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Australia is Battling another Global Bug

The COVID-19 virus is affecting all aspects of our lives, and now a second bug is in the wild.


Hospitals and businesses that have employees who work at a distance or are on the move are at the forefront of the problem.


Over the Christmas break The Australian Immunisation Register, the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme portals required urgent updates.


They have been winning the battle against intruders so far.


"We're not aware of any information being shared by third-party vendors and we continue to work with developers to transition," Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen told AAP.


But a first pass by experts who are scanning for intrusion may not be enough to safeguard against malicious attacks.


In addition to being a "real and imminent threat" hackers are skulking within software systems, and could lurk for a long time, cyber detectives warn.


Cyber threats are growing as more people turn to the internet to earn a living and live. The Log4j vulnerability is a particular risk.


A vulnerability in a component of software affects the Log4j Java system, which millions of Australians use, often unknowingly, on their home and work computers, mobile phones or other seemingly safe apps.


Microsoft recommends regular review and scans to detect new bouts of malicious codes and messaging.


Microsoft states that "Due to the multitude of software and services affected as well as the pace of updates, it is likely that this will be an extended period of time before remediation and will require continuous, sustainable vigilance."


This week, the United States announced that it would sue companies that aren't protected against the bug or its variants.


Australia is likely to do it if its laws allowed such decisive action.


The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states that the vulnerability is being widely exploited by a growing set of attackers, creating a severe danger to millions of users of consumer products, enterprise software and web applications.


Experts believe that China-based organizations Hafnium, Aquatic Panda, and hackers with a base in Iran quickly launched attacks after the first flaw that was discovered in December.


"When vulnerabilities are discovered and exploited, they could lead to the loss or compromise of personal information, financial losses, and other irreversible harms," the FTC warned in a blog post.


The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warns that no single action will fix the problem.


The obligation to act is outlined by US law that applies to Australian organisations that operate in the United States.


According to the FTC it will make use of its "full legal power" to prosecute companies that fail take reasonable steps to safeguard consumer data from being exposed due to Log4j or similar vulnerabilities in the near future.


When credit firm Equifax failed to patch an issue that was well-known and exposed the personal data of 147 million consumers, it had to pay a settlement of $US700 million ($A974 million)


Services Australia, which is responsible for the health and data of millions of Australians, is linked to hospitals, aged homes and other service providers. Their systems are flexible, but are often fragile.


Remote access software for data and applications including the MobileIron products that are used in Australia and around the world has proven to be an easy entry point for intrusionists.


The Australian Industry Group has warned that a wide range of apps are vulnerable to attack, affecting businesses, individuals and supply chains for business.


"A hole in their defences could allow malicious actors to create malicious "logs' which could take control of computer systems and data," Ai Group says.


The United Kingdom, United States, Canada and New Zealand are also fighting the bug and its variants.


The UK's National Health Service warned that the Log4Shell vulnerability in MobileIron products was actively targeted and exploited.


Software developers and organisations, including Java's Apache and MobileIron, have acted swiftly.


Apple's iCloud as well as the game distribution platform Steam and Minecraft have also patched up holes.


Australia's Employment Minister Stuart Robert has encouraged all businesses to take the issue seriously.


He said, "It's a serious virus and serious malware"


"I've been encouraging all businesses to take a step of urgency to ensure their servers, particularly their web servers, and any of their remote access devices through MobileIron are patched appropriately and they must do it now."


Australian companies, universities and all government agencies have been advised to, at minimum, follow the steps to scan and update software to safeguard themselves.
MINECRAFT SERVERS

Microsoft claims that it has seen a number of attackers add these vulnerabilities to existing malware kits and techniques. This includes keyboards that are used for hands-on attacks.


"Organisations may not realise their environment is already compromised," the firm says.


"At this point, customers should assume that broad availability of scan and exploit codes is an immediate threat to their environments."


A lot of Australia's health and old care providers make claims on taxpayer funds by using the ageing business to government (B2G) software. They were warned to respond, but they might have not received the message.


"We recommend that you switch your customers to web services as soon as possible," Services Australia said in a letter to developers in December's final days.


"The agency is determined to get away from the old adaptor technology for online claiming as soon as possible.


"This is becoming more urgent in light of the globalization of Java vulnerability."


A parliamentary panel of the Federal government heard last summer that the agency blocks around 14 million suspicious emails per month and has to perform security reviews, updates and patches to fix bugs.


Services Australia is now working closely with the Australian Cyber Security Centre on the ever-changing threat.


Mr Jongen declared that Services Australia would continue to implement the ACSC's mitigation and detecting recommendations.


"The ACSC are working with all vendors to ensure that Log4j vulnerabilities are identified and reduced.