Down and Out in Hacktivist Land

Mathew J. Schwartz • August 23, 2019

Where have all the hacktivists gone? While the likes of Anonymous, AntiSec and LulzSec became household names in the early 2010s, in the past three years the number of website hacks, defacements and information leaks tied to bona fide hacktivists has plummeted.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

US CyberDome Poised to Protect 2020 Elections

Latest

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

VMware Acquiring Carbon Black to Boost Security Portfolio

Apurva Venkat • August 23, 2019

VMware is acquiring cloud security firm Carbon Black in a $2.1 billion cash deal to bolster the virtualization giant's security portfolio. It's also acquiring Pivotal, a company that focuses on helping its customers build applications in the cloud as well as through new technologies such as containers.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Chinese APT Groups Target Cancer Research Facilities: Report

Jeffrey Burt • August 23, 2019

Chinese advanced persistent threat groups are targeting cancer research organizations across the globe with the goal of stealing their work and using it to help the country address growing cancer rates among its population, according to researchers at cybersecurity company FireEye.

Cybercrime

For Sale on Cybercrime Markets: Real 'Digital Fingerprints'

Mathew J. Schwartz • August 22, 2019

Cybercrime marketplaces Genesis and Richlogs are helping fraudsters to better impersonate legitimate users of banks, eBay, Amazon, Netflix and more by providing them with victims' legitimate "digital fingerprints" and replay tools designed to fool anti-fraud defenses.

3rd Party Risk Management

Cloud Security: Mess It Up and It's on You

Jeremy Kirk • August 22, 2019

The transition to cloud-based software and infrastructure has revolutionized development and services. It's also created a bevy of new security challenges. Jay Heiser of Gartner says if organizations don't get cloud security right, it's their own fault. Here's why.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Cyber Espionage Campaign Uses Spoofed Websites

Apurva Venkat • August 22, 2019

A cyber espionage campaign, which may have ties to North Korea, is suspected of targeting foreign ministries, academic institutions and think thanks that are studying or writing reports about the nation's regime, according to an analysis by the security firm Anomali.

Governance

Is Apple's Top $1 Million Bug Bounty Too Much?

Jeremy Kirk • August 21, 2019

Progressive companies seeking to improve their security are increasingly adopting bug bounty programs. The theory is that rewarding outside researchers improves security outcomes. But in practice, bug bounty programs can be messy and actually create perverse incentives, says bug-hunting expert Katie Moussouris.

Biometrics

Use of Facial Recognition Stirs Controversy

Apurva Venkat • August 20, 2019

A developer's use of facial recognition technology to scan the faces of pedestrians in London has sparked concerns from residents, the mayor and Britain's privacy watchdog. Meanwhile, the use of the technology is raising privacy concerns worldwide and is even becoming an issue in the U.S. presidential race.

Cybercrime

Threat Intel for a Global Economy

Tom Field • August 20, 2019

The World Economic Forum recently identified "cyberattacks and data integrity concerns crippling large parts of the internet" as one of the top 10 global risks. Jaime Chanaga of NTT talks about the significance of that announcement and the concerns global security leaders face headed into 2020.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

FBI Arrests Nigerian Suspect in $11 Million BEC Scheme

Scott Ferguson • August 19, 2019

The FBI has arrested a Nigerian businessman for allegedly carrying out an $11 million business email compromise scheme that targeted a U.K. affiliate of U.S. heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar.

Breach Notification

Texas Pummeled by Coordinated Ransomware Attack

Mathew J. Schwartz • August 19, 2019

State officials in Texas say that at least 23 local government entities have fallen victim to a coordinated ransomware attack unleashed on Friday morning. Security experts say attackers continue to pummel local governments, and illicit profits have been rising.

Cybercrime

European Central Bank Closes a Website Following Hack

Scott Ferguson • August 16, 2019

The European Central Bank has closed one of its websites after its IT staff found that a hacker compromised some personal information on the site and also planted malware.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Phishing Scheme Uses Google Drive to Avoid Security: Report

Akshaya Asokan • August 16, 2019

A newly identified phishing campaign used Google Drive to help bypass some email security features as attackers attempted to target a company in the energy industry, security firm Cofense reported this week.