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The Cost of a Data Breach Report: Key Highlights

IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021 analyzed 537 real breaches and conducted nearly 3,500 interviews to uncover the true cost of a data breach in 2020. The publication covers initial attack vectors, how long it took organizations to discover and contain braces, as well as the effects that incident response efforts and artificial intelligence...
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Want to ban someone from Instagram? That'll cost you just $60

Got a grudge against an Instagram user? Well, scammers may just have the perfect service for you - at quite an affordable price. As Joseph Cox at Motherboard reports, the criminal underground has stepped beyond the likes of offering ransomware-as-a-service and DDoS-attacks-for-hire to advertise an easy way for anyone to target an Instagram account...
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The Next Disruptive ICS Attacker: An Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)?

No discussion on ICS attacks could be complete without talking about what some would call, ‘the elephant in the room.’ Critical infrastructure has always been a target for warfare, and modern ICS are no exception. Several high-profile ICS disruptions have in fact been attributed to malicious hackers working at the behest of a military or...
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IT Risk Team Discovers Previously Unknown Vulnerability in Autodesk Software During Client Penetration Test

During a recent client engagement, the DGC (DiCicco, Gulman & Company) penetration testing team identified a previously unknown vulnerability affecting the Autodesk Licensing Service, a software component bundled with nearly all licensed Autodesk products. The vulnerability exists in a software component common to most Autodesk products and impacts...
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Are We Past Peak Ransomware?

In this episode, Greg Wilson, CISO of Docupace, discussed the rise of ransomware during uncertain times (i.e. COVID pandemic), whether it’s here to stay, and how to prevent damage with security hygiene. https://open.spotify.com/episode/24huDJTPDj7JyOxa1CODge?si=80455f6634a94ee6 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5UDKiGLlzxhiGnd6FtvEnm...
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Privacy in Q2: In Like a Lion, Out Like a … Lion

For a while, privacy in Q2 was looking like it would follow the season’s idiomatic rule: in like a lion, out like a lamb. But it came roaring back in June with a new U.S. state law, EU adequacy decisions, a new EU data transfer mechanism, and more. As we look back over the second quarter of 2021, several important developments are worth noting. U.S...
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How Did the Cybersecurity Ecosystem Get So Clogged Up?

Today’s enterprise operations involve the coordination of several different digital ecosystems but none quite so inflamed as the cybersecurity ecosystem. Technology has been evolving at a rapid pace, and attackers are armed with advanced tactics to steal data and expose secure information. In response, cybersecurity teams deploy numerous tools and...
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How to Secure Hybrid Teams Against Insider Threats

As businesses emerge from the pandemic, many are making strategic decisions about their long-term work arrangements. While there is a substantial debate about remaining remote or bringing people back to the office, many companies are choosing to meet in the middle, embracing a hybrid work arrangement that allows people to work both on-site and...
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The Next Disruptive ICS Attacker: A Ransomware Gang?

OT networks often rely on Windows systems for various ICS applications including HMIs, historians, and data gateways. Beyond that, they also commonly rely on Windows systems to run associated IT-networks. A successful ransomware deployment into either of these networks may prevent engineers from controlling plant operations and lead to an unplanned...
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Why Are Ransomware Attacks Against OT Increasing?

Most discussions around cybersecurity understandably focus on information technology (IT). Assets like cloud services and data centers are typically what companies spend the most time and effort securing. Recently, though, operational technology (OT) has come under increasing scrutiny from leading security experts in both the private and public...
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VERT Threat Alert: August 2021 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s August 2021 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-959 on Wednesday, August 11th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2021-36948 This privilege escalation vulnerability that affects the Windows Update Medic Service (WaasMedic) has been...
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Getting Application Security Back on the Rails

In its Interagency Report 7695, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defined an application as “a system for collecting, saving, processing, and presenting data by means of a computer.” This broad term covers enterprise applications, consumer applications, and even phone apps. Security is important in all these types of...
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How Tripwire State Analyzer Can Help You to Comply with NERC CIP

Are you an organization that operates a Bulk Power System (BPS) in the United States? If so, you understand the need to comply with the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards. Developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), CIP is a set of requirements through which in-scope entities can protect themselves...
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How Social Norms Can Be Exploited by Scammers on Social Media

Social media platforms are excellent hunting grounds for scammers. This is where we connect with our friends or people who we have something in common with. This is precisely what scammers exploit—our connections and the trust that is afforded between friends or acquaintances. From an early age, we are taught to be kind and compassionate as well as...
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The Next Disruptive ICS Attacker: A Disgruntled Insider?

Often, the most critical threats come from within an organization itself. This is true for all sectors, but it is especially true for industrial control systems (ICS). Technicians in these environments already have access to plant controls and may have the deep knowledge of industrial processes needed to achieve specific goals. The damage caused by...
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What Are the Key Challenges Facing IT and OT?

The events of 2020 accelerated many organizations’ efforts to converge their information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) environments. Now that they’re immersed in this journey, some organizations are finding that it’s not quite as smooth as they were expecting. They’re learning that they need to overcome several challenges if they hope to leverage the IT-OT convergence as part of...
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White House Memo Takes on Securing Critical Infrastructure Control Systems

Attacks targeting critical infrastructure have been on the rise in recent years. Back in 2019, for instance, 56% of utility professionals responsible for overseeing risk in their organizations’ operational technology (OT) assets told Siemens and the Ponemon Institute that they experience at least one shutdown or operational data loss event a year....
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How SCM Can Protect Against Skills-Based Errors and Mistakes

People make up an important part of an organization’s security posture. That’s because some employees have the rights necessary for accessing sensitive data as well as the privileges for viewing and/or editing critical systems. If those individuals have the right focus and training, they can play a crucial part in keeping those assets safe against...