Cyber Risk Management Lessons Companies Need to Learn Right Now

Don’t want your company to be the next Yahoo, Equifax, Deloitte, or SEC? Don’t ignore cyber risk management. October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month in the U.S., which is quite fitting right now, being as barely a day is going by without yet another disclosure of a massive hack, and Americans are far more… Read More

Equifax Breach Compromises Half of U.S. Population

The Equifax breach isn’t the largest data breach, but it is one of the most troubling because of its massive scope, the nature of the information stolen, and the absolutely awful way in which it has been handled. While Hurricane Irma dominated the national news late last week, a man-made disaster unfolded in the background… Read More

HBO Hack Underscores the Growing Threat of Digital IP Theft

HBO Hack Targeted Valuable Intellectual Property and Company Secrets Corporate espionage and the theft of intellectual property and company secrets have gone cyber. The latest victim is cable network HBO and its flagship series Game of Thrones. The HBO hack, perpetrated by a hacker or group calling themselves “Mr. Smith,” may involve as much as… Read More

Third-Party Breaches: How Secure are Your Vendors?

Verizon, Trump Hotels, and the RNC are Among the Recent Victims of Third-Party Breaches Even if your own cyber security is up to snuff, your organization could be at risk of third-party breaches if your business partners are not as diligent as you are. Verizon just learned this lesson the hard way after one of… Read More

Cyber Cooperation Is Crucial in the Era of NotPetya

The NotPetya attacks weren’t as bad as WannaCry; they were worse, and we all need to start cooperating to prevent the next attack. It’s looking more and more like last week’s NotPetya malware attacks, which infected computers around the world but hit Ukraine particularly hard, were designed to cause widespread damage and disruption, not make… Read More

Will Cryptocurrency Regulation Attempts Do More Harm Than Good?

White-Hat Hackers Are Already Being Caught in the Cryptocurrency Regulation Net Cryptocurrencies have long been associated with cyber crime. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin was the de facto currency of the notorious online black market Silk Road, it remains the preferred payment method on the Dark Net, and the majority of ransomware attacks, including WannaCry, demand payment… Read More

U.S. Federal Task Force Urges Proactive Healthcare Cyber Security

The Healthcare Industry Cybersecurity Task Force’s report on healthcare cyber security echoes a similar study on medical device security issued by Synopsys and the Ponemon Institute. On the heels of a damning study by Synopsys and the Ponemon Institute, which provides a blow-by-blow accounting of the many problems with medical device security, a federal task… Read More

Four Takeaways from the WannaCry Ransomware Attacks

Four Important Lessons from the WannaCry Ransomware Attacks The recent WannaCry ransomware attacks put cyber security on the front page of every newspaper in the world. Now, everyone knows what ransomware is and how destructive it can be, but will anything change? Following are four critical lessons that both organizations and individuals should take away… Read More

Phishing for Dollars: Email Scams Costing Companies Billions

Why Your Employees Keep Clicking on Phishing Emails, and How You Can Stop It The 2017 Verizon Data Breach Report is out, and it’s full of great news – if you’re a hacker. The study, which examined over 1,900 breaches and more than 42,000 attempts in 84 countries, showed that cyberespionage and ransomware are on… Read More

Data Breach Lawsuits a Reminder of the High Cost of Reactive Cyber Security

Hacked Companies Are Facing Data Breach Lawsuits Filed by Financial Institutions Data breaches aren’t cheap to clean up. Just ask Rosen Hotels, whose costs to clean up a 2016 breach could end up exceeding $2.4 million. Shockingly, that’s below the $4 million average cited by IBM. In addition to direct costs, such as fines, labor… Read More

SCADA Security of Deep Concern as Cyber Attacks Against Government Escalate

“ClearEnergy” May Have Been Fake News, But Threats Against ICS / SCADA Security Are Quite Real Accusations of “fake news” rocked the cyber security industry last week after infosec provider CRITIFENCE implied that it had detected a brand-new “in the wild” ransomware variant called ClearEnergy that posed a clear and present danger to ICS and… Read More

Will Cyber Insurance Cover You After a Ransomware Attack?

