Directions to a polling station in Orlando, Florida, in 2008. (Photo: Erik Hersman via Flickr/CC)

The Privacy Penalty for Voting in America

Jeremy Kirk • November 16, 2018

Voting in the United States carries a huge privacy cost: states give away or sell voters' personal information to anyone who wants it. In this era of content micro-targeting, rampant misinformation and identity theft schemes, this trade in voters' personal data is both dangerous and irresponsible.

Governance

Breach of Obamacare Site Spilled Sensitive Data

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Cybersecurity

Texas Hospital Hit With Dharma Ransomware Attack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • November 16, 2018

An attack on Altus Baytown Hospital in Texas is the latest ransomware incident reported to federal regulators as a health data breach. What other major ransomware incidents are impacting the healthcare sector?

3rd Party Risk Management

China's Hack Attacks: An Economic Espionage Campaign

Nick Holland • November 16, 2018

An analysis of China's surging hack attacks as part of an economic espionage campaign leads the latest edition of the ISMG Security Report. Also: Choosing the right MSSP, plus an analysis of the recent hijacking of Google traffic.

Cybercrime as-a-service

GandCrab Ransomware: Cat-and-Mouse Game Continues

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 16, 2018

A new, free decryptor has been released for "aggressive" crypto-locking ransomware called GandCrab. Researchers say GandCrab has come to dominate the ransomware-as-a-service market, earning its development team an estimated $120,000 per month.

Cybercrime

Romanian Hacker 'Guccifer' Extradited to US

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 15, 2018

The notorious Romanian hacker known as Guccifer, who revealed the existence of Hillary Clinton's private email server and admitted to hacking numerous email and social media accounts, has been extradited from Romania to begin serving his 52-month U.S. prison sentence.

Data Breach

Nordstrom Blames Breach of Employee Data on Contractor

Jeremy Kirk • November 14, 2018

The department store chain Nordstrom says it doesn't believe that employees' personal data, which was exposed in an October data breach due to a contractor's error, has been misused. The retailer says the breach exposed no customer data.

Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development

Threat Intelligence: Less Is More

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 13, 2018

Less can be more when it comes to gathering, consuming and acting on threat intelligence, says Bryn Norton, director of solutions architecture and security at telecommunications giant CenturyLink.

Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP)

Analysis: FDA's Reworked Premarket Medical Device Guidance

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • November 13, 2018

The FDA's recently issued draft document updating its premarket medical device cybersecurity guidance originally issued in 2014 contains several important provisions, says regulatory attorney Yarmela Pavlovic, who explains the details.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

French Cinema Chain Fires Dutch Executives Over 'CEO Fraud'

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 13, 2018

French film production and distribution company Pathe fired the two senior managers overseeing its Dutch operations after they fell victim to a business email compromise scam and approved $21 million in transfers to fraudsters. Many organizations remain at high risk from such scams.

Anti-Malware

Lazarus 'FASTCash' Bank Hackers Wield AIX Trojan

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 12, 2018

Hackers behind the FASTCash ATM cash-out attack campaign - tied by the U.S. government to North Korea - use Trojan code designed to exploit bank networks running outdated versions of IBM's AIX Unix operating system, Symantec warns.

Governance

CISO Job Mandate: Be a 'Jack or Jill' of All Trades

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 12, 2018

The days of effective CISOs being pure-play technologists are long gone. Instead, CISO Paul Swarbrick says the role demands someone who is expert "in people, and management and risk," and who is skilled at bringing to bear the right experts for every strategic challenge they identify.

3rd Party Risk Management

Tips for Getting the Most From an MSSP

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • November 12, 2018

How can organizations get the most out of partnering with managed security services providers and avoid common pitfalls? Cybersecurity consultant Vito Sardanopoli, an experienced CISO, offers top tips.

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

Cracking Down on Criminals' Use of Encrypted Communications

Nick Holland • November 9, 2018

An analysis of a crackdown on criminals' use of encrypted communications leads the latest edition of the ISMG Security Report. Also: a preview of ISMG's Healthcare Security and Legal & Compliance summits, including expert insights on vendor risk management.