In my last blog post, I introduced the topic of automation and how it can help improve security posture. In this post, we’ll be covering some of the risks automation can mitigate against. Data Breaches and Cyber Attacks A recent survey by ISACA on organization preparedness indicated that only 38% of businesses were confident they were prepared to...

FBI Director James Comey feels that covering up a computer's webcam with a piece of tape is "sensible" and "a good thing." In an interview commemorating 10 years of operation for the National Security Division (NSD), a body of the U.S. Department of Justice that leverages law enforcement, intelligence, and other government resources to respond to...

Looking at the cyberthreat landscape, millions of new devices come online every day. But there’s a shortage of qualified cybersecurity workers to protect those devices once they come online. Additionally, in almost every case, it takes minutes or less to compromise them. Simply running more vulnerability scans to collect more data and generating more...

It’s hard to believe that in such a relatively short period of time, smartphones and other mobile devices, such as tablets, have become so tightly woven into both our personal and work lives. And unlike desktop or laptop computers that are usually company-owned, personally-owned mobile devices are often filled with company related apps, data, email...

Authorities confirmed that Russian hackers accessed a database containing the medical data of U.S. athletes who participated in the Rio 2016 Olympics. On 13 September, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said in a statement that a Russian cyber-espionage group known as APT28 or "Fancy Bear" gained...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses 14 new Microsoft Security Bulletins. VERT is actively working on coverage for these bulletins in order to meet our 24-hour SLA and expects to ship ASPL-689 on Wednesday, September 14th. Ease of Use (published exploits) to Risk Table Automated Exploit Easy...

My name is David. Now that you know my name, you should know technology is my passion. I've participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition, and I'm deeply knowledgeable about computer programming languages and software. But throughout my learning, I've always known cybersecurity would teach me and play an important part in my future career, regardless...

We all know information drives social media. It's fairly obvious. A social media post communicates content, which allows members to engage other users. Simple, right? Well… there's more to it than that. Social media posts aren't just communicative. They're performative. Status updates, tweets, and even funny dog videos reveal something deeper about...

Shark ransomware has rebranded itself as the Atom ransomware affiliate program but has kept a favorable payment model to attract criminal customers. First detected on 15 August, 2016, Shark is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platform that allows computer criminals with low levels of technical expertise to sit at the adult table and distribute crypto...

Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability – those are the three pillars of the CIA triad model for information security. Here's something you might not have known: in reverse order, those same pillars apply to IT Operations. Think about it. In a world of agility and enablement, the availability, integrity and confidentiality of the systems and...

AVG security researcher Jakub Kroustek has recently discovered tracks of the Cerber 3 ransomware virus marking encrypted files with the .cerber3 file extension. Unlike previous variants of Cerber, for which decryptors have been already developed, this variant contains fixes that prevent malware researchers from decrypting the files. Since this virus...

A bank's linked services went offline after a loud noise during a fire extinguishing test caused damage to hard drives stored at its main data center. On 10 September, ING Bank conducted a drill to evaluate the fire suppression system at its main data center in Bucharest, Romania. The fire...

Signing up with a social media site is fun, but it's not without its risks. Scammers prowl about LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking platforms looking for ways to trick users into doing something they wouldn't ordinarily do. Usually, these fraudsters are after their targets' profiles, money, or computer files. But some want...

Firewalls are staples of network security, and for years, they’ve played a part in keeping networks safe by restricting both incoming and outgoing network traffic. Along with antivirus software, they are among the oldest and most widely used cybersecurity tools. But what role should firewalls play in 2016 and beyond? One thing is clear: even though...

The Philadelphia ransomware enables attackers to offer "mercy" to their victims by choosing to decrypt their files for free. Attackers are likely distributing Philadelphia, which is a new version of Stampado, via the use of phishing emails disguised as payment notices from Brazil's Ministério da Fazenda or the Ministry of Finance. ...

“Should we fear hackers? Intention is at the heart of this discussion.” – Kevin Mitnick In cybercrime, truth is in the eye of the beholder. And if in any other research or business field it is somehow easy to define cause and consequence, in cybercrime it is not. Perhaps it is due to its complexity and multi-layered character that cybercrime has...

When we traditionally think of the benefits of 'automation,' we think of 'improved quality and efficiency; and savings in time, cost and energy.' One often overlooked benefit that can be achieved from this is the mitigation of risk and the enhanced security. According to a recent study by AlgoSec (State of Automation in Security, Spring 2016), over...

The French underground has posted a job ad for a dark web content "cleaner" who will be paid for their efforts in stolen goods. Trend Micro threat researcher Cedric Pernet came across the posting (which is written in French) after making other discoveries in a series of French underground marketplaces. According to the ad, the dark web marketplace...

A Congressional investigation into the devastating hack of the US government's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has detailed shortcomings in the organisation's security and made recommendations for other federal departments to prevent the same from happening to them. The hefty 227-page report doesn't pull its punches about the seriousness of the...

Seven online scammers will soon begin serving out prison sentences for their involvement in an international fraud conspiracy. On 7 September, Funso Hassan, 27, of Ibadan, Nigeria, and Anthony Shane Jeffers, 44, of Maryville, Tennessee received orders to serve out 10 years of jail time. Their prison...