Don’t depend on a cyber insurance policy to cover your losses after a ransomware attack. Hackers have discovered that there’s fast, easy money in holding enterprise systems hostage, especially in industries that process and store highly sensitive data, such as education and healthcare. The U.S. Department of Justice recently reported that ransomware attacks quadrupled between… Read More

New York State Cyber Security Regulations Emphasize Governance, Risk & Compliance

New York State Cyber Security Law Heavy on GRC and Proactive Cyber Security The first phase of the New York state cyber security regulations, which apply to insurance companies, banks, and other financial institutions operating within the state, went into effect at the beginning of March. While the insurance and finance industries are already subject… Read More

Jackpotting: How Secure Are Your Bank’s ATMs?

Jackpotting! Are ATMs at the end of every rainbow? ATMs were designed to protect their cash vaults, not their computer components, which leaves them vulnerable to “jackpotting” cyber attacks. Earlier this month, the American Bankers Association announced changes to its Bank Capture incident tracking system, which logs data on ATM attacks, as well as robberies,… Read More

What Is RegTech, and What Can It Do for You?

How RegTech Simplifies Governance, Risk, and Compliance Complying with standards such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, FISMA, and SSAE 16 SOC reporting is complex, costly, and time-consuming, especially for organizations that must comply with multiple standards. You may have heard the term “RegTech” mentioned as a solution. What is RegTech, and how can it help your… Read More

Education Cyber Security: Why Are Schools Getting Hacked?

Education Cyber Security Vulnerabilities and What Schools Can Do About Them K-12 schools, colleges, and universities are attractive targets for hackers. Their networks contain an enormous amount of identifying information on staff members, students, and students’ families, including names, birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers, and even health records. Additionally, educational institutions are frequently connected… Read More

Smart Toys Put Children and Parents at Risk of Data Breaches

Internet-connected smart toys, a popular holiday gift item, have vulnerabilities that put both children and parents at risk of data breaches and identity theft. Smart toys, which connect to the internet and offer children a personalized, interactive play experience, were a very popular gift item this past holiday season. However, the interactive features of smart… Read More

UC Berkeley Offers Cyber Security Advice to Donald Trump

In a new report, UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity offers suggestions to President Elect Trump Now that the election is over, the nation’s attention has turned to President Elect Donald Trump and what a Trump Administration will mean for cyber security. Notably, information security was the only tech-related topic Trump addressed directly on his… Read More

Cyber Security Due Diligence and the Yahoo Breach

Cyber Security Due Diligence Has Become a Fundamental Part of M&A Transactions Data breaches and a failure to comply with governmental and industry standards can impact a company in many ways, as Yahoo is finding out the hard way. The company’s recent disclosure of a massive data breach, which resulted in 500 million user accounts… Read More

Vote Hacking: Could Cyber Criminals “Rig” the Election?

Vote hacking is a legitimate concern, and election officials need to take it seriously. Right alongside immigration, healthcare, and the minimum wage, cyber security has emerged as a major – and contentious – issue in this year’s presidential election. First, the Democratic National Convention’s email server was hacked, and thousands of embarrassing emails were published… Read More

IoT Cyber Security Issues Could Stall Self-Driving Cars

How quickly self-driving cars roll out is dependent on the industry addressing some very serious IoT cyber security issues. Now that Uber has commenced a pilot test of driverless vehicles in Pittsburgh, and competitor Lyft has predicted that most of its cars will be driverless by 2021, self-driving cars are what everyone is talking about.… Read More

Poor Cyber Security Led to Houston Astros Hack

Baseball may be America’s favorite pastime, but from the Black Sox scandal to Pete Rose to the “Steroid Era,” cheating schemes have long tarnished the game. Sadly, it was only a matter of time before cheating went high-tech. Former St. Louis Cardinals executive Chris Correa has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for violating… Read More