Free Decryptor for Fileslocker Ransomware Developed After Master Key Leaked
A free decryptor for Fileslocker ransomware has been developed following the leaking of the master key for the ransomware on Pastebin. The master key is the key used by threat actors to decrypt files that have been encrypted by the ransomware. The post was created on December 29, 2018 and states that the master key, which decrypts the private key, is “applicable to V1, V2 version” and that the poster is “waiting for security personnel...
More Than 50 Accounts Compromised in San Diego School District Data Breach
A major data breach has been reported by the San Diego School District that has potentially resulted in the theft of the personal information of more than half a million current and former staff and students. The data exposed as a result of the breach date back to the 2008/2009 school year. The breach was detected following reports from district staff of a spate of phishing emails. The emails were highly believable and fooled users...
Webinar: Cost-Effective DNS-Based Web Filtering
In order to protect against web-based threats such as malware, ransomware, viruses, exploit kits, malvertising, and phishing, businesses need to implement a web filtering solution. A web filter allows businesses to carefully control the websites and webpages that employees can access while connected to the wired and wireless networks. All Internet traffic is routed through the filter where controls are applied to block malware...
Marriott Announces 500 Million-Record Breach of Starwood Hotel Guests’ Data
The Marriott hotel chain has announced it has suffered a massive data breach that has resulted in the theft of the personal information of up to 500 million guests of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts group. Marriott discovered the data breach on September 8, 2018 after an alert was generated by its internal security system following an attempt by an unauthorized individual to access the Starwood guest reservation database. Third-party...
75% of Employees Lack Security Awareness
MediaPro has published its 2018 State of Privacy and Security Awareness Report which assesses the level of security awareness of employees across different industry sectors. The report is based on the responses to questionnaires sent to 1,024 employees across the United States that probed their understanding of real-world threats and security best practices. This is the third year that MediaPro has conducted the study, which...
Microsoft Addresses 49 Flaws Including One Actively Exploited Vulnerability
Almost 50 vulnerabilities have been patched by Microsoft on October Patch Tuesday including one zero-day vulnerability that is being actively exploited in the wild by the FruityArmor APT group. The zero-day (CVE-2018-8453) is linked to the Win32k component of Windows and is an elevation-of-privilege vulnerability discovered by Kaspersky Lab. If exploited, a threat actor could run arbitrary code in kernel mode and could create new...
Increased Remote Desktop Protocol Attacks Prompts IC3 to Issue Warning
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued a warning to businesses about the abuse of remote administration tools such as Remote Desktop Protocol. The warning was prompted by a significant rise in attacks and darknet marketplaces selling RDP access. Remote Desktop Protocol was first introduced into Windows in 1996 and has proven to be a valuable tool. It allows employees to connect to their office computer remotely and...
Cofense Takes a Closer Look at Healthcare Phishing Attacks
Cofense, the leading provider of human-based phishing threat management solutions, has published new research that shows the healthcare industry lags behind other industry sectors for phishing defenses and is routinely attacked by cybercriminals who often succeed in gaining access to sensitive patient health data. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights publishes a summary of data breaches reported by...
Study Reveals SMB Employees Are Taking Major Data Security Risks
Cyberattacks on large enterprises often make the headlines as they tend to involve the theft of large quantities of data, but small to medium sized businesses also face a high risk of cyberattacks and data breaches. According to a new report from the Chicago-based SMB consultancy firm Switchfast, there are now 4,000 cyberattacks on SMBs every day. SMBs are often viewed as easy targets. The rewards for a successful attack may not be so...
Faxploit Attack Uses Fax Machine to Gain Network Access and Steal Data
Since the 1960s, businesses have been using fax machines to send and receive orders and communicate data quickly. To a large extent, email has replaced the fax, although faxes are still extensively used, especially in healthcare. It has been estimated that there are still around 300 million fax machines in use around the world. While fax technology is old – it was first developed in the late 1800s – faxes are not typically...
SamSam Ransomware Developer Has Earned $6 Million in Ransom Payments
SamSam ransomware has been used in many attacks on healthcare providers and educational institutions over the past two and a half years. In contrast to many other ransomware variants, the ransom payments are considerably higher, typically of the order of tens of thousands of dollars. What also makes SamSam ransomware different is its method of deployment. While many ransomware variants are installed as a result of employees opening...
Businesses Turn Employee Safety Solution into Phishing Alert System
Fast action is required when cybersecurity threats are detected to limit the harm caused. When phishing emails are received, or ransomware or malware threats are detected in the email system, fast action can prevent a costly data breach. Many businesses are now turning to their employee safety solutions as an additional protection against phishing and to instantly notify staff of a cyberattack in progress. Mass Notification Systems...
