Cybersecurity

US says agencies largely fended off latest Russian hack

The White House says it believes U.S. government agencies largely fended off the latest cyberespionage onslaught blamed on Russian intelligence operatives, saying the spear-phishing campaign should not further damage relations with Moscow ahead of next month’s planned presidential summit. Officials downplayed the cyber assault as “basic phishing” in which hackers used malware-laden emails to target […]

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. […]

India's national carrier says hack leaked passengers' data

Personal data of an unspecified number of travelers has been compromised after a company that serves India’s national carrier was hacked, Air India said. The hackers were able to access 10 years’ worth of data including names, passport and credit card details from the Atlanta-based SITA Passenger Service System, Air India said in a statement […]

Russian to be deported after failed Tesla ransomware plot

A Russian man was sentenced Monday to what amounted to time already served and will be deported after pleading guilty to trying to pay a Tesla employee $500,000 to install computer malware at the company’s Nevada electric battery plant in a bid to steal company secrets for ransom. Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, appearing by videoconference from […]

Hackers targeted SolarWinds earlier than previously known

The hackers who carried out the massive SolarWinds intrusion were in the software company’s system as early as January 2019, months earlier than previously known, the company’s top official said Wednesday. SolarWinds had previously traced the origins of the hack to the fall of 2019 but now believes that hackers were doing “very early recon […]

Irish health system struggling to recover from cyberattack

Ireland’s health system struggled to restore computers and treat patients Tuesday, four days after it shut down its entire information technology system in response to a ransomware attack. Thousands of diagnostic appointments, cancer treatment clinics and surgeries have been canceled or delayed since Friday’s cyberattack. Authorities said hundreds of people were assigned to get crippled […]

Ransomware hits AXA units in Asia, hurts Ireland healthcare

Cybercriminals have hit four Asian subsidiaries of the Paris-based insurance company AXA with a ransomware attack, impacting operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, the insurer said. The criminals claimed to have stolen 3 terabytes of data including medical records and communications with doctors and hospitals. In Ireland, meanwhile, the national healthcare system […]

Passing on your password? Streaming services are past it

Many of us were taught to share as kids. Now streaming services ranging from Netflix to Amazon to Disney+ want us to stop. That’s the new edict from the giants of streaming media, who are hoping to discourage the common practice of sharing account passwords without alienating subscribers who’ve grown accustomed to the hack. Password […]