BlackByte ransomware disables security solutions via Windows drivers

Sicherheit (Pexels, allgemeine Nutzung)[German]The developers of the BlackByte ransomware exploit a vulnerability in a legitimate Windows driver (from Micro-Star's MSI AfterBurner 4.6.2.15658) to bypass security solutions. Security researchers from Sophos recently pointed this out in a report. This technique is known as BYOVD (Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver) attack and is nothing new. However, I would like to raise the issue here as a renewed warning.

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Outlook 365 Outbox: Online mode no longer possible for shared mailboxes

[German]Call for help from a blog reader struggling with Outlook 365 and shared mailboxes. In Outlook clients, online mode is no longer possible with shared mailboxes. Mails are no longer moved from the Outbox to the Sent Mail folder. The question that arises: Do any other readers have this or is the problem in the blog reader's environment.

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Lansweeper Windows 11 Readyness-Test: Almost 50% of systems still incompatible in October 2022

Windows[German]Vendor Lansweeper has presented an analysis of the market one year after the release of Windows 11. This analysis examined whether the existing hardware equipment of the devices is compatible with Windows 11. The result doesn't really surprise me, but almost half of the existing hardware in the field is not compatible with Windows 11 because CPU, RAM or TPM and Secure Boot do not meet Microsoft's specifications.

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Microsoft kills Office; it's branded Microsoft 365 in the future

[German]During the Ignite 2022 conference, it also became known that the strategists from Redmond want to abandon the Office product brand. The applications previously marketed under Microsoft Office will be offered under the name Microsoft 365 in the future.

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Outlook bugs: Fix for contacts overlay; workaround for password problem

[German]Brief addendum from this week for Outlook users or administrators. Microsoft seems to have fixed the bug that the Outlook Contacts view covers "People" windows as of October 11, 2022. Also, I have a workaround for the problem with Outlook suddenly requesting a password to sync with the email server. Both issues had been addressed in posts here on the blog.

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Security vendor Dream Security foundet by Sebastian Kurz and ex-NSO chief Shalev Hulio

Sicherheit (Pexels, allgemeine Nutzung)[German]It is a start-up in the security sector that makes you sit up and take notice, but at the same time (at least for me) makes you shake your head. There is a new security company Dream Security that wants to focus on protecting critical infrastructure – especially in European countries. The founders are Sebastian Kurz (ex-Chancellor of Austria) and Shalev Hulio (ex-head of spyware provider NSO).

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Google faces new fine for EU competition violations in 2023

[German]The European Commission (EU)  is planning another antitrust case against Google in 2023. It is again about Google's digital advertising business and the EU competition authorities may impose the fourth fine in the EU amounting to more than one billion euros.  This is reported by Reuters news agency with reference to people familiar with the matter.

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Microsoft back ports brute force protection of administrator accounts for Windows

Windows[German]Microsoft has back ported a group policy from Windows 11/Windows Server 2022, to protect local administrator accounts against brute-force attacks, to all supported Windows versions. This feature will be available with the Windows security updates released on October 11, 2022. This is intended to make one of the three most common methods of attacking Windows computers today more difficult. This is because administrators can use Group Policy to specify that an administrator account should be locked after a certain number of logon attempts.

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Windows 11 22H2: Windows Hello upgrade blocker will be lifted in mid-October 2022

Windows[German]If the upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 is not offered on actually compatible machines, the cause may be a problem with Windows Hello. Microsoft has confirmed this in its own October 10, 2022 status post. However, the problem can be fixed with an update – and therefore Microsoft wants to

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Fortinet Advisory about an authentication bypass vulnerability CVE-2022-40684

Sicherheit (Pexels, allgemeine Nutzung)[German]There is an authentication bypass vulnerability CVE-2022-40684 in the FortiGate firewalls, FortiProxy web proxies and FortiSwitch Manager (FSWM) that allows attackers to access the products without authentication. Fortinet had already warned in early October 2022 – but attacks on the systems are probably taking place in the meantime. Administrators should check the affected products for compromise as soon as possible and secure the systems.

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