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CyberWire Daily

CISA Alert AA23-039A – ESXiArgs ransomware virtual machine recovery guidance. [CISA Cybersecurity Alerts]

CyberWire Daily

N2K Networks, Inc.

News, Tech News, Daily News, Technology

4.81.1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2023

⏱️ 3 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

CISA and the FBI are releasing this alert in response to the ongoing ransomware campaign, known as “ESXiArgs.” Malicious actors are exploiting known vulnerabilities in VMware ESXi servers that are likely running unpatched and out-of-service or out-of-date versions of VMware ESXi software to gain access and deploy ransomware. AA23-039A Alert, Technical Details, and Mitigations CISA has released an ESXiArgs recovery script at github.com/cisagov/ESXiArgs-Recover VMware Security Response Center (vSRC) Response to 'ESXiArgs' Ransomware Attack… Enes Sonmez and Ahmet Aykac, YoreGroup Tech Team: decrypt your crypted files in… See Stopransomware.gov, a whole-of-government approach, for ransomware resources and alerts. No-cost cyber hygiene services: Cyber Hygiene Services and Ransomware Readiness Assessment. See CISA Insights Mitigations and Hardening Guidance for MSPs and Small- and Mid-sized Businesses for guidance on hardening MSP and customer infrastructure. U.S. DIB sector organizations may consider signing up for the NSA Cybersecurity Collaboration Center’s DIB Cybersecurity Service Offerings, including Protective Domain Name System services, vulnerability scanning, and threat intelligence collaboration for eligible organizations. For more information on how to enroll in these services, email dib_defense@cyber.nsa.gov  To report incidents and anomalous activity or to request incident response resources or technical assistance related to these threats, contact CISA at report@cisa.gov, or call (888) 282-0870, or report incidents to your local FBI field office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

You're listening to the CyberWire Network, powered by N2K.

0:07.0

This is a CISA Cybersecurity Alert.

0:14.0

ID number Alpha Alpha 2-3-TAC 0-39 Alpha.

0:21.0

Original release date, February 8th, 2023.

0:25.0

CISA and the FBI are releasing this alert in response to the ongoing ransomware

0:32.2

campaign known as ESI ARGs.

0:35.9

Malicious actors are exploiting known vulnerabilities in VMware ESI servers that are likely running

0:41.6

unpatched and out-of-service or out-of-date versions of

0:44.8

VMware ES-X-I software to gain access and deploy ransomware. The ESXI ARGs

0:51.0

ransomware encrypts configuration files on ESI servers potentially rendering virtual machines

0:56.9

unusable.

0:58.8

CISA has released an ESI ARGs recovery script available for download on GitHub.

1:03.6

The verified link to this script can be found in the show notes.

1:06.7

Organizations that have fallen victim to ESXI Rgs ransomware can use this script to attempt

1:11.6

to recover their files.

1:13.0

The full alert documentation linked in the show notes provides additional guidance on how to use the script.

1:18.0

Malicious actors have compromised over 3,800 servers globally.

1:24.0

CISA and FBI encourage all organizations managing

1:27.0

VMware ESI servers to, update servers to the latest version of

1:32.0

VMware ESI software,

1:34.0

harden ESI hypervisors by disabling the service location protocol service,

1:39.0

and ensure the ESXI hypervisor is not exposed to the public internet.

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