Half of global ransomware attacks target the US
Last year 48 percent of ransomware attacks were directed at targets in the United States, with industrial and energy, retail, and finance businesses among the most threatened.
Research from AtlasVPN finds that out of 2,845 witnessed ransomware attacks worldwide in 2021 1,352 were launched against targets in the US. Meanwhile one in five attacks were against European countries with France suffering 146 attacks, the UK 139 and Germany 115.
Microsoft urges Windows users to patch critical HTTP vulnerability
Microsoft has fixed a critical vulnerability which affects several versions of its operating system including Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022.
The security bug is an HTTP vulnerability which is tracked as CVE-2022-21907 and Microsoft warns it is wormable. The company has issued a fix for the flaw and says that users should prioritize installing it to secure their systems.
Microsoft releases KB5009566 update to fix long-standing Windows 11 issue
Microsoft has released the first cumulative patch of 2022 for Windows 11 in the form of the KB5009566 update.
The patch is a mandatory cumulative update that addresses security problems thanks to the inclusion of January 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes. These address no fewer than six zero-day vulnerabilities, and a total of 97 security issues in all. The KB5009566 update also address a long-standing issue with Windows 11 and takes the operating system up to build 22000.434.
Complying with the DoJ's Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative
Under the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, government contractors will be under enhanced accountability for implementing cybersecurity measures and reporting breaches and incidents. The DoJ’s unveiling of the initiative comes in response to criticism of current department security protocols, which have often wavered across the board and permitted cybersecurity-related fraud through a lack of enforcement.
The Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative will both focus on standardizing cybersecurity procedures for government contractors to follow and curbing cybersecurity-related fraud where companies fail to report cyber incidents.
Microsoft launches matte black Surface Go 3 with optional LTE
Is Microsoft's Surface Go line of tablets designed for hardcore computer users? Absolutely not. That is OK though. Not everybody is a gamer or enthusiast. Look, some of us just need to get basic work done. And so, an affordable computer with meager specifications, such as the Surface Go, can be a wise purchase. After all, you can turn it into a laptop by purchasing the optional keyboard cover or a desktop by connecting it to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
If you have been on the fence about purchasing a Surface Go 3 -- the latest model -- I have some great news. Beginning today, Microsoft is selling a beautiful new version. No, the specifications are not different, but the body is... sort of. You see, the little tablet is now being offered in a beautiful matte black color.
Facebook tracks you across the web and Mozilla wants your help in finding out how
Everyone knows that Facebook collects data on people online and then uses this to tailor content and advertising. Exactly how it does this remains something of a mystery, however.
Mozilla has partnered with non-profit newsroom The Markup for what it’s calling the 'Facebook Pixel Hunt' to find out how Meta tracks people across the web through its pixel-powered ad network, and what it does with this collected data.
New zero trust solution helps guard IT infrastructure
The majority of data breaches are down to compromised credentials that allow privileged access to corporate systems, in particular infrastructure secrets such as API keys, certificates, database passwords and access keys.
Keeper Security is launching a new solution to help businesses in securing these secrets. Keeper Secrets Manager is cloud-based, fully-managed and uses innovative security architecture.
Almost three-quarters of Americans worry about online tracking
A new survey by NordVPN reveals that 73 percent of Americans are worried about being tracked online, and 35 percent think they are being tracked almost all the time.
The majority of Americans believe they are mostly tracked by criminals (60 percent) and the government (47 percent), but they're also worried that social media giants like Facebook (46 percent), brands or advertising agencies (34 percent), and information and advertising aggregators like Google (40 percent) are following their activities online.
Cybersecurity budgets set to increase in the next year
A new survey from Kaspersky finds 85 percent of IT decision makers in North America say their cybersecurity budget will increase anywhere up to 50 percent in the next 12 months.
The survey, carried out in October 2021 and targeting 600 IT decision makers in the US and Canada, finds 28 percent of respondents say their company annually invests anywhere from $25K-$50k in cybersecurity.
Microsoft reveals 'powerdir' macOS vulnerability that allows unauthorized user data access
Microsoft has revealed details of a security vulnerability in macOS that could be exploited to gain unathorized access to user data.
The vulnerability, which has been named 'powerdir' and is being tracked as CVE-2021-30970, involves a logic issue in the Transparency, Consent and Control (TCC) security framework. The security and privacy problem was discovered by the Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team and was reported to Apple is mid-July last year.
Linux Mint sells out for Mozilla money -- Google becomes default search in Firefox
So, you decided to get rid of Windows and switch to Linux because you have strong beliefs about free and open source software, eh? Well done! That is quite the noble action, and you should be proud that you are following your morals. You could have chosen a Chromebook but you didn't, as you didn't want to support Google. Fair enough.
Maybe you instead went with Linux Mint because its developers are not beholden to anyone. Well, if that is the case, I have some bad news. You see, Linux Mint has officially sold out! Sadly, the developers of the Ubuntu-based operating system have agreed to accept an undisclosed amount of money from Mozilla in exchange for making significant changes to Linux Mint. This includes removal of modifications to Firefox and a big change for search...
European watchdog orders Europol to delete 4 petabytes of illegally collected personal data
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has ordered Europol to delete huge quantities of personal data about hundreds of thousands of people. The European Union's police agency has been found to have illegally collected billions of pieces of data about criminals, suspected terrorists and innocent citizens.
The colossal stash of information has been dubbed a "big data ark" by privacy experts, and it includes data gathered by hacking encrypted services and NSA-style grabs. The data store was collected over a period of six years, and the EDPS ruling means that Europol must delete data that has been stored for over six months. The agency also has a year to determine what of the remaining data it may legally continue to hold.
Only 20 percent of UK smaller businesses are 'tech-savvy'
Just one in five small businesses in the UK is open to digital transformation, despite it making them two and a half times more likely to experience a 20 percent or more increase in revenue.
The finding comes from NatWest bank's latest Springboard to Recovery report which is based on research from a survey of 1,000 small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and analysis of more than 100 reports, as well as the results of 50 support programs.
Endpoint security products failing against targeted attacks
While most endpoint security products are capable of handling public email and web-based threats, many are unable to provide complete protection against targeted attacks, according to a new report.
Security testing firm SE Labs tested a variety of endpoint security products from different vendors in order to gauge their effectiveness.
Rebalancing the cybersecurity equation to mitigate ransomware risks
With the average cost of a data breach now at $4.2 million, growing cyber threats like ransomware and the hybrid workforce have organizations worldwide looking to mitigate risk at every layer of the organization.
Securing your organization is like balancing an equation: people + skills + technology = security. Where many security strategies fall short is having an unbalanced equation.
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