E-Business
FireEye Inaugurates Labs Advanced Reverse Engineering Team, Challenge

FireEye, a renowned network security company, announced on Monday the formation of the FireEye Labs Advanced Reverse Engineering Team and Challenge, also known as FLARE
FireEye is known for the provision of automated threat forensics and dynamic malware protection against advanced cyber threats, such as advanced persistent threats and spear phishing.
Mike Sikorski, advanced malware, Threat Research, FireEye Inc., who made the announcement said that as part of FireEye Labs, the focus of the team is to support all of FireEye and Mandiant from a reverse engineering standpoint.
Many FireEye groups have reversing engineering needs: Global Services discovers malware during incident response, Managed Defense constantly discovers threats on monitored client networks, and Products benefit from in-depth reversing to help improve detection capabilities.
“We primarily focus on malware analysis, but we also perform red-teaming of software and organizations, and we develop tools to assist reverse engineering. Our research and tools assist with automatic malware triage to quickly get initial results out to incident responders in the field. Auto-unpackers unravel obfuscated samples without the need for an analyst.
“Automatic clustering and classifying samples helps identify if a binary is good or bad and whether we have analyzed it before. We develop reverse engineering scripts for IDA Pro and systems that help us quickly share our analysis results. We also write scripts that can help incident responders decrypt and interpret malware network traffic and host artifacts,” he said.
Sikorski added that the elite technical enclave of reversers, malware analysts, researchers, and teachers, will team up with our FireEye Labs peers to help bring the best detection to FireEye customers and promote knowledge sharing with the security research community.
“We’ll continue to provide technical training on malware analysis privately and at conferences like Black Hat. Look for us to present webinars on malware analysis and a blog series of scripts for IDA Pro to aid reverse engineering of malware,” he added.
On the challenge, he said, “To commemorate the launch, the FLARE team is hosting a challenge for all reverse engineers and malware analysts. We invite you to compete and test your skills. The challenge runs the gamut of skills we believe are necessary to succeed on the FLARE team. We invite everyone who is interested to solve the challenge and get their just reward!
“The puzzles were developed by Richard Wartell, a reverse engineer with a PhD in “IDA Pro” (actually Computer Science, but his thesis used IDA Pro) from the University of Texas at Dallas where he worked on binary rewriting techniques for the x86 instruction set. He recently presented this work at the REcon conference in Montreal. At Mandiant Richard focused on incident response, but now on the FLARE team he reverse engineers malware, teaches malware classes, and helps develop our auto-unpacking technology.
“As reverse engineers we’ve seen a variety of anti-reverse engineering techniques. Oftentimes the armoring malware authors employ is sophisticated and requires time to unravel. Sometimes it is misguided and easily circumvented.
“Writing these binary puzzles has given us a chance to recreate some of the sophisticated (and sometimes ridiculous) techniques we see. The seven puzzles start with basic skills and escalate quickly to more difficult reversing tasks. At FLARE we have to deal with whatever challenges come our way, so the challenge reflects this. If you take on the challenge you might see malicious PDFs, .NET binaries, obfuscated PHP, Javascript, x86, x64, PE, ELF, Mach-O, and so on.
“And after completing the final challenge, you’ll win a prize and be contacted by a FLARE team member”.
E-Business
Microsoft Server Hack Likely Solo Actor, Thousands at Risk

A widespread cyberattack targeting Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) server software used by thousands of government agencies and businesses for internal document sharing was likely orchestrated by a single actor, a cybersecurity researcher said on Monday.
Microsoft issued an alert on Saturday warning of “active attacks” on on-premise SharePoint servers.
The company clarified that SharePoint Online, part of the Microsoft 365 cloud suite, was not affected by the exploit, which is considered a “zero-day” vulnerability due to its previously undiscovered nature.
“Based on the consistency of the tradecraft seen across observed attacks, the campaign launched on Friday appears to be a single actor. However, it’s possible that this will quickly change,” Rafe Pilling, director of Threat Intelligence at Sophos, a British cybersecurity firm.
That tradecraft included the sending of the same digital payload to multiple targets, Pilling added.
Microsoft said it had “provided security updates and encourages customers to install them,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
It was not clear who was behind the ongoing hack. The FBI said on Sunday it was aware of the attacks and was working closely with its federal and private-sector partners, but offered no other details.
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Washington Post said unidentified actors in the past few days had exploited a flaw to launch an attack that targeted U.S. and international agencies and businesses.
According to data from Shodan, a search engine that helps to identify internet-linked equipment, over 8,000 servers online could theoretically have already been compromised by hackers.
Those servers include major industrial firms, banks, auditors, healthcare companies, and several U.S. state-level and international government entities.
“The SharePoint incident appears to have created a broad level of compromise across a range of servers globally,” said Daniel Card of British cybersecurity consultancy, PwnDefend.
“Taking an assumed breach approach is wise, and it’s also important to understand that just applying the patch isn’t all that is required here.”
E-Business
Flaw in Microsoft SharePoint Sparks Global Cybersecurity Concern

