Articles about Security

Goldeneye attack is not ransomware

Attack button

On June 27, reports of a rapidly spreading ransomware attack started to emerge from Ukraine. The speed at which critical infrastructure networks were shutting down pointed to a ransomware application with a wormable component, whose virality called to mind the WannaCry ransomware. In less than three hours, the infection crippled banks, ATMs, public transport and an airport, as well as utilities provider Kyivenergo. Then it spread outside the Ukraine.

As multiple critical infrastructure networks reported major blackouts, Bitdefender started an internal investigation over isolated malware samples to trace the attack’s origin and better understand what it targeted, and how.

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Data breaches are down but retailers still think they’re vulnerable

Credit card PCI DSS

US retail data breaches have dropped from 22 percent last year to 19 percent this, but 88 percent of retailers still think they’re vulnerable according to a new report.

The latest retail edition data threat report from cyber security specialist Thales e-Security, in conjunction with 451 Research, shows that 52 percent of retailers have suffered a data breach in the past. However, retailers may not be learning from past mistakes, with more than half of the 19 percent that were breached this year having also experienced a breach previously.

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Dow Jones server leaks personal info of 2.2 million customers

Private information of more than two million customers of the Dow Jones publishing agency have been exposed online.

According to the IB Times, a configuration error on the Dow Jones & Co. cloud storage server led to sensitive information including names, addresses, account information, emails and the last four digits of credit cards for almost 2.2 million people becoming available to anyone with an Amazon Web Services Account.

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LastPass lets you share passwords with its new Families subscription

Sharing some accounts with friends or family members has its perks, but it can also be risky. Many people expect to use simple passwords, which is why you may be tempted to go for something that's easy to remember. Not to mention that they also lose the credentials from time to time, so you have to share them again via email or texts, which is not really safe.

But LastPass may have come up with a better option. Its new Families subscription lets you have multiple users on a plan so that you can share usernames and passwords, among other things like bank accounts and credit cards, while maintaining a high level of security.

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Online courses train the next generation of credit card criminals

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E-learning courses costing under $1,000 are giving aspiring cyber criminals the potential to make $12k a month, based on a standard 40-hour working week according to new research.

The study from digital risk management company Digital Shadows finds the courses, available to Russian speakers only, last for six weeks and comprise 20 lectures with five expert instructors. The course includes webinars, detailed notes and course material at a cost of RUB 45,000 ($745), plus $200 for course fees.

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How healthcare providers are getting IoT security wrong

Healthcare data

More than 90 percent of healthcare IT networks have IoT devices connected to them, but those devices may not be properly protected according to a new study.

The survey by IoT security solutions company ZingBox shows that over 70 percent believe that the traditional security solutions used to secure laptops and servers are sufficient to secure IoT connected medical devices.

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Most Americans reuse passwords, with millennials the worst culprits

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A new survey of over 1,000 US adults reveals that 81 percent of people surveyed admit to using the same password for more than one account.

Among millennials where 92 percent say they use the same password across multiple accounts. More worrying still, more than a third (36 percent) report that they use the same password for 25 percent or more of their online accounts.

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The cost of recovery from a security breach? Over £1 million for UK businesses

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A business in the UK would need to spend over £1 million to recover from a security breach, new research has claimed.

According to the 2017 Risk:Value report from NTT Group, UK companies have to pay more than the global average of £1 million, which has gone up from the previous report’s estimate of $907,000.

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FBI issues a warning to parents about the privacy and safety of internet-connected smart toys

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued a PSA warning about the potential dangers of smart toys. The bureau encourages parents to consider cyber security before bringing internet-connect toys into the home because they could risk the privacy and safety of children.

The announcement warns of the potential for personal information to be gathered through such toys. The presence of sensors, microphones, cameras, data storage components, speech recognition and GPS, coupled with cloud storage of data, is cited as cause for concern, and parents are urged to check privacy agreements.

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How large would the financial losses get in case of a global cyber attack?

A global cyber-attack could be as expensive as a major natural disaster, a new report has claimed.

Analysis by Lloyd’s of London compared the effects of a hypothetical global cyber-attack to the super storm known as Hurricane Sandy that hit the US coast in 2012, in terms of the financial impact.

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iOS and its effect on enterprise security

Over the past decade, iOS devices have found their way into many businesses. According to a new report this has led to an increase in the number of attacks and incidences of malware on the platform.

Mobile threat defense company Skycure analyzed the security impact of iOS on the enterprise over the past ten years and found that the percentage of enterprise iOS devices that have malicious apps installed today has more than tripled since the third quarter of 2016. In comparison, the rate of Android malware infections has stayed relatively flat.

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Symantec and Bay Dynamics partner to fight insider threats

insider threat

Insider threats are a major problem for all types of organization and more than ever firms are looking for data loss prevention strategies.

Cyber security specialist Symantec is integrating Bay Dynamics' Risk Fabric analytics platform with its data loss prevention and other technologies, to create a central point of behavioral analytics that dynamically delivers mitigation actions to keep malicious insiders from stealing sensitive data.

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Half of ex-employees still have access to corporate applications

employee snoop

Businesses aren't doing enough to guard against the security risks presented by ex-employees, according to new research from identity management firm OneLogin.

The study finds that nearly half (48 percent) of respondents are aware of former employees who still have access to corporate applications, with 50 percent of IT decision-makers ex-employee's accounts remaining active once they have left the company for longer than a day.

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How prepared are businesses for cyber security threats?

Security

Businesses are still failing to ensure they are protecting themselves effectively online, despite the growing number of damaging security threats, a new report from BT has claimed.

The UK phone giant has teamed up with KPMG for a new guide advising businesses as to how they can stay safe online when facing the number of complex challenges involved in running a business during this rapidly-changing time.

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US border officials can't search your cloud data

According to the United States Department of Homeland Security, border officials are permitted to search the devices of anyone entering the country with or without probable cause, though there is a limit to type of content they can view.

Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to Homeland Security in February seeking clarification regarding why US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been conducting more searches than ever before.

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