Reddit Data Breach Shows 2-Factor Authentication is Not Always Effective
A sizeable Reddit data breach has been discovered. An unauthorized individual gained access to several Reddit systems and succeeded in downloading a significant number of users’ credentials, including usernames, email addresses, and salted hashed passwords as well as public messages, and in some cases, private messages. The database that was copied was an old backup and included data from 2015, when the website was launched, through...
Hacking Group Steals $1 Million from Russian Bank via Compromised Router
The hacking group known as MoneyMaker has pulled off a $1 million cyberheist after gaining access to a Russian bank through an outdated router used in one of its regional branches. Vulnerabilities in the PIR Bank router were exploited to first give the hackers access to the router, and then to the Automated Work Station Client of the Russian Central Bank via network tunnels configured in the router. Once access to the Automated Work...
U.S. Military Data Stolen as a Result of the Failure to Change Default FTP Passwords
U.S. military computers have been accessed by a hacker and sensitive military documents have been stolen and listed for sale on online hacking forums. The U.S. defense breach was made possible due to a simple error – the failure to change the default FTP password on a Netgear router. Cybersecurity firm Recorded Future found out about the documents being sold online, which include maintenance course e-books explaining how MQ-9 reaper...
Microsoft Issues Patches for 54 Vulnerabilities; 17 Critical
This Patch Tuesday has seen Microsoft issue patches for 54 vulnerabilities, 27 of which could allow remote code exploitation. 17 of the flaws have been rated critical and 33 are rated important. Three of the vulnerabilities were disclosed before Microsoft released patches. The patches address bugs in 15 products. The majority of the critical flaws are scripting errors in Internet Explorer, including four memory corruption...
Why You Should Use a Web Filter to Prevent Employees Accessing Pornography
Many companies have realized that acceptable Internet usage policies are insufficient and do not prevent employees accessing pornography at work. While employees can be told that the viewing of pornography at work is unacceptable, and viewing pornography is likely to result in instant dismissal, it does not stop porn from being accessed at work by some individuals. The accessing of pornography in offices and other places of work is...
Worldwide Cybersecurity Spending in 2017 to Exceed $86.4 Billion
Gartner has released a new report predicting worldwide cybersecurity spending in 2017 will reach $86.4 billion. The information security market is now the fastest growing sector and will increase by 7% by the end of 2017. Gartner predicts growth in the sector will be similar in 2018, with spending rising to $93 billion next year. Within the infrastructure protection segment, Gartner says the biggest growth will be in security testing....
74% of Organizations Vulnerable to Insider Threats
Spending on cybersecurity defenses has increased to reduce the risk of attacks by cybercriminals, yet organizations still feel vulnerable to insider threats. Furthermore, insider threats have increased in the past 12 months, according to a recent survey conducted on U.S. IT security professionals. 508 IT security professionals were surveyed by LinkedIn’s Information Security Community and Crowd Research Partners in a study conducted...
February Patch Tuesday Delayed as Microsoft Fixes Last Minute Issues
The Valentine’s Day update from Microsoft did not arrive yesterday as planned. February Patch Tuesday will be coming, just a little later than usual. The decision to bundle together updates means that if urgent flaws are not fixed in time, they would have to wait until the following month to be fixed. In this case, Microsoft has chosen to delay its monthly round of patches to make sure some serious issues are addressed and included in...
HITRUST Threat Catalogue Helps Healthcare Industry Prioritize Cybersecurity Threats
The HITRUST Alliance has announced that the organization will be releasing the HITRUST Threat Catalogue in March: A new resource to help healthcare organizations improve security by aligning the wide range of current cybersecurity threats and risk factors with its Common Security Framework. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires all covered entities to conduct a risk assessment to identify the...
Reputation Loss of More Concern than a Data Breach
Data breaches are a constant worry for most organizations, although a new study from the Ponemon Institute has shown that while the theft of data is a concern, it is the fallout from poor risk management that is the biggest worry. The biggest fear is not loss of data but loss of reputation. The study, which was sponsored by RiskVision, was conducted on 641 professionals involved in risk management at their respective organizations....
Global Cybercrime Costs Will Top $6 Trillion in 5 Years
A recent report published by Cybersecurity Ventures suggests global cybercrime costs will double over the next five years. Global cybercrime costs in 2015 are estimated to have reached $3 trillion. The damage inflicted by cybercriminals has been predicted to top $6 trillion by 2021. The managed security services provider (MSSP) and advisory firm calculated the damages from theft of intellectual property and data, financial fraud,...
Final Cybersecurity Guidance on Medical Devices Issued by FDA
Final cybersecurity guidance on medical devices has been issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The 30-page document augments previous guidance published by the FDA in 2014 and is intended to help manufacturers of medical devices implement policies, procedures, and controls to secure postmarket devices. Previous guidance has covered security controls and policies that should be implemented to ensure medical devices are...
