In my ongoing blog series “Hacker Mindset,” I explore an attacker's assumptions, methods and theories, including how information security professionals can apply this knowledge to increase cybervigilance on the systems and networks they steward. In this article, I examine attribution and its relation to information systems and crime. Methodology...

Women in information security are a fascinating group of people. I should know, being one myself. But being female in a quickly growing male-dominated industry poses its own challenges. And those of us who pursue security and IT in spite of gender stereotypes have unique strengths and insight. I first interviewed Tiberius Hefflin, a Scottish...

In any organisation, even the most uncomplicated business decisions have their associated risks. Such risks involve people, processes and technology, and they must be systematically identified and addressed on time and on budget. Risk management, as we know, is a process through which the uncertainties around delivering an objective are managed....

Organizations around the globe remain unprepared to prevent, detect and respond to cyber attacks, revealed a recent study conducted by the Ponemon Institute. The 2016 Cyber Resilient Organization study surveyed over 2,400 security and IT professionals from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Australia. Of the...

A malicious image file is distributing the Nemucod malware downloader to unsuspecting users via Facebook chat. Threat intelligence analyst Bart Blaze heard about the malware campaign from a friend. They told him they had received a message on Facebook chat that contained only a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file, which is an XML-based vector image...

Readers beware! The .Aesir Virus File Ransomware is becoming one of the biggest threats to your online security. We have recently become aware of a change in one of the most infamous cyber threats’ behavioral patterns. It would appear that the all-too-well known Locky ransomware virus has changed its format. Victims are now seeing their encrypted...

A few well-known UK brands have hit the headlines recently as a result of a breach or security issue. For instance, Tesco Bank announced 40,000 customer accounts were affected by a “sophisticated” attack. Half of those had money taken from them. As a result, Tesco Bank could incur a severe penalty imposed by regulators. That fee would be in addition...

Meet John. He's a 53-year-old accountant who owns property in New Zealand. He's also an experienced investor who likes to invest in New Zealand shares. As such, he understands how trading works, and he knows a good opportunity when he sees one. But there are some things you don't know about John. For starters, his first name isn't John. It's a...

Researchers have found a new Android spyware program that's using command and control (C&C) servers previously ran by Hacking Team. Team Red Naga came into contact with the spyware after someone contacted them about "advanced malware" that had infected one of their co-workers. Early on in their analysis, Team Red Naga didn't find anything...

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has had extraordinary success at building a social network that has attracted over a billion users. But that's not to say that he's had such luck in every other area of IT. Take securing his online accounts from attack, for instance. To misquote Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of being Earnest": "To lose control of...

This is a more technology-based continuation of KGW Portland's story that it published discussing what 86 convicted burglars looked for in target selection. My aim is to add aspects of both Social Engineering and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) into this to attempt to help raise awareness. The purpose behind the anonymous questionnaire, which was...

Women are vital to the information security field, but there are relatively few of us. Speaking to women in our industry gleams insights about how we've ended up in that male dominated field and perhaps how to attract more of us. I first interviewed Tiberius Hefflin, a Scottish security analyst who's working in the United States. Then I spoke to...

Adobe Systems has been ordered to pay a fine of $1 million as a result of a data breach that exposed the personal information of millions of users back in 2013. According to reports, the fine will be payable to 15 U.S. states that investigated the computer software company over the breach. “Under a multistate agreement today, Adobe will pay $1...

A new ransomware called "CryptoLuck" is infecting victims via a legitimate, code-signed program from Google known as "GoogleUpdate.exe." Security researcher Kafeine spotted the RIG-E (Empire) exploit kit distributing CryptoLuck via malvertising. It's not the first time they've detected an exploit kit campaign distributing ransomware. In this...

Preparing for challenges associated with any technology central to your workflow is an important part of a comprehensive security and risk management strategy for organizations concerned with the integrity of their system. Inevitably, regardless of the steps you take to prevent problems associated with things like viruses, hardware failures, data...

2016 will forever be remembered for all the "mega-breaches" that exposed users' personal information. Most of those larger-than-life security incidents dated back several years, with some breaches having made a larger splash in the security community than others. LinkedIn and Tumblr certainly stood out. But all other events paled in comparison to...

WhatsApp has announced its plans to make a new two-step verification (2SV) feature available to all of its more than one billion active monthly users. 2SV is an optional security mechanism that adds another step (not factor) to a web service's login process beyond entering in a username and password. As a result, the feature helps to protect users'...

Recently, I had the personal thrill of directly seeing the influence I've had on my friends and family's cybersecurity knowledge and perspectives. I have long been “tech support” for my family and friends. In late 2013, when data breaches started making national news, I also became the “cyber security tech support” go-to person. Four different...

What has happened? The AdultFriendFinder website appears to have been hacked, exposing the personal information of hundreds of millions of user accounts. What is AdultFriendFinder? I don't want to be indelicate, so I'll just tell you it's strapline: "Hookup, Find Sex or Meet Someone Hot Now". Oh! So like Ashley Madison? Yes, very much so. And we all...

The United States military has announced it will be launching its inaugural bug bounty program called "Hack the Army" in November 2016. Outgoing secretary of the Army Eric Fanning made the announcement in a press conference. He said the program will help the Army keep up with the latest digital threats. As quoted by WIRED: "We’re not agile enough...