Wannabe computer criminals can now easily create Android ransomware thanks to what are known as trojan development kits (TDKs). TDKs automate the process of developing new mobile malware by leveraging a version of the computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tool model. These device-aided malware engineering (DAME) utilities enable an actor to...

2017 is a busy year for The National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST). In January 2017, the lab and federal non-regulated agency organization updated its Cyber Security Framework, a risk-based guideline which organizations can leverage to combat ransomware and other digital threats. Additionally, who can forget the December 2017 deadline for...

Malware is spreading via Facebook Messenger as part of an attack campaign designed to infect users with multi-platform digital threats. In early August, Kaspersky Lab senior security researcher David Jacoby received a curious message via Facebook's messenger service. The message originated from one of his friends with whom he rarely speaks on the...

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems have been around for over 40 years. The adoption surge came in the United States with an Executive Order for nationwide deployment in 2014. Today, they are the heart for most healthcare providers. The value of EHRs has been well-documented, offering improved patient care while improving organizational...

Bad actors commonly abuse LinkedIn to launch digital attacks. With over 500 million members spread across 200 countries, the professional networking site contains crucial information that nefarious individuals can use to attack nearly any organization and its corporate data. They just need to establish an initial foothold in the company. Most of the...

A California city has temporarily shut down its online utility bill payment system amid fears that the portal suffered a breach. On 22 August 2017, the City Manager's Office of Oceanside, CA announced a possible security incident affecting its online bill payment system that residents can use to pay their utility (water, sewer, and trash) bills. As...

All CISOs know at least one story of a penetration test that went wrong. And many of them can share stories of penetration tests that went deeply wrong. For this reason, it is a worthwhile exercise to take account of best practices in managing such engagements. This is important for modern enterprise security teams given the prominent role...

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has reportedly fallen victim to another massive cyber-attack, exposing the confidential records of up to 1.2 million patients. According to reports, an unknown hacker claimed to exploit a weakness in the NHS’ appointment booking system, SwiftQueue. The vendor is contracted by eight NHS trusts to manage booked...

Identity thieves are porting users' mobile phone numbers to devices under their control in order to hijack their web accounts. This type of attack begin when hackers call up a mobile service provider. Using a bit of social engineering, the bad actors convince an agent at the provider to transfer control of a target mobile phone number to a device...

A common best practice in any field is to benchmark performance or results against industry norms. Based on comparison results, adjustments or business decisions can be made. In the case of industrial control systems (ICS), security benchmarking is a challenge because there isn’t a lot of data available and it’s not as extensive or granular as...

As much as Facebook has brought many people from the remotest parts of the world together, connecting them over vast expanses of space and time, the platform has become one of the major distributors for cybercriminals. Their malicious intent is to spread viruses, malware and spyware throughout the abyss that is the internet. Being able to target...

Friday, August 18th was Bad Poetry Day. To celebrate, Tripwire decided to ask some of it's employees and friends in the community to share some of their security poems with us. Some folks tweeted theirs out using the hashtag #tripwirebadpoetryday. Others sent them in. Here are some of our favorites: Roses are red, Violets are blue Tripwire is...

New Jersey law enforcement has arrested a couple for abusing a vulnerability affecting Lowe's website in order to steal merchandise. On 15 August, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Brick Township Police Chief James Riccio announced the arrests of Romela Velazquez, 24, and Kimy Velazquez, 40. Together, the couple allegedly orchestrated a...

How prepared are you for the NERC CIPv5 audit? Maybe you’re ready to jump in with both feet, maybe you have no idea where to start, or maybe you’re somewhere in the middle. No matter where you land, there are some best practices to help you along the way. While I can’t promise to rid you of all past sins and violations, I do have pointers based on...

Bad actors are constantly looking for ways to target unsuspecting users with malware or other digital threats. To increase the likelihood of a successful infection, these nefarious individuals incorporate holidays, current events and significant dates into their attack campaigns. It's, therefore, no surprise that digital miscreants are capitalizing...

The Internet is a potentially dangerous place for users. This is especially so for children. Oftentimes, these younger users don't yet understand that some people harbor bad intentions. They are therefore prime targets of digital predators who would seek to prey upon them online. Information security writer Kimberly Crawley explains that there are...

It's never a dull day if you're working in HBO's IT security team. One day you're dealing with the unauthorised leaking of upcoming episodes of "Game of Thrones", next you're facing multi-million dollar extortion demands from hackers who've broken into your network and stolen 1.5 terabytes data and the personal contact details of your celebrity cast...

Locky ransomware is now appending the ".lukitus" extension to victims' files after it's completed its encryption routine. On 16 August, Fortinet junior anti-virus analyst Rommel Joven came across one of Locky's newest variants. https://twitter.com/rommeljoven17/status/897766198674300928 The ransomware is making its way onto users' machines via a...

There is much consternation and many dismal proclamations from think tanks all the way to Twitter eggs decrying the shortage of skilled information security workers. The skills gap does exist, but it isn’t a singular chasm. It’s a series of rifts and valleys, each with different characteristics. Beyond acknowledging the gap, we need to survey its...

Container shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk says a cyberattack that disrupted its operations will come with a hefty price tag of as much as $300 million in lost revenue. The Danish conglomerate, known as the largest container ship and vessel operator in the world, announced the estimated losses in its second quarter financial report. "In the last...