Emirates NBD Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (EMI1768217746)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the Emirates NBD breach identified under incident ID EMI1768217746.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of Emirates NBD's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emirates-nbd, the number of followers: 1360149, the industry type: Banking and the number of employees: 24743 employees

After the initial compromise, the video explains how Rankiteo's incident engine converts technical details into a normalized incident score. The incident score before the incident was 814 and after the incident was 812 with a difference of -2 which is could be a good indicator of the severity and impact of the incident.

In the next step of the video, we will analyze in more details the incident and the impact it had on Emirates NBD and their customers.

Emirates NBD recently reported "WhatsApp Zero-Day Security Breach Targeting UAE Banking Customers", a noteworthy cybersecurity incident.

Banking customers across the UAE are being urged to stay vigilant after reports of a serious WhatsApp 'zero-day' security breach that could allow cybercriminals to take over smartphones through a single voice call.

The disruption is felt across the environment, affecting Smartphones (WhatsApp users), and exposing Private photos, personal conversations, sensitive financial data.

In response, moved swiftly to contain the threat with measures like Advisory issued to customers, recommendations for security updates and two-step verification, and began remediation that includes Encouraging app and OS updates, enabling two-step verification, muting unknown calls, and stakeholders are being briefed through Urgent advisory to customers via official channels.

The case underscores how teams are taking away lessons such as Zero-day vulnerabilities pose significant risks, especially during high-activity periods like holidays. Proactive security measures (e.g., updates, two-step verification) are critical to mitigating such threats, and recommending next steps like Keep apps and software updated, Enable WhatsApp two-step verification and Silence calls from unknown numbers, with advisories going out to stakeholders covering Emirates NBD issued an urgent advisory to customers warning of the threat and providing protective measures.

Finally, we try to match the incident with the MITRE ATT&CK framework to see if there is any correlation between the incident and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a knowledge base of techniques and sub-techniques that are used to describe the tactics and procedures of cyber adversaries. It is a powerful tool for understanding the threat landscape and for developing effective defense strategies.

Rankiteo's analysis has identified several MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques associated with this incident, each with varying levels of confidence based on available evidence. Under the Initial Access tactic, the analysis identified Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating exploits an undisclosed *zero-day vulnerability* in WhatsApp calling feature and User Execution: Malicious Link (T1204.001) with moderate confidence (50%), supported by evidence indicating holiday season’s surge in calls creates cover for malicious activity. Under the Execution tactic, the analysis identified Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating hijack smartphones via a single voice call without requiring any user interaction. Under the Credential Access tactic, the analysis identified Adversary-in-the-Middle (T1557) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating access private data, including...financial information via silent infiltration. Under the Collection tactic, the analysis identified Data from Local System (T1005) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating access private photos, messages, and financial information from devices. Under the Exfiltration tactic, the analysis identified Exfiltration Over C2 Channel (T1041) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating data breach targeting private photos, conversations, and financial data. Under the Defense Evasion tactic, the analysis identified Exploitation for Defense Evasion (T1211) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating zero-day vulnerability...unknown to developers until actively abused and Hide Artifacts: Hidden Window (T1564.003) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating attack does not trigger visible alerts or require engagement. Under the Impact tactic, the analysis identified Defacement: Internal Defacement (T1491.001) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating potential reputational damage to banks and WhatsApp and Data Manipulation: Stored Data Manipulation (T1565.001) with moderate confidence (50%), supported by evidence indicating access to private photos, messages, and financial data. These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.