PC Pro - UK 2021-12)

freelanceassociatesratherthanthe
corecriminalgangitself.These
affiliatesoperateonapercentage
basis,gettingacutofanyransom
paidinreturnfortheirwork.
Likemostcriminals,theyalsohave
apenchantfortakingtheeasiestroute
toriches.Whichmeansthatifthey
canbuythatinitialaccesstoa
network,thentheywill.Giventhe
obscenevalueofransomsbeingpaid,
thespeculativeoutlaycanbevery
profitableindeed.IABsactasthe
brokerbetweencybercriminalswho
havealreadygainedillegitimate
accesstoanetworkandthosewho
wishtoemploythatentrypoint.
MyfriendIanThornton-Trump,
whodoeshavethreatintelligence
specialistonhisjobdescriptionandis
CISOatCyjax,toldmetherearefour
primaryvectorsthatareusedtoput
theseinitialaccesspackagestogether.
Thefirstissimplythevalidationof
existingcredentialsthathavebeen
exposedbyabreachandnotchanged.
Thenthere’svulnerability
exploitationtoyieldsuchvalid
credentialsaccess.Bruteforceattacks
onexposedservicesisanother.
Mostworryingly,andwhatIan
describesasbeingamost“lucrative
cybercriminalplay”,ispurchasing
credentialsfromacurrentorformer
employee.Whichmakesthepoint
aboutaquarterofpeoplestillhaving
accesstotheiroldjob-related
accountsevenmoreofconcern:if
someoneleavesyouremploy,make
sureyouremovetheiraccessand
changeanysharedcredentials.
Howbigamarketisthis?Huge,
accordingtotworecentreports.One,
fromIntsights(pcpro.link/ 326 ints),
revealedthatwhilecredentialscould
bepurchasedfor$240atthecheapest
endofthescale,theaverageis$10,0 00
wheredetailedcapabilitiessuchasthe
transfer,deliveryandexecutionof
filesandaccesstoActiveDirectory
wereconcerned.
Thesecondreport,fromKELA
(pcpro.link/ 326 kela),foundan
exampleofadminaccesstoalarge
enterprisesellingfortheequivalent
of$500,000inBitcoin.Mitigationis
theusualfollowingofsecuritybasics
and,asIanputsit,“multi-factor
authenticateallthethings”.

Continuedfrompreviouspage

“The 3 D

scannerfor

teethisjust

thelatestin

alonglineof

devices”

Steveisaconsultant

whospecialisesin

networks,cloud,and

humanresources

@stardotpro

STEVECASSIDY

“Myteetharenowfixable

byalaptop,anemailaddress

andsomeacrylic”

InwhichStevegazesinwonderattherapidimprovementindentistry

technologybeforeexposingtheflawsinacompany’semailprocedures

B

elow,foryouredificationand

delight,isa3Dscanofyour

correspondent’steeth.Or,tobe

moreaccurate,asmartphonepicture

ofaremote-accessscreenapplogged

inoverWi-FitoaDelllaptoprunning

imagingsoftwaredrivenbyathing

thatlookslikeahandheldfoodmixer,

connectedviaUSB.Don’tworry:Ican

getthroughthethingsIwanttosay

aboutthisamazinggadgetwithout

havingtotellyouanygorydental

detailsofwhathappenedtomein

centralLondonduringthepandemic.

RichardKahanistheoperatorof

thedevice.I’vediscussedhimafew

timesduetohisloveoftechnology:

hissmallclassroomwithMicrosoft

Surfaceworkstationswashelping

studentsmanipulateexact 3 D

modelsoftroublesometeethhalfa

decadeagoormore.It’sinteresting

tonotethedifferencesbetween

thenandnow.Perhapsthemost

importantadvancementhasbeen

thatthoseoriginal,spinnable,gaily

multicolouredteethwere3Dmodels,

craftedinaneditingmoduleofa

renderingpackage.Astheysayinall

theleastwatchablevideosabout

dentistry,“norealteethwereharmed

inthemakingofthisprogramme”.

Comebanguptodate,andtheneedto

constructexampleteethfromscratch

insoftwarehasdisappeared.

Thescannertookawhiletosettle

down,butoncewefiguredoutthatit

didn’tlikethesuper-intensedentist’s

workinglight,itbecamequite

astonishinglyaccurate.Notonlydidit

alreadyhavesomeideaoftheshapeit

wastryingtoacquire(theclassic

double-Uofupperandlowerhuman

jaw),butthe3Dviewonscreenwould

jumpaboutorgrowspindlygreen

arrowstotellRichardwheretoput

thesensorheadnext.

Asmentioned,Richardhas

somethingofamedicaltech

obsession.The3Dscannerforteethis

justthelatestinalonglineofdevices

thatstretchesfrombigplasma

screens,totheSurface-based

schoolroom,totheoriginalreasonI

wassenttohim:a3DX-raydevice

thatmakesacompletemapofthejaw,

andincidentallyplaysBeethoven’s

FürElisewhiledoingso.Thecontrast

betweenthatmachine(stillinuse,

stillinaroomofitsown)andthenew

tooth-level,non-X-raydeviceis

somethingofasurprise.Torunthe

X-raymachinetakesabigfatDell

workstation,withsomecustom

expansionboardsandaconfiguration

thatmakesthemachine’scarerjump

suddenlyandyell“DON’TTOUCH

THAT!”wheneverI’mnearit.

Thenewscanner?Itsitsontheend

ofathinUSBcableattachedtoanice

Delllaptop.It’ssotolerantandaware

ofthewaythingscangoinadentist’s

officethatthelaptophitzerobattery

andthesoftwarecloseddownasthe

machinehibernated,withattendant

BELOWThestateof

dentistrytechnology

hashugelyimproved

inlessthanadecade

ABOVEYourhumblecorrespondent’steethnow

in3Dandglorioustechnicolour

[email protected]