Articles about Security

Malware is being geared to evade AI-based defenses

Attack route

The latest Cyber Threat Landscape Report out this week from Deep Instinct reveals that bad actors are clearly investing in anti-AI and adversarial attack techniques and integrating these methods into their larger evasion strategy.

It also highlights a change in the way attacks are carried out and says we are now witnessing some groups opting to inflict maximum impact over a shorter time span. These short duration attacks are carried out with the goal of damaging data (its confidentiality and availability), destabilizing a business, and impairing business continuity.

Continue reading

Ransomware is top threat to financial services

ransomware key

The financial, operational, and reputational risks of ransomware make it the top threat facing financial services organizations, a new report from F-Secure says.

The three most common routes used to spread ransomware are phishing, exposed remote desktop protocol (RDP) ports, and the exploitation of vulnerable software.

Continue reading

OT and ICS vulnerabilities increase in the second half of 2021

Industrial internet of things

Operational technology and industrial control systems saw a 110 percent increase in the number of vulnerabilities disclosed in the second half of last year.

The latest Biannual ICS Risk & Vulnerability Report from Claroty shows that remotely exploitable vulnerabilities are still causing problems, demonstrating the importance of securing remote connections.

Continue reading

API attacks increase almost 700 percent in the last year

api

Malicious API traffic has increased 681 percent in the last year, set against a 321 percent increase in overall API traffic.

A new report from API security specialist Salt Security shows 95 percent of surveyed organizations have experienced an API security incident in the past 12 months.

Continue reading

Less than a quarter of directors see ransomware as a top priority

Ransomware

Only 23 percent of board of directors consider ransomware to be their top priority. Yet 59 percent of organizations have fallen victim to ransomware.

A new study from email security company Egress, independently conducted by Arlington Research, polled 500 IT leaders across the US and UK. It finds 52 percent of organizations allocate less than a quarter of their security budget to anti-phishing measures, yet 84 percent were hit by phishing and 42 percent had credentials stolen.

Continue reading

The password hygiene message still isn't getting across to consumers

Written passwords

According to a new report from SpyCloud, 70 percent of breached passwords are still in use and 64 percent of consumers repeat passwords across multiple accounts.

Researchers identified 1.7 billion exposed credentials, a 15 percent increase from 2020, and 13.8 billion recaptured personal identifiable information (PII) records obtained from breaches in 2021.

Continue reading

Why organizations need to increase their focus on zero-day threats

Zero Day

Zero-day exploits are some of the most critical cybersecurity threats facing businesses today, but also one of the most difficult to address. Cybercriminals that exploit zero-day vulnerabilities take advantage of flaws within an organization's software and security systems before the victim itself discovers it. This can lead to potentially devastating consequences when bad actors are successful in  accessing critical data and networks undetected.

It is also much harder to defend against these attacks when the victim is fighting in the dark - how can an organization fix a vulnerability when they don’t know it is there? For this reason, there are thousands of organizations across the world operating with unknown gaps in their cybersecurity defenses that are vulnerable to zero-day threats

Continue reading

F-Secure launches free online tool to generate secure passwords

With almost depressing regularity we see lists of commonly used and easily cracked passwords. The problem is that although we all know we should use strong passwords creating them is hard.

If you're struggling to come up with strong passwords don't worry, cybersecurity company F-Secure is riding to your rescue with the launch of a new, free online Strong Password Generator tool.

Continue reading

Organizations vulnerable to emerging threats as they struggle with malware analysis

Malware magnifier

Almost every organization is struggling with malware analysis according to a new report from infrastructure protection company OPSWAT.

The study finds 94 percent of organizations are finding it challenging to recruit, train, and retain malware analysis staff. In addition 93 percent of organizations are challenged by malware analysis tools that lack automation, integration, and accuracy. This leads to over 20 percent of organizations reporting they are unable to investigate and resolve a majority of their malicious files or alerts.

Continue reading

85 percent of organizations have suffered ransomware attacks

In the past five years 85 percent of organizations have suffered a ransomware incident, while 74 percent have had more than one.

A new report from ExtraHop based on a survey conducted by Wakefield Research shows that 77 percent of IT decision makers are very or completely confident in their company's ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity threats.

Continue reading

How enterprises can boost security with vulnerability management [Q&A]

Cyberattacks come in many different forms and it’s important for businesses to understand where they're vulnerable in order to mount an effective defense.

We spoke to Ed Williams, cybersecurity specialist at Trustwave, to find out more about vulnerability management, why it's important and how it fits into an organization's overall security strategy.

Continue reading

In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Anonymous is working quicker than government red-tape [Updated]

While the US and other NATO nations continue to plan and implement sanctions and possible other means of making Vladimir Putin and his Oligarchs feel some pain over what they are currently doing, Hacktivist group Anonymous has already made its choices and has quickly started implementing its own set of consequences upon those responsible for alleged war crimes. 

As of Saturday morning, the group had taken down websites of the Kremlin, the Russian Department of Defense and Russian DUMA (the lower house of the federal assembly). The sites were taken down rather quickly once Anonymous targeted them but periodically popped back to life, only to have that life snuffed backed out again by renewed efforts. 

Continue reading

Electron Bot malware is running rampant in the Microsoft Store, opening backdoors on victims' computers

Microsoft Store on laptop

Fake versions of popular games such as Temple Run and Subway Surfers are being used to distribute dangerous malware through the Microsoft Store to users of Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Security firm Check Point Research found that malicious versions of the titles were riddled with Electron Bot malware and have already infected thousands of computers in countries incuding Sweden, Bulgaria and Russia. The malware gives an attacker a backdoor into a victim's computer allowing for complete system control, as well as control of social media accounts.

Continue reading

While the Government talks possible cyber repercussions on Russia, Anonymous is beyond that stage

As you know, Russia has begun an invasion of its neighboring country of Ukraine. It was long expected, despite the denials that continued to pour out of Russian president, Vladimir Putin. All of the planning was picked up by intelligence gatherers, the images of massing troops by both satellites and naked eye cameras. Helen Keller would have known this was coming. 

US President Joe Biden has met with cyber security advisors to see what can be offered in the way of cyber-attacks to go along with sanctions being imposed on Putin and his circle. None can be done without having an effect on citizens, but hopefully those issues can be minimized. 

Continue reading

2021 holiday season saw a sharp increase in eCommerce bot attacks

The past holiday season saw an unusually high level of malicious bot activity in the retail and commerce industries according to new data from Akamai and RH-ISAC (Retail and Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center).

Attacks included credential stuffing and account takeover (ATO) attacks unleashed by malicious bot operators, as well as Log4j exploitation attempts and web application firewall (WAF) assaults, all of which have been about bad actors setting their sights and pointing their tools at eCommerce players.

Continue reading

© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.