Consumer Fraud and Theft Rampant During Holiday Season! According to Javelin Strategy and Research, $16 Billion was stolen from consumers in 2016! Most of that was perpetrated using New Account Fraud, where the thief uses stolen identities to open new store accounts and make purchases at same time. With the onset of the Holiday…
Equifax, one the Nation’s largest credit reporting agencies, was breached and over 143 million Americans personal information were exposed to criminals intent on stealing identities. The best advice that can be given is, take precautions: For Companies with hosted web services, the breach was achieved through a vulnerability in Apache Struts, a commonly…
Firmware is everywhere; from the largest data center to the smallest networked LED light bulb. It is the most powerful code on any system because it controls how devices operate. Compromised firmware can be used to corrupt or steal data, spy on your environment or even destroy the system it is controlling. Firmware is powerful code that…
The good news this week for many enterprises is that the Petya/NotPetya Ransomware scare is not really ransomware. The bad news, Petya turned out to be a worm that seizes control of infected devices, spreads to other devices on the network, digitizes its files, and has no intention of releasing them back to the owner,…
“Loose Lips Sink Ships”, that age old Force Protection measure from WWII posters has been replaced with “Don’t Click on That Link” warnings in an effort to protect critical infrastructure and corporate enterprises. It is about as serious as it can get, with a simple click of a link, a selection of a file icon,…
In January of this year we reported on the potential rise of Cyber attacks on Industrial Control Systems and SCADA (ICS, SCADA and Ransomware). It is now being reported that ‘CrashOverride’, an attack vector that targeted the Ukraine electric grid last year, is now threatening Natural Gas and other infrastructure sectors across the globe. The National…
During the WANNACRY attack in May 2017 we reported on the surge of another Ransomware attack, JAFF. Like its partner in crime, JAFF seizes its victim’s computer or data storage and demands a ransom to be paid for the encryption key that allows the victim to unlock the data. No harm, no foul, right? Wong!…
It really is a minefield out there! A cyber minefield, but a minefield nonetheless. Cyber Threat Analyst have discovered a new malware delivery method that uses a PowerPoint file embedded in an email as its vector. The email body directs the reader to “see attached” item. The email message attempts to entice the reader by…
The WannaCry ransomware attack has now expanded to over 200,000 computers and servers in 150 countries, and continues to grow! The virus exploits vulnerabilities in Microsoft operating systems, seizing control of files that reside on the system, and demands a payment of $300 for the release code. This virus has adversely affected several government’s operations,…
Attacks in 74 countries have recorded more than 45,000 in just 10 hours! The ransomware, “WannaCry”, is hitting Europe like a swarm of locusts, leaving hospitals and medical facilities shut down in its wake! Infected computers have 6 hours to pay a ransom or the rate goes up. The cost starts at $300 per system…