Critical infrastructure attacks more worrying than data breaches for most security pros
According to a new survey of 1,000 IT security professionals around the world, 74 percent are more concerned about a cyber attack on critical infrastructure than an enterprise data breach.
The study by Claroty reveals 62 percent of global respondents believe that industrial networks are properly safeguarded against cyber attacks and 60 percent believe their country’s critical infrastructure is adequately protected.
Enterprises struggle to patch endpoints against critical vulnerabilities
Less than half of organizations can patch vulnerable systems swiftly enough to protect against critical threats and zero-day attacks, and 81 percent have suffered at least one data breach in the last two years.
A new report from cyber hygiene platform Automox cites the pace of digital transformation and modern workforce evolution, difficulty in patching systems belonging to mobile employees and remote offices, inefficient patch testing, lack of visibility into endpoints, and insufficient staffing in SecOps and IT operations as inhibitors to patching.
Threat actors turn to automation tools to boost their campaigns
Automation is having an impact on almost every industry, but it's not just in the world of legitimate commerce that its presence is being felt. A new report from Recorded Future shows criminal enterprises are turning to automation tools too.
Indeed the criminal underground has created an ecosystem of tools and resources allowing threat actors to both operationalize and monetize their campaigns increasingly quickly.
VPNs are tracking and recording their users
With more people working from home due to the COVID-19 crisis, it's concerning to find that top VPNs are recording their users and potentially leaking their data according to new research.
Comparison site VPNpro analyzed 114 VPNs and found that, of those, 102 have websites with trackers on them and 26 of those websites have 10 or more trackers. Many of these trackers involve third parties with reputations for not respecting user privacy.
Click-fraud malware found lurking in more than 50 Play Store apps
Researchers at Check Point have identified an auto-clicker malware family operating inside the Google’s Play Store.
Disguised in over 56 applications and downloaded over 1,000,000 times globally, the malware -- dubbed 'Tekya' -- commits mobile ad fraud by imitating the actions of a user, clicking ads and banners from ad agencies like Google's AdMob, AppLovin', Facebook, and Unity.
Law enforcement agencies struggle to get to grips with digital intelligence
Law enforcement agencies have a growing reliance on digital intelligence with some 90 percent of cases now involving some form of digital device or cloud service.
A new report from digital intelligence solutions specialist Cellebrite collected date from over 2,000 law enforcement agency personnel, in over 110 countries to compile a report benchmarking the sector's day-to-day challenges.
There's a simple fix for the Windows Defender bug in Windows 10
Yesterday we wrote about a bug in Windows Defender, seemingly introduced by a recent update. Only affecting Windows 10, the bug causes some virus scans to fail, and in others a somewhat unhelpful message informs users that there were unspecified "items skipped during scan".
The error message goes on to make reference to scanning exclusions as well as network scanning settings, and it is here that a simple solution has been found.
Microsoft warns that hackers are exploiting two unpatched Windows bugs
Microsoft has warned that all versions of Windows feature critical unpatched RCE vulnerabilities. The security problems stem from the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library, and relates to the parsing of fonts.
The company is working on a fix which will be released when the next Patch Tuesday rolls around -- but for Windows 7 users, despite the critical nature of the bugs, it is only those who have paid for an ESU licence that will get the security update. There is a bit of good news, however. While the vulnerability is yet to be patched, there is a workaround available that will do the job for the time being.
hide.me quintuples its data limit for users of its free VPN tier
There are a lot of VPN services to choose from these days, and a lot of reasons for wanting to use one. But there is the matter of money to consider. Whether you're strapped for cash, or just want to give a VPN a serious test drive before committing to it, the more generous the free data allowance the better.
hide.me is one of many VPNs that offers a free package, and it has just announced that the data allowance for people on this tier has increased fivefold. The increase to 10GB per month is generous, but the way the free tier works means that you actually get an unlimited amount of VPN traffic for free.
Security warning: Microsoft has broken Windows Defender with an update for Windows 10
Microsoft's run of problematic updates for Windows 10 continues. This time an update is causing an issue that could have serious security implications for users -- it has broken Windows Defender.
While the Windows Defender security tool is included in Windows 7 and 8 the problem only affects Windows 10. Many people are finding that when they perform a virus scan, an error message is displayed that reads: "Items skipped during scan. The Windows Defender Antivirus scan skipped an item due to an exclusion or network scanning settings". For others, scans simply fail after a few moments.
Why security professionals need to engage with developers [Q&A]
Building security into an application can often be an afterthought for developers, yet building those steps in at an early stage can save companies time and money.
We spoke with Matt Glenn, vice president of product management at Illumio, who shared his insights on why security professionals should be engaging with developers, and why segmentation is becoming a go-to tool for developers to easily implement security into their processes.
Hackers using COVID-19 specials to drum up business on the dark web
We all know that hackers and cybercriminals are keen to cash in on any opportunity to spread their wares. Researchers at Check Point have uncovered that hackers are using COVID-19 to offer specials and discounts on the dark net.
In similar fashion to Black Friday or Cyber Monday discounts, hackers are using the coronavirus pandemic as a special promotion to sell their malicious goods to hungry cyber attackers.
Privilege abuse widespread among infosecurity professionals
Almost 65 percent of security professionals surveyed at the recent RSA conference admit to accessing documents that have nothing to do with their jobs.
The study by risk analytics specialist Gurucul also reveals that nearly one in five (19 percent) of respondents admit to having abused their privileged access to view sensitive data. That number increases to 36 percent among those who've had a poor job performance review.
New threat scoring module helps security teams cope with alert volumes
Businesses increasingly struggle with the sheer volume of cyber threats that they face. One way of tackling that is a risk-based system that allows analysts to focus on the most pressing issues.
SIRP a Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) platform is launching a new security scoring module to provide vital context for security teams and allow them to prioritize risks.
One man's journey to earning over $100,000 from cybercrime
Researchers at security vendor Check Point have revealed the identity and activities of a hacker whose seven-year career in cybercrime has earned him at least $100,000, and probably much more.
He's single, 25-years-old and living in Benin City, Southern Nigeria. His cybercrime activities have earned him, on average, at least 14 times the national minimum wage in Nigeria and three times the average professional salary in Nigeria every year since 2013.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.