A Microsoft SharePoint server software flaw is causing widespread concern across the global cybersecurity landscape, exposing thousands of organisations to hackers exploiting a new vulnerability.
This critical vulnerability exposes government agencies, universities, and energy firms who are at risk of cyberattacks. The flaw, now being actively exploited by unidentified hackers, allows attackers to gain deep, remote access to on-premise SharePoint servers.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has confirmed that the vulnerability can enable malicious actors to access internal files, change configurations, and even execute remote code, effectively giving them high-level control over compromised systems.
Microsoft has also acknowledged the breach and released a security patch aimed at stopping the ongoing attacks. The firm urged users to apply the patch immediately, saying it is working to roll out additional protections, according to a statement reported by Bloomberg.
Despite these efforts, cybersecurity researchers warn that systems may remain vulnerable if attackers have already infiltrated networks, stolen authentication keys, or implanted persistent backdoors before patches were applied.
The United States hosts the highest number of these vulnerable systems, followed by the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
The Washington Post reported that the breach has already impacted a range of institutions, including U.S. federal and state agencies, academic institutions, energy companies, and a telecommunications firm in Asia.
This latest incident adds to a growing list of cybersecurity challenges facing Microsoft. In March, the company revealed that Chinese state-backed hackers had targeted its cloud-based services to infiltrate both U.S. and international organisations.
Last year, the U.S. Cyber Safety Review Board sharply criticised Microsoft’s internal security culture as ‘inadequate’ after a separate breach compromised its Exchange Online mail systems and exposed communications of high-level officials.
E-Business
NIMC Enrolls 122m for NIN, Cuts Extortion by 40 Percent

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said that it has reduced incidents of extortion and unofficial charges in the identity enrolment process by over 40 per cent.

Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general of NIMC,
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general of NIMC, who disclosed this at an event in Lagos at the weekend, attributed the drop to improved transparency in fee structure at the commission.
The CEO was represented by Lanre Yusuf, director, Information Technology and Identity Database, NINC.
The workshop, organised by the identity regulator in partnership with the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, focused on repositioning Nigeria’s digital identity landscape and combating misinformation.
According to Coker-Odusote, the sharp reduction in illicit charges is a direct result of reforms introduced by NIMC to curb racketeering and unauthorised payments, which have for years plagued the national identity registration process..
“Enrolment for the National Identification Number remains free. We have standardised modification and authentication fees, and these are publicly disclosed. Our enforcement of a transparent fee structure has resulted in a 40 per cent drop in extortion and unofficial charges,” the regulator said.
She explained that prior to her assumption of office, complaints about exploitative fees at enrolment centres were widespread, fuelling public distrust in the system.
However, she noted that the commission had since prioritised transparency and stakeholder accountability, ensuring that Nigerians no longer have to pay above the legally mandated fees. “We are addressing deep-rooted issues that once undermined public confidence in the enrolment process,” she said.
The NIMC chief added that the commission had introduced digital tools to reduce human interference in the registration process.
These include the NINAuth mobile app, the Self-Service NIN Enrolment and Modification app, and Contactless Biometric Solutions, all designed to make the system more efficient, secure, and user-friendly.
Coker-Odusote also reiterated the commission’s commitment to inclusion, stressing that no Nigerian should be left behind in the country’s digital identity transformation.
According to her, over 7,167 front-end enrolment agents and partners have been revalidated and retrained to serve the public professionally, with strict monitoring mechanisms now in place.
In addition, NIMC has deployed grievance redress officers across all 36 states to handle complaints from Nigerians about enrolment centres and agents, with a 24/7 toll-free line available to report any misconduct.
The reforms are part of broader efforts by the Commission to build a unified, secure, and people-centred digital identity system that facilitates access to government services, financial inclusion, social protection, and national planning.
Coker-Odusote called on media partners to support the Commission in disseminating accurate information, countering misinformation, and raising awareness about the benefits of digital identity.
“We are asking our partners in the media to help us combat fake news and promote transparency in the identity ecosystem. We need to ensure every Nigerian understands their rights and knows that their identity is key to accessing opportunities and services,” she said.
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