Author: HackWatchit

Brian King // Recon-ng had a major update in June 2019, from 4.9.6 to 5.0.0. This post is meant to help with the adjustment by providing a cheat sheet for common commands and mapping of some old syntax to the new syntax. If you’re at all like me, you’ll assume that what you know from the 4.x version will help you get up to speed on 5.x. And you’ll be wrong. If you instead treat Recon-ng 5.x as if it’s a completely new tool, you’ll be fine. Forget what you know about the 4.x version. Visit the Recon-ng wiki on…

As we look ahead to 2025, the world of cyber security is set to undergo significant changes. Attackers are becoming increasingly more sophisticated with the use of AI, making phishing emails even more convincing and enabling the daunting creation of cloned personal identities. This shift from traditional identity theft to much more complex techniques poses new challenges on both individuals and businesses. Additionally, the landscape of identity and permissions management is evolving, underscoring the importance of a proactive and comprehensive approach to cyber security. This includes leveraging advanced technology, maintaining continuous monitoring, and fostering a strong culture of security awareness…

Have you ever heard the saying, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t”? In short, it’s better to take a risk with something or someone you understand. In cybersecurity, that’s not really the case. The devils we know are known vulnerabilities, documented holes or weaknesses in software and applications, and they’re both growing in number and still capable of wreaking havoc. According to Statista, the number of common vulnerabilities and exploits (CVEs) discovered per year is steadily increasing, with just over 29,000 discovered in 2023; as of August of this year, 25,583 more vulnerabilities have been added…

cornerstone of any machine learning product. Investing in quality measurement delivers significant returns. Let’s explore the potential business benefits. As management consultant and writer Peter Drucker once said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Building a robust evaluation system helps you identify areas for improvement and take meaningful actions to enhance your product. Llm evaluations are like testing in software engineering — they allow you to iterate faster and more safely by ensuring a baseline level of quality. A solid quality framework is especially crucial in highly regulated industries. If you’re implementing AI or LLMs in areas like fintech…

The National Security Agency (NSA) published findings from a recent study addressing the increasing cybersecurity risks to OT (operational technology) systems due to their growing dependence on IT and integrated communications. These risks are critical for National Security Systems (NSS), where OT disruptions could endanger missions, public safety, and cause major financial losses. The study focused on strengthening smart controllers, advanced embedded OT devices, with rigorous technical security requirements. Using qualitative research, data mapping, and comparative analysis, the NSA identified security gaps between NIST controls and ISA standards and proposed enhanced requirements to close these gaps. The report titled ‘Operational…

Two vulnerabilities impacting Craft CMS were chained together in zero-day attacks to breach servers and steal data, with exploitation ongoing, according to CERT Orange Cyberdefense. The vulnerabilities were discovered by Orange Cyberdefense’s CSIRT, which was called in to investigate a compromised server. As part of the investigation, they discovered that two zero-day vulnerabilities impacting Craft CMS were exploited to breach the server: CVE-2025-32432: A remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Craft CMS. CVE-2024-58136: An input validation flaw in the Yii framework used by Craft CMS. According to a report by SensePost, the ethical hacking team of Orange Cyberdefense, the threat actors chained…

In the world of cybersecurity, we’ve all encountered those articles: lists that tell us the top ten metrics to track to improve performance, strengthen security posture or communicate and impress the board. Many of these lists include metrics such as MTTD, MTTR and Average Vendor Security Rating as a few examples. The purpose of these lists is to help us understand where we are, map where we are heading, and work with our peers to reduce risk and exposure to threats. The cybersecurity industry is still grappling with the rather new challenge of finding the right recipe for the right metrics.…

A new executive order introduces Civil Service Rule XI, aimed at strengthening the use of probationary and trial periods to assess the fitness of newly hired Federal employees before their appointments are finalized. Background and RationaleProbationary periods (for competitive service) and trial periods (for excepted service) have long served as mechanisms for agencies to evaluate new employees. However, reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that these periods have not always been used effectively, sometimes resulting in tenure for employees who may not meet performance expectations. In response, the Merit Systems Protection Board recommended in a 2005 report that…

On this webcast, we’ll guide you through an iterative process of building and deploying effective and practical Group Policy Objects (GPOs) that increase security posture. Slides for this webcast can be found here: https://www.blackhillsinfosec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SLIDES_GroupPoliciesThatKillKillChains.pdf 0:45 Introducing what a kill chain is and general background you need for this webcast 15:53 Getting into group policies, best practices, group policies that we’re not covering today but you should be doing already 20:56 Local admin controls, honey accounts, LAPS, making a policy for admin groups 27:02 Addressing LLMNR, SMB signing, configuring host firewalls 33:43 Limiting and restricting logons, configuring your web proxies/WPAD, logging…