Going Old School, Dropping Like Flies, Seeking Out New Territories, Cunning Disguises, Old Foes, and Wiley Adversaries. It's CISO Intelligence for Wednesday, 23rd July 2025. (DRAFT)

Table of Contents

1. The Good, the Bad, and the Encoding: The Wild West of SS7 Bypass Attacks
2. Ding Dong, Two More Gone: The Grim Reality of Ransomware
3. The SOC Files: Rumble in the Jungle or APT41’s New Target in Africa
4. Android's Double-Edged Sword - From VPN to Privacy Leaks
5. The Black Screen of Death Rises Again: Windows 11 Strikes Back!
6. Howling at Vulnerabilities: The Coyote Malware Tale

The Good, the Bad, and the Encoding: The Wild West of SS7 Bypass Attacks

SS7 Attacks: Because apparently villainous plot twists aren’t exclusive to Spaghetti Westerns.

What You Need to Know

As telecom companies battle to secure their networks, new SS7 bypass attack techniques have been surfacing, posing a serious threat. These attacks manipulate an outdated protocol to potentially bypass current defenses. C-suite executives need to fortify their telecom communication strategies and allocate resources for enhancing security against these vulnerabilities.

CISO Focus: Telecom Security, Network Protocol Vulnerability
Sentiment: Negative
Time to Impact: Immediate to Short Term

In the shadowy underworld of telecommunications, Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) shows that what you don't know can hurt you. Originally designed for seamless communication between telephone networks globally, it's become a treasure trove for cyber attackers. With SS7 bypass attacks, our digital Spaghetti Western, hackers have found their goldmine through persisting vulnerabilities in one of the world's core communication protocols. It's urgent to break down these uncanny operations and reinforce our defenses before they become the headline act in your organization's cybersecurity scene.

The Threat Landscape

Harking back to its inception in the 1970s, SS7 was never built with today's cyberspace marauders in mind, leaving it a sitting duck for cyber ploys. This covert protocol, while enabling telecom interaction across borders, massively lacks in the security department.

• Core Vulnerabilities: Attacks exploiting SS7 vulnerabilities can intercept calls, siphon sensitive login credentials, manipulate user accounts, and even conduct financial fraud. The old protocol’s misconfiguration offers a backdoor for such exploits.

• Emerging Bypass Techniques: Attackers continually craft innovative techniques to dodge ramped-up defenses. These methods can often slip under the radar, evading detection due to their use of legitimate but maliciously routed SS7 commands, presenting a formidable challenge to security teams.

Immediate Need for Robust Defenses

Given the ongoing evolution of SS7 bypass techniques, the tech community, especially entities relying on extensive telecom networks like financial institutions and service providers, must prioritize reinforcing their security frameworks.

• Implementing Layered Security Measures: Multi-layered security can add resilience against these intrusions. Organizations must ensure real-time monitoring and integrate anomaly detection systems for continuous threat assessment.

• Industry Collaboration: Sharing threat intelligence and developing coordinated response strategies with industry peers can cut down the experimental ground attackers thrive on, reducing the time taken to react and retaliate against such threats.

• Invest in Stateful Firewalls and Advanced Encryption: Employ stateful firewalls that can discern unauthorized SS7 request patterns. Furthermore, encrypt all communications that could intersect with telecom networks to prevent exposure through common attack vectors.

Are You Prepared for a Showdown?

• Telecom Vendor Vetting: Organizations should diligently vet their vendors to ensure compliance with latest security regulations. Ensure that they conduct regular security audits and are transparent about their security protocols.

• Incident Response Readiness: Equip your security teams to promptly detect and mitigate attacks through advanced threat intelligence and hone-in on response times. Educate employees and stakeholders about current threats to foster a vigilant ecosystem.

• Regular Protocol Updates: While SS7 is antiquated, staying abreast of protocol enhancements, such as the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), could help bridge the security gap left by SS7.

Vendor Diligence Questions

1. How frequently do you evaluate and update your security measures against evolving SS7 threats?
2. What specific technologies do you employ to monitor and detect unauthorized SS7 activity?
3. Can you provide evidence of your compliance with global telecom security standards and incident response strategies?

Action Plan

For teams reporting to the CISO, here's an action agenda to mitigate SS7 risks effectively:

• Conduct Comprehensive Security Audits: Examine your existing infrastructure for SS7 vulnerabilities.
• Enhance Monitoring Systems: Deploy AI-driven security analytics to identify and respond to suspicious SS7 traffic.
• Facilitate Cross-Departmental Workshops: Run frequent workshops with relevant teams to ensure everyone is updated on SS7 threat dynamics and defense mechanisms.

In the turbulent telecom landscape, the SS7 story is no less riveting than a classic old Western showdown – and staying prepared might just keep your organization from riding off into a cybersecurity sunset.

Source:

1. ENEA. "The Good, the Bad, and the Encoding: An SS7 Bypass Attack." July 14, 2025. Retrieved from https://www.enea.com/insights/the-good-the-bad-and-the-encoding-an-ss7-bypass-attack
2. Team Cymru Information Security Articles.
3. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Guidelines on SS7 vulnerabilities.