Happy SysAdmin day!

Hi and welcome to another Security weekly. Where we laugh, we cry, and I share the latest and greatest in security and tech news.

In this weeks edition:

• Sysadmins, rejoice!

• Belgium attacked by Chinese state backed hackers

• Cosmic Strand UEFI malware found in motherboards

• the quick and dirty

Reading time: 02:39

Sysadmin appreciation day is happening, and it's today!

Every last Friday of July it's the one day everybody's waiting for: SysAdmin Appreciation day!The day to thank the brothers and sisters who made sure our:

• security was up

• Internet didn't go down

• accounts were made

• passwords were reset

• computer were able to boot again

• printers kept on jamming printing

So get up, find your local sysadmin and hug them, ask how they're doing and give them something to eat and/or drink. Treat them like human, for once.Careful not to overdo it, or they might expect the same tomorrow.My opinion? While I do love there being a designated day, I think every day should be SysAdmin day.

Belgium attacked by Chinese state backed hackers

As some of you may know, I'm Belgian. Yes, there it is. I said it. Belgian.I'm not exactly the type to start my day by singing the national anthem, but when the news reached me that Chinese state backed hackers targeted my beautiful country..THINGS.GOT.PERSONAL.

Not really though, and what could I do? Send an angry letter?Don't tempt me, I might.Either way, last week the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published an article that they were recently targeted by Chinese Adanced Persistent Threats (APT).The activities found could be linked to hacker groups APT27, APT30, UNSC 2814, GALLIUM and SOFTCELL.I think we can all agree these names could use an update. Where's the creativity?You think if they ever make Die Hard 27 the bad guy is named UNSC 2814? Hell naw.Some suggestions:

• ChineseHackerGroup_69

• EvilHack0rsFromHell

• My_Little_Pwny (fan favorite)

Cosmic Strand UEFI malware found in motherboards

Something a bit more worrying though. Researchers from security research company Kaspersky found malware to reside in the UEFI bios from ASUS and GIGABYTE motherboards. It got the rather elusive name Cosmic Strand.

The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) software is what connects a computer’s operating system with the firmware of the underlying hardware. Still don't get it?CPU GO BRR

Anyway, why do I call this worrying?Most anti virus/malware applications focus on the Operating System itself.When a device is booted up, the UEFI Bios loads, connects the hardware to the OS, and then boots up the OS.So if a malware is able to launch before the OS is launched, it essentially bypasses any security controls in place.Luckily this is nothing new under the sun. Companies like Kaspersky offer additional features on their anti-virus solutions able to boot together with the UEFI, being able to stop these threats.

The quick and dirty

• T-Mobile-US Agree To Pay $350m Settlement Over 2021 Cyberattack. That's a hefty amount. I hope this encourages companies to invest more in information security controls.

• Phishing Attacks Skyrocket with Microsoft and Facebook as Most Abused Brands. Probably doesn't come as a surprise that the biggest platforms are being targeted the most. When in doubt, don't click.

• Chrome use subject to restrictions in Dutch schools over data security concerns. Good. I don't like Google's data policy at all.

Security like I'm five

Don't have time for hours of research? Don't have 20 years of experience in security? Me neither, but I gotchu fam.In Security like I'm five I cover a range of security topics. I do all the hard work, and explain it to you in a practical matter. Lot's of meme's too. Good stuff, good stuff.So sign up for the newsletter and be enlightened! (kinda, don't set the bar too high tho)