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Four weeks in, and the Marks & Spencer and HSBC cyber crisis shows no sign of resolution. Despite involvement from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and CrowdStrike, critical vulnerabilities remain unpatched, exposing sensitive PII (Personally Identifiable Information) and financial data.
You Should Know:
1. Detecting DNS and Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
Many breaches stem from unsecured DNS configurations and exposed internet-facing assets. Use these commands to check for vulnerabilities:
Linux (DNS Enumeration):
nslookup example.com dig example.com ANY host -t mx example.com dnsrecon -d example.com -t std
Windows (Network Security Check):
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName example.com -Port 443 Resolve-DnsName -Name example.com -Type A
2. Identifying Open Ports & Services
Run a Nmap scan to detect exposed services:
nmap -sV -T4 -p- example.com
3. Monitoring Data Exfiltration Attempts
Check for unusual outbound traffic (Linux):
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 'dst port 53 or 80 or 443' -w traffic.pcap
4. Hardening Web Servers (Apache/Nginx)
Prevent SQLi and XSS attacks by enforcing strict headers:
add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"; add_header X-Frame-Options "DENY"; add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'";
5. Checking for Active Breaches (Log Analysis)
Search for suspicious login attempts in /var/log/auth.log:
grep "Failed password" /var/log/auth.log | awk '{print $9}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr
What Undercode Say:
The Marks & Spencer and HSBC breach underscores systemic failures in cyber governance. Key takeaways:
– DNS misconfigurations remain a leading cause of breaches.
– Prolonged incident response worsens reputational damage.
– Financial institutions must adopt real-time threat monitoring.
Expected Output:
- A hardened DNS configuration.
- Detection of unauthorized data exfiltration.
- Improved board-level cyber accountability.
Prediction:
Without immediate action, HSBC and retail giants will face another major breach within 12 months, leading to stricter GDPR fines and customer attrition.
References:
Reported By: Andy Jenkinson – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