Microsoft Admits Its Windows 10 Update Policy Was Too Aggressive
The aggressive tactics used by Microsoft to get push its Windows 10 upgrade annoyed many users. Many Windows users felt they were being bombarded with communications telling them to upgrade for security recommendations. The frequency that dialog boxes popped up on screens and the inability to remove or prevent notifications from appearing angered many Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. During a weekly podcast, Chris Capossela, Microsoft’s...
63% Increase in Healthcare Data Breaches in 2016
There has been a 63% increase in major healthcare data breaches in 2016, according to the 2016 Healthcare Cyber Breach Report from cybersecurity firm TrapX. The report, which covers healthcare data breaches in 2016 from January 1 to December 12, shows that while the total number of healthcare records exposed in 2016 was considerably lower than last year, the number of incidents increased substantially. In 2015, 111,812,172 records...
Samsa Ransomware Nets Criminals at Least $450,000 in a Year
The cybercriminals who have been infecting consumers and businesses with the ransomware variant SamSa have reportedly extorted $450,000 from businesses and consumers over the past 12 months, according to a recent report from Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 team. Researchers were able to calculate the cybercriminals’ minimum earnings by monitoring the Bitcoin Wallet addresses used by the attackers. Palo Alto Networks was able to see...
70% of Businesses Infected With Ransomware Pay Up
A recent study conducted on behalf of IBM Security has clearly demonstrated why ransomware has proved so popular with cybercriminals. Out of 600 businesses that were surveyed, almost half reported having experienced a ransomware attack. Out of those that had, 70% paid the attackers to supply keys to unlock the encryption. Ransom demands are typically around $700 per infected device, although the amounts charged can vary considerably....
Windows 8 and 10 Update Knocks Users Offline?
Internet Service Providers in the UK and Belgium have been flooded with calls from disgruntled customers who have been prevented from accessing the Internet over the weekend. The problem has been attributed to a flawed update that was automatically installed by Microsoft. The problems started last week with customers of ISPs BT, Plusnet, and TalkTalk experiencing intermittent Internet access, while Sky and Virgin Media customers also...
323,000 New Malware Samples Being Discovered Every Day
According to the latest figures from Kaspersky Lab, there are now more than 323,000 new malware samples being released every day: An increase of 13,000 per day compared to last year and 253,000 more malicious files per day than in 2011. Kaspersky Lab’s cloud database now contains the signatures for more than 1 billion forms of malware. The massive rise in new forms of malware is due to more sophisticated means of creating new malware....
Insider Breach Threat Main Concern of Half of IT Professionals
Almost half of IT professionals believe the insider breach threat is more of a concern than the threat posed by hackers. Hackers may pose a major risk to data security, but it is the insider breach threat that is most difficult to deal with. IT security solutions can be purchased to secure the network perimeter, but protecting data from internal attacks and accidental breaches is a major challenge. 49% of IT professionals that...
What are the Highest Risk IoT Devices for Enterprises?
Internet-connected devices can introduce considerable security risks, but what are the highest risk IoT devices for enterprises? According to a new report from cloud-based information security company Zscaler, the highest risk IoT devices for enterprises are surveillance cameras – devices that are purchased and installed to decrease risk. Unfortunately, while surveillance cameras can be used to reduce the risk of theft of equipment,...
Research Suggests Increased Enterprise Security Risk from IT Decentralization
A recent VMWare sponsored study conducted by Vanson Bourne suggests enterprises face an increased security risk from IT decentralization and IT professionals are not ready to deal with the security challenges that come from moving their IT infrastructure to the cloud. Vanson Bourne conducted the study on 3,300 individuals in 20 industries from 20 countries. Respondents were asked about IT decentralization and use of the cloud...
70% of IT Pros are Concerned about Cloud Security Risks
More organizations are now taking advantage of the benefits of the cloud, yet 70% of IT professionals are concerned about cloud security risks, according to the second global Cloud Security Survey from Netwrix Corp. The biggest concern is the potential for sensitive data to be accessed by employees of cloud service providers and third parties. 69% of respondents said unauthorized access was their biggest concern. Malware was also...
Beazley Data Breach Insights Report Highlights Extent of Ransomware Problem
The Beazley Data Breach Insights Report is an annual publication summarizing the data breaches experienced by the company’s clients in the first nine months of the year. This year’s report shows there has been a 65% increase in data breaches in 2016, rising from 931 data breaches in 2015 to 1,437 breaches in 2016. Ransomware attacks have also increased significantly. There were 43 known attacks in 2015, whereas in 2016 the total has...
Confidence in Data Breach Preparedness Found to be Lacking
According to a recent study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, the vast majority of companies now have a data breach response plan in place, yet most of the IT professionals surveyed lacked confidence in their company’s data breach preparedness plans. Only 42% of respondents to the Experian-sponsored survey said their breach response plans were effective or very effective. 31% lacked confidence in their company’s ability to deal with...