Explanation of the Current Alert Level of GUARDED
The alert level is the overall current threat level.
On May 18, the Cyber Threat Alert Level was evaluated and is remaining at Blue (Guarded) due to vulnerabilities in Adobe, HP, Zyxel, SonicWall and Apple products. On May 11, the MS-ISAC released two advisories. The first advisory was for multiple vulnerabilities in F5 Networks, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. The second advisory was for a vulnerability in specific HP PC BIOS that could allow for local arbitrary code execution. On May 16, the MS-ISAC released two advisories. The first advisory was for a vulnerability in Zyxel Firewall and VPN that could allow for arbitrary code execution. The second advisory was for multiple vulnerabilities in SonicWall SSL VPN SMA1000 series, that could allow for authentication bypass. On May 17, the MS-ISAC released an advisory for multiple vulnerabilities in Apple products, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. Organizations and users are advised to update and apply all appropriate vendor security patches to vulnerable systems and to continue to update their antivirus signatures daily. Another line of defense includes user awareness training regarding the threats posed by attachments and hypertext links contained in emails especially from un-trusted sources.
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In Q2 2019 the MS-ISACobserved a 55% increase in the quantity of reported breaches when compared to the previous quarter and 53% decrease year to year. The significant decrease year to year is attributed to the absence of third-party breaches affecting multiple educational entities. The education sector experienced the most breaches, accounting for 71% of the breaches in Q2. The most prolific identified vector in Q2 was phishing, accounting for a combined 30% of reported breaches. The MS-ISAC did not identify any reports of W2 phishing scams affecting SLTT governments in Q2 2019, scams of this nature typically phase out in the second half the year.
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The information on this page is maintained by our Security Operations Center, which is part of MS-ISAC and EI-ISAC.