), “Researchers have discovered that in May 2020, _nearly 250 new domains have been registered that consist of the word ’employment._‘”

[![email security services](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/06/What-is-a-DMARC_-2738.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/06/What-is-a-DMARC%5F-2738.jpg)

“_The cybercriminals lure potential victims into opening malicious .xls attachments_, firstly by naming the files as a person’s name, which indicated that it is that person’s CV and secondly by using **phishing email** subject lines such as ‘applying for a job’.” Be careful if you do not have [email security services](/) installed.

## GoDaddy Scam

_A lot of people use GoDaddy to host their website and send email_. Hackers know it and so it was only a matter of time before they targeted GoDaddy customers. From [Scamicide](https://scamicide.com/2020/06/05/scam-of-the-day-june-6-2020-dangerous-godaddy-phishing-email/), an “_email presently being sent to unsuspecting people that appears to come from GoDaddy_. This particular **phishing email** is sent from an email address that appears to be that of GoDaddy although it is not a real email address used by GoDaddy.”

## Phishing Phrontier

_Almost two thirds of all websites on the internet use WordPress to build the website_. So, it shouldn’t come as a shock if **hackers target WordPress** for exploitation, and that’s exactly what happened [recently](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/attack-targeted-database-credentials-on-1-3-million-wordpress-sites/).

“A massive attack at the end of May targeted the database credentials of some **1.3 million WordPress sites**. _The vast majority of the attacks are on outdated plugins and website themes_.” Keep those WordPress plugins and themes up to date.

## SWARCO Breach

What if hackers could control traffic lights? Can you imagine the havoc they could cause? Well, it’s not just a theoretical discussion anymore. According to [Security Week](https://www.securityweek.com/critical-vulnerability-could-have-allowed-hackers-disrupt-traffic-lights), “_A critical vulnerability affecting traffic light controllers made by SWARCO could have been exploited by hackers to disrupt a city’s traffic lights_. SWARCO is an Austria-based company that specializes in traffic management, traffic safety, road marking and other solutions typically found in smart cities. _Its products have been deployed in over 70 countries around the world_.” Yeah.

## Body Count

When a data breach can lead to a [class action lawsuit](https://www.hipaajournal.com/aveanna-healthcare-facing-class-action-lawsuit-over-2019-phishing-attack/), it’s surprising to still see so many data breaches of personally identifiable information (PII), but here we are again.

From [SC Magazine](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/data-breach/san-francisco-benefits-program-breach-exposes-pii-on-74000/), “A breach of the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) may have exposed the information of **74,000 members**, including names, addresses, birth dates, banking and IRS data as well as details on beneficiaries.”

## UCSF & Conduent Scam

SFERS wasn’t the only San Francisco organization hit this week. Also from [SC Magazine](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/ucsf-conduent-are-latest-to-suffer-the-slings-and-arrows-of-ransomware/), “Academic health research institution the University of California, San Francisco and business process services company Conduent have _emerged as two of the latest prominent victims of organized ransomware attacks_.”

These were the worst kind of attacks. “_These ransomware operators not only encrypt their targets’ files, but also publish stolen files on a piecemeal basis unless and until the victim pays up_.” Bad week to have inadequate data security in San Francisco.

## Data Breaches Facts

[![Article](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/06/check-DMARC-record-3584.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/06/check-DMARC-record-3584.jpg)

How bad were the last two years for data breaches? From an [article](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/06/04/cybercriminals-exposed-5-billion-records-in-2019/) on Help Net Security, “_Cybercriminals exposed over **5 billion records** in 2019, costing over **$1.2 trillion to U.S**. organizations_, according to ForgeRock. Coupled with breaches in 2018 costing over $654 billion, breaches over the last two years have cost U.S. organizations over **$1.8 trillion**.” That’s trillion with a “T”.

You’ll never guess the most targeted industry. If you guessed healthcare, go to the head of the class.

And that’s the week that was.

![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) 

Brad Slavin 

General Manager

General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio.

## Secure your email infrastructure

Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution.

[Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) 

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