Cybersecurity

Hit by a ransomware attack? Your payment may be deductible

As ransomware attacks surge, the FBI is doubling down on its guidance to affected businesses: Don’t pay the cybercriminals. But the U.S. government also offers a little-noticed incentive for those who do pay: The ransoms may be tax deductible. The IRS offers no formal guidance on ransomware payments, but multiple tax experts interviewed by The […]

Digital reliance fosters security side effects, survey finds

Security today announced the results of a global survey examining consumers’ digital behaviors during the pandemic, as well as their potential long-term impact on cybersecurity. With society becoming increasingly accustomed to digital-first interactions, the study found that preferences for convenience often outweighed security and privacy concerns among individuals surveyed – leading to poor choices around […]

Critical entities targeted in suspected Chinese cyber spying

A cyberespionage campaign blamed on China was more sweeping than previously known, with suspected state-backed hackers exploiting a device meant to boost internet security to penetrate the computers of critical U.S. entities. The hack of Pulse Connect Secure networking devices came to light in April, but its scope is only now starting to become clear. […]

McDonald's latest company to be hit by a data breach

McDonald’s has become the latest company to be hit by a data breach after unauthorized activity on its network exposed the personal data of some customers in South Korea and Taiwan. McDonald’s Corp. said Friday that it quickly identified and contained the incident and that a thorough investigation was done. “While we were able to […]

Swaths of internet down, outage at cloud company Fastly

Numerous websites went offline Tuesday after an apparent widespread outage at the cloud service company Fastly. Dozens of high-traffic websites including the New York Times, CNN, Twitch, Reddit, and the U.K. government’s home page, could not be reached. San Francisco-based Fastly acknowledged a problem just before 1000 GMT. It said in repeated updates on its […]

Kenyan arrested in Qatar first targeted by phishing attack

A Kenyan security guard now facing charges in Qatar after writing compelling, anonymous accounts of being a low-paid worker there found himself targeted by a phishing attack that could have revealed his location just before his arrest, analysts say. While analysts from Amnesty International and Citizen Lab said they were unable to say who targeted […]

Microsoft: SolarWinds hackers target 150 orgs with phishing

The state-backed Russian cyber spies behind the SolarWinds hacking campaign launched a targeted spear-phishing assault on U.S. and foreign government agencies and think tanks this week using an email marketing account of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Microsoft said. The effort targeted about 3,000 email accounts at more than 150 different organizations, at least […]

Three elements of a solid cyber security strategy

When in charge of defending an organization from cyber-attacks, viruses, malware, and other cyber threats buzzing around in the web, one will need to keep in mind some key principles of cyber security strategy and incorporate it into their overall plan The main elements behind any successful cyber security strategy are prevention, detection, and recovery. […]