A Review of the Best News of the Week on Cybersecurity Management & Strategy
US Ransomware Attacks Plummet (Infosecurity Magazine, Apr 21 2020)
Ransomware attacks on the United States have dropped to a level “not seen in years”
Studying How Cybercriminals Prey on the COVID-19 Pandemic (Palo Alto Unit42, Apr 24 2020)
Cybercriminals are preying on consumers by creating new coronavirus-related domain names to launch scams and attacks.
Instacart Sends Cease-and-Desist to Website That Automatically Placed Orders (VICE, Apr 23 2020)
During the pandemic, multiple developers have created tools that let users automatically grab delivery slots, letting them secure food before others.
Filter Out the Noise
Since I started this curated newsletter in June 2017, I’ve clipped ~14,000 articles and narrowed them down into the best 20 per day & best 15 per week. This is my favorite way to cut through all the security marketing and hype. If you’re enjoying it, tell a friend. If you hate it, tell an enemy.
Thanks! – Lucas Samaras
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Maze Ransomware Caused Disruptions at Cognizant (SecurityWeek, Apr 20 2020)
Professional services company Cognizant has fallen victim to a cyber-attack which appears to have been the work of the Maze ransomware operators.
NFL Voices Cybersecurity Fears Over Online Draft (Infosecurity Magazine, Apr 20 2020)
NFL fears this Thursday’s online draft could prove irresistible to hackers
High Court to Hear Case About Reach of Computer Hacking Law (SecurityWeek, Apr 21 2020)
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide a case from Georgia about the reach of a federal computer hacking law.
Another Story of Bad 1970s Encryption (Schneier on Security, Apr 21 2020)
“This one is from the Netherlands. It seems to be clever cryptanalysis rather than a backdoor. The Dutch intelligence service has been able to read encrypted communications from dozens of countries since the late 1970s thanks to a microchip, according to research by de Volkskrant on Thursday. The Netherlands could eavesdrop on confidential communication from countries such as Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.”
Zoom Announces Better Encryption, Other Security Improvements (SecurityWeek, Apr 23 2020)
Zoom on Wednesday announced a series of security improvements designed to address many of the concerns raised in recent weeks.
Security researcher identifies new APT group mentioned in 2017 Shadow Brokers leak (ZDNet, Apr 24 2020)
Shadow Brokers data dump yields another one of its secrets
Mozilla Offers Bigger Rewards for Firefox Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek, Apr 23 2020)
Mozilla on Thursday announced some changes to its Firefox bug bounty program, including bigger rewards and its decision to accept duplicate reports in some cases.
Hackers target oil producers as they struggle with a record glut of crude (Ars Technica, Apr 21 2020)
The quality of spear-phishing is getting better. A recent run shows how.
Chinese Hackers Target South Korean Gaming Company (SecurityWeek, Apr 21 2020)
South Korean video gaming company Gravity is the latest victim of the China-linked threat actor tracked as the Winnti Group, security researchers say.
Is COVID-19 Intensifying the Need for Security Staffing? (Dark Reading, Apr 21 2020)
Overall, security practitioners should find themselves in a better working situation than many other professionals. However, we are not immune.
Terahash Acquires L0phtCrack (Infosecurity Magazine, Apr 21 2020)
Password auditing and recovery software L0phtCrack acquired by Terahash
Most Remote Workers Have Received No Security Training for a Year (Infosecurity Magazine, Apr 23 2020)
More #COVID19 risks emerge as 77% of remote workers say they’re not worried about threats
Why Consumers, SMBs Are Likely to Fall for Coronavirus Scams (Dark Reading, Apr 23 2020)
Data reveals both a lack of skepticism and a willingness to engage with emails crafted to seem like government communications.
A Quarter of Website Traffic Is Bad Bots (Infosecurity Magazine, Apr 21 2020)
New research finds malicious bots accounted for 24.1% of website traffic last year
Hackers Donate $5K in Bug Bounties to the WHO (Infosecurity Magazine, Apr 23 2020)
Hackers at first ever virtual HackerOne live hacking event give generously to the World Health Organization
Making the Case for Process Documentation in Cyber Threat Intel (Dark Reading, Apr 22 2020)
Standard language and processes, not to mention more efficient dissemination of findings and alerts all make documenting your security processes a must
Work-from-Home Exposes Already-Infected Machines in 50K US Organizations (Dark Reading, Apr 21 2020)
Researchers find massive spike in infected enterprises worldwide.