A breach through Facebook-owned messaging application WhatsApp targeted the smartphones of senior government and military officials from at least 20 countries, Reuters reported Friday.
Read More »McAfee Reports Global Spy Campaign Still Ongoing, Expands Targets
McAfee has released a report showing the global cyber espionage campaign Operation Sharpshooter, discovered in 2018, was larger and took longer than previously reported by authorities.
Read More »HackerOne Assists DoD in Another Air Force Bug Bounty Challenge; Marten Mickos Quoted
HackerOne has helped the Department of Defense launch the agency’s seventh bug bounty program, which aims to find security vulnerabilities in the public-facing websites and services of the U.S. Air Force. The company said Thursday it provided its hacker-powered security platform for DoD’s latest Hack the Air Force event, which …
Read More »Symantec: Cyber Espionage Group Used Tools Described in CIA ‘Vault 7’ Leak
Symantec has found that a cyber espionage group dubbed “Longhorn” has used tools and protocols specified in the Vault 7 leak of alleged CIA hacking devices. The company said Monday Longhorn has used the tools and techniques to launch cyber attacks against an estimated 40 targets in 16 countries across the Middle East, …
Read More »BAE Systems: Cyber Attack Against Bangladesh Bank Linked to 2014 Sony Hack
A report by BAE Systems has found that the cyber attack launched against the central bank of Bangladesh is associated with the data breach at Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014, Reuters reported Friday. Jim Finkle and Sanjeev Miglani write BAE’s report says the malware used to steal $81 million from Bangladesh Bank’s account with the …
Read More »Study: 781 Data Breaches Occurred in Public, Private Sectors During 2015
The Identity Theft Resource Center found during a study that there were 781 publicly reported data breaches across the U.S. public and private sectors during 2015. Forty-percent of those breaches tracked by ITRC occurred in the business sector, an 8.1 percent increase from 2014 figures, the center said Jan. 25. Healthcare organizations had the second highest percentage …
Read More »Intel Security: Ransomware Rose by 127% from 2Qs in 2014-15
A new Intel Security report has found a 127 percent growth in ransomware samples between the second quarter of 2014 and 2015 due to the emergence of CryptoWall, CTB-Locker and other forms of malware that restrict access to computer systems. The McAfee Labs Threats Report says computer networks with MacAfee security software encountered …
Read More »Dima Tokar, Jason Hart: Network Isolation Key in Cyber Defense for Smart Cities
Two information technology security executives believe that computer networks used to create and run smart cities are vulnerable to hacking, Cisco’s The Network reported Wednesday. Jason Deign writes that smart cities’ susceptibility to security threats can be associated with the lack of a single authority to monitor and implement cybersecurity …
Read More »Ralph Langer: Stuxnet Virus a Two-Part Threat
The virus allegedly created by Israel and the U.S. to infiltrate Iran’s nuclear facility in 2012 could be more dangerous than initially believed, Ralph Langer writes for Foreign Policy. Langer calls the first version of the two-part Stuxnet virus showed the hacking community a method for how to attack hard targets. …
Read More »Microsoft Pools Forensics, Legal Pros at Cybercrime Hub; David Finn, Richard Boscovich Comment
Microsoft has opened a new center for online forensic experts, security engineers and legal technology professionals to collaborate and develop anti-hacking measures, Reuters reported Thursday. Joseph Menn writes the Cybersecurity Center will combine data analysis and detective work in an effort to combat software piracy and criminal activities online. The …
Read More »Verizon Finds Financial Cybercrime Top 2012 Data Breach Type; David Small Comments
A new Verizon report says financially motivated cybercrime accounted for 75 percent of all data breaches in the world in 2012, followed by state-affiliated cyber espionage activities at 20 percent. The company analyzed 621 confirmed data breaches and more than 47,000 reported security incidents with help from 18 other organizations for …
Read More »Report: South Korean TV Networks, Banks Targeted by North Korean Hackers
Three South Korean television networks and two major banks were recently hacked prompting the country’s Army to raise its alert level, according to a Reuters article. An investigation into the attacks on TV networks YTN, MBC and KBS and the Shinhan and NongJyup banks is still underway. “We are now …
Read More »Kroll's Michael DuBose: Corporate Insiders Could Steal Trade Secrets
The recent hacking allegations against China are potential distractions from the threat of corporate insiders stealing trade secrets and proprietary data, according to Kroll Advisory Solutions white paper released Tuesday. “If hackers can do this much damage from the outside, just imagine what the individuals with the keys to the …
Read More »Kevin Mandia: Hackings On US Traced To China Military Unit
Cyber attacks on U.S. corporations, organizations and government agencies are largely coming from a 12-story tower in Shanghai that is home to a Chinese army unit, a U.S. computer security firm says in a study. The New York Times reports Mandiant was not able to precisely place the hackers in …
Read More »Report: Spear Phishing Attack Hits White House
A senior administration official revealed last Monday that the White House endured a spear phishing attack against its non-classified computer systems, Margaret Chadbourn reports for Reuters. The official stated that they often encounter this kind of attack, which stems from fake email messages. According to Chadbourn’s report, the official said …
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