Latest Report from Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Nigerian email scammers seem old school and their Nigerian Prince 419 exploits quaint set against today’s worries about new breeds of sophisticated hackers working on an industrial scale and even state sponsored adversaries. But the latest research by Palo Alto Network’s threat intelligence arm Unit 42 brings the Nigerian Prince scammers back into sharp focus and reveals how they’ve grown rather than declined as a threat. For example, in 2017 they did an average of 17,600 attacks per month, representing a 45 percent increase on 2016. These led to losses against businesses and…
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In response to a recent Tripwire study which revealed that 50% of security professionals believe researchers should not be allowed to test the security constraints of an organisations network without upfront approval,IT security experts commented below. Laurie Mercer, Solutions Engineer at HackerOne: “Most companies (94% of the Forbes Global 2000) do not have a published vulnerability disclosure policy. Of the 28 states of the European Union, only three have a policy on responsible disclosure. This has led to a situation where nearly one in four security researchers have not reported a vulnerability that they found because the vulnerable organisation didn’t have a channel to disclose…
Following the announcement that Microsoft has teamed up with DJI to launch smarter drones to the enterprise, David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab commented below. David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab: “The use of drones is becoming more widespread – and whilst this benefits organisations and businesses, it presents potential dangers too, if security isn’t considered properly. They are also a potentially worrying development for society at large. These devices are small and unobtrusive and could monitor us without being seen, thus severely impacting our privacy. If they fall into the wrong hands, they could give cybercriminals…
Facebook has been in the news lately, causing its stock value to fluctuate since the 3/16 announcement that it was suspending Cambridge Analytica because of unauthorized access and use of Facebook’s user data. Due to this revelation, the CEO of the company, Mark Zuckerberg, spent two grueling days testifying before Congress to defend his company’s processes, technology and actions. When he was asked, “would you be comfortable sharing the name of your hotel?” he said “no” – ironic given that Facebook tracks its users’ locations. One of the many events that prompted the testimony is the investigation of Cambridge Analytica and how they used…
News is breaking that Preston’s city council has had to defend its systems every single day against a barrage of cyber attacks. After WannaCry and NotPetya, organisations are having to increase their defences to avoid their systems being crippled. IT security experts commented below. Javvad Malik, Security Advocate at AlienVault: “Cyber criminals will look for the path of least resistance depending on their objective. For example, criminals looking to make money via ransomware will simply try to compromise as many devices as possible. Whereas those looking to obtain personal information will be more targeted in their approach. Councils not only hold…
Equifax has disclosed further details of data that was breached in its cybersecurity incident in September. IT security experts commented below. Gavin Millard, Technical Director at Tenable: “Breaches such as Equifax are a stark reminder that, no matter how well we manage who we share our data with and the security surrounding it, when breaches occur, everyone can be exposed. “The data exposed in the Equifax breach could easily be leveraged for targeted fraud against those 146 million who were caught up in it. Social security numbers, dates of birth and other personal information could be used by criminals to setup loans,…
Following news about the City of London Police recruiting computer science grads to fight against cybercrime, Ilia Kolochenko, CEO at High-Tech Bridge commented below. Ilia Kolochenko, CEO at High-Tech Bridge: “This is a great news reaffirming UK’s cybersecurity leadership in Europe. Many EU countries cannot afford even the fundamental resources and people to investigate and prosecute cybercrime. UK gives a laudable example everyone should follow. However, we should not forget that cybercrime investigation is first of all based on practical experience, not on a university degree. Thus, retaining experienced professionals will likely be quite costly as large companies are ready…
One year after WannaCry infected 200,000 computers in 150 countries globally, 40% of respondents say their organisation is more exposed than it was a year ago The WannaCry ransomware attack that crippled the NHS and infected more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries has not translated into action at many organisations. According to a Tanium survey of 500 frontline IT security workers in the U.K, one third (36%) of respondents admitted there was panic immediately after the WannaCry attack, but nothing has changed since. The findings show that two fifths (40%) admit their organisation is more exposed than they were a year…
Researchers from leading security vendor, Check Point, have revealed that cybercriminals are now exploiting the popular messaging app, Telegram, to exchange information, recruit new partners and evade authorities. The app has been banned in several countries, including Russia and – just the other day – Iran. Criminals are turning to Telegram because law enforcement has been successful recently in taking down Dark Web marketplaces and forums, such as Hansa Market and AlphaBay. Telegram is easy to access and offers enhanced security capabilities, so some of its hosted chat groups have become a useful alternative to Dark Web forums. Telegram launched in 2013, and…
Alarms and alerts surround us every day. From the moment our clocks wake us up in the morning, we rely on alarms for many things. But what happens when those alarms and alerts malfunction? What does it do to us and how does that affect our day to day life? As it turns out, getting tired of these alarms can prove dangerous to cybersecurity. A few years ago, Nick was traveling through Newark airport in New Jersey. All of a sudden, the airport alarm system started going off. He stopped and looked around as everyone just paused for a moment,…