Threat Source newsletter (Feb. 2, 2023): I bid you all adieu

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Threat Source newsletter.

If you haven’t noticed yet we’ve had a few guest writers on this newsletter over the last few months. Alas my time covering the newsletter has ended and I leave you with one final edition. Have no fear, William Largent will be rounding out the guest appearances next week and your long-time host Jon Munshaw will be back at the helm. Thanks for sticking with us this long and if you’re newly subscribed welcome!

The one big thing

Next week will be our final installment of our 2022 Year in Review report coverage. We’ll be publishing a final topic summary on Ransomware and Commodity Loaders and follow up these reports with a livestream on LinkedIn and Twitter with report and subject matter experts.

Why do I care?

We published our full 2022 Year in Review early December. If you haven’t read it yet we highly suggest your download your copy here or check out our previous livestreams. Through these reports and videos we’ve broken down the threat landscape and trends Talos observed over 2022. What’s that saying, history repeats itself? Take a minute to look back and prepare for what lies ahead in 2023.

So now what?

Mark your calendar for our fourth and final livestream on Tuesday February 7^th at 12 PM EST. Read the report, browse the topic summaries, or watch our livestreams on demand. Looking for extra credit? Read through Talos’ Head of Outreach Nick Biasini’s future predictions of State Sponsored attacks in 2023.

Top security headlines of the week

Coming back from the dead yet again a new Lazaurs campaign has been found to exploit unpatched Zimbra devices targeting medical research and energy industries along with their supply chain partners in attempts to gather intelligence. Through unpatched devices the threat actors are gaining network access and escalation privileges. (SC Media)

Google’s official mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Google Fi, was in headlines due to a customer data breach via T-Mobile. Using technology to switch between cellular provides Google Fi provides constant coverage for customers through T-Mobile and US cellular. It’s reported the breach happened in November 2022 but wasn’t discovered until early January 2023. Customers have been notified but many questions remain, like are users still vulnerable? (TechCrunch)

Surprising quite literally no one, ChatGPT sets a record for the fastest-growing user base in history. Reaching an estimated 100 million active monthly users in December just two months after launch (yet every time I try to get it to write this newsletter it says the app is at capacity…). Whether you’re a user, a skeptic, or simply don’t care ChatGPT has stirred up a lot of attention lately, we’ll all just have to keep an eye on the evolution of ChatGPT. (Ars Techinca)