New technology stops mobile malware calling home
Modern day malware is all about stealing, whether it's data or money. That means to be effective it needs to communicate with its command and control servers.
A new technology released by cloud-based anti-malware company Percipient Networks for its Strongarm product aims to break this link without the need for VPNs or other potentially hard to implement solutions.
Is it time to wave bye-bye to the buy button?
Marketers are shifting their focus away from customer acquisition and tools like buy buttons in favor of brand loyalty and awareness according to a new study.
The report from email marketing platform Campaigner shows that compared to this year 9.5 percent fewer marketers have customer acquisition as a top goal for 2017, while 14 percent more selected brand awareness and 11.4 percent brand loyalty.
The future is cloudy with a chance of big data
A new survey reveals that big data deployments are on the rise and increasingly are in the cloud. More than half of respondents say they deploy big data in the cloud today and 72 percent plan on doing so in the future.
The study from self-service analytics platform AtScale shows close to 70 percent have been using big data for more than a year (compared to 59 percent last year) and 95 percent of respondents have achieved positive value or are anticipating that they will.
70 percent of businesses are willing to pay up for ransomware
We've already seen this week that ransomware is an increasingly popular attack method. The fact that it's a profitable activity for cyber criminals is underlined today by a new report from IBM Security which reveals that 70 percent of businesses pay up to regain access to their data.
This puts criminals on target to make nearly $1 billion in 2016 from their use of the malware. Indeed, the report shows that ransomware made up nearly 40 percent of all spam e-mails sent in 2016, up from less than 0.6 percent in the previous year.
November saw a spike in ransomware attacks
Ransomware remains a major threat with attacks using Locky and Cryptowall both increasing by 10 percent in November compared with the previous month.
The latest report from threat prevention specialist Check Point based on its Global Threat Index shows the number of active malware families and number of attacks remain close to an all-time high thanks to continued relentless attacks on business networks.
The biggest high-profile password blunders of 2016
Weak or reused passwords are one of the main causes of security breaches and nobody is immune from the problem.
Password manager company Dashlane is seeking to raise awareness of the issue with the release of what it calls its P@ssholes List, highlighting the celebrities and high profile organizations that have fallen victim to poor password habits in the past year.
Office 365 adoption surges ahead across the EMEA region
Microsoft's Office 365 suite and Google's G Suite are deployed in 66 percent of organizations in the EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa) region, but Office 365 on 44 percent is outpacing G Suite on 22 percent.
This is one of the findings of a new EMEA cloud report from data protection company Bitglass which shows that adoption of cloud suites is higher than in any other region. In Europe, France and the Netherlands have the highest rates of cloud adoption at 82 percent and 78 percent.
Points mean prizes in gamified DDoS platform
Gamification is increasingly used by business as a means of enhancing the usability of software. But now it seems hackers are exploiting the technique too.
Researchers at threat protection company Forcepoint have uncovered a DDoS package being shared on Turkish hacking forums employing a gamified approach.
Companies miss basic precautions that could prevent data breaches
Public awareness of data security issues has never been higher. Not only have data breaches made the news but the FBI's battle with Apple has put encryption in the headlines too.
Yet despite the high profile of threats a new survey of IT security professionals from secure browser company Authentic8 shows that businesses aren't taking basic steps to protect themselves.
DreamObjects improves enterprise cloud storage
The cloud is becoming the first place many businesses turn to when looking to increase their storage capacity.
Web hosting and cloud services company DreamHost is looking to give enterprises more scalable, reliable, and high performing cloud storage with the launch of its latest DreamObjects storage hosting service.
New platform simplifies integration of business systems
Businesses increasingly rely on a range of systems. But getting those systems to work smoothly together can prove to be something of a challenge.
Integration specialist Jitterbit is announcing what it calls a Citizen Integrator, a cloud based integration platform.
Automated phishing boosts profits for hackers
Phishing has proved to be one of the most profitable techniques for hackers. A new report from cyber security company Imperva reveals that the availability of turnkey services is making it even more effective.
Imperva researchers explored the darknet marketplace to estimate the cost of phishing campaigns and to get a clear picture of the hackers' business model. They discovered phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) campaigns were easy to buy and low cost.
100 percent of holiday retailers vulnerable to cyber security issues
With more of us than ever doing our shopping online over the holiday period we want to feel that we can do so safely.
But a new report from security ratings company SecurityScorecard exposes cyber security vulnerabilities across 48 of the biggest US retailers.
New platform gives businesses control of SaaS
The switch to as-a-service models for delivering software gives organizations a wide range of providers to choose from, but it can lead to a proliferation of different solutions and a challenge for management.
Cloud management specialist BetterCloud is launching a new unified software-as-a-service (SaaS) management platform to give IT departments powerful automation and governance capabilities.
The key cyber threats to businesses in 2017
The past year has been a pretty eventful one for many reasons, not least in the area of cyber security which has seen attacks gaining in sophistication and persistence.
If you were expecting 2017 to be an improvement you may be in for a disappointment according to the Information Security Forum (ISF) which is today publishing its outlook for the threats businesses will face in the next year.
Ian's Bio
Ian spent almost 20 years working with computers before he discovered that writing about them was easier than fixing them. Since then he's written for a number of computer magazines and is a former editor of PC Utilities. Follow him on Mastodon
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