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The ATIV S smartphone runs Windows Phone 8, which has a revised start screen, and also allows smartphones based on the OS to be equipped with HD screens, multi-core processors, NFC and microSD card slots.
Samsung has taken advantage of those improvements and the ATIV S has a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display. The phone is 8.7 millimeters thick with NFC integrated, 1.5GHz dual-core processor and HSPA 42 connectivity.
More Windows Phone 8-based devices are expected to be announced next week, as Microsoft joins Nokia for an event in New York where the Finnish phone maker is expected to announce its first phones based on the new OS.
Tablets are equally important, and Windows 8 and RT have been developed with tablets in mind.
The ATIV Tab uses Windows RT, which of course means that it is powered by an ARM processor. The device has a 10.1-inch screen, weighs 570 grams and is 8.9 millimeters thick. That compares to the new iPad, which weighs from 652 grams and is 9.4 millimeters thick.
Users can attach a keyboard and other peripherals using the included USB and HDMI ports. Just like the ATIV S, the Tab has NFC integrated.
For users who prefer Intel-based processors and Windows 8, the ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC Pro both have keyboards that can be attached magnetically to the screen. They have also inherited the S Pen from the Galaxy Note-family, which allows users to write directly on the screen.
The ATIV Smart PC Pro is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor and has a 11.6-inch screen. The ATIV Smart PC is the simpler of the two, and has a new Atom processor.
Meanwhile, on the Android side, the Galaxy Note II has a bigger screen and a faster processor than its predecessor tablet, while the Galaxy Camera has 16-megapixel resolution and an optical zoom.
For Samsung, the IFA trade show seems to have become the place where the company launches new concepts. At last year's show it premiered the first Note, and this year it has launched the Galaxy Camera.
The camera is the first in the world to combine Android 4.1 with 3G and a quad-core processor, according to Samsung. It also has a 4.8-inch HD display and an f2.8/23 millimeter lens with a 21x optical zoom. It is voice-controlled and users can store images on Dropbox; 50GB is included.
Samsung is hoping the camera will help create a new product category, as it managed with the Note.
When Samsung launched the original Note, few people thought the product would be a success, thanks to its 5.3-inch screen size which put it between smartphones and tablets. But with sales of over 10 million, Samsung has proven that its instincts were right and now wants to build on that momentum with the Galaxy Note II, which is based on Android 4.1. Samsung will try to convince consumers to upgrade to the new model or buy one for first time when it starts shipping in October.
The Galaxy Note II is powered by a quad-core 1.6GHz processor. It has a 5.5-inch widescreen display with a resolution of 1280-by-720 pixels, which is housed in a shell that is 9.4 millimeters thick and weighs 180 grams.
That compares to the original version's 5.3-inch display with a 1280-by-800 pixel resolution in a package that is 9.7 millimeters thick and weighs 178 grams.
Samsung has also increased the size of the battery from 2,500 mAh to 3,100 mAh. How that will affect battery life when there is a slightly bigger screen and a faster processor remains to be seen.
On the software side, users can hover over an icon with the digital pen and get a preview of what hides beneath it. Also, if the pen is left behind, the Note II will vibrate to warn the user that the pen has been left behind.
The new version also includes pop-up video and pop-up play, features that allow users to watch videos or surf the web in a window that hovers over the rest of the user interface.
On Tuesday, Samsung also launched the Series 7 and Series 5 All-In-One (AIO) PCs, which will also have Windows 8 along with touch-sensitive displays. Users will also be able to control the computers with hand gestures.
The Series 7 comes in two versions, with either a 27-inch or a 23.6-inch display. The 27-inch version has an Intel Core i7-3770T processor and 8GB of RAM, while smaller version has to make do with a Core i5-3470T processor and 6 GB of RAM.
The Series 5 has a 21.5-inch display, a Core i3-3220T processor and 4 GB of RAM.
The list prices are between $1,099 and $1,699 for the Series 7 and $749 for the Series 5, and all three will become available on Oct. 26.
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https://www.pcworld.com/article/261606/samsung_unveils_windows_8_mobile_devices_updates_note.html?tk=rel_news
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There are clear benefits when you hire a branding firm. This blog post intends to let you know why you need to do it. Primarily, a branding company is expert in making a certain business popular through a lot of possible means.
Because it is not definitely easy to achieve massive growth and success, you therefore need a helping hand. In this sense, a company to help you have an elevated brand identity level is what you badly need. Your brand should be recognized as one of the best in the industry of your choice. It can possibly be attained through trusting a branding agency that really works.
According to Ramotion, “There are a lot of reasons why you need the services of a firm with expertise on boosting the brand performance. Among those reasons is the idea of conveying the right message. Branding is all about message conveyance.” To understand this idea is important. You have to hire the best brand design company that will take charge of everything about your business. Handling the identity level of your brand is a crucial factor as far as success is concerned. In other words, you have to make sure that your brand identity is well recognized by the target customers. Failure to do this can have a repercussion which is unfavorable to you as the business owner.
Launching products or services on the market is never easy. It requires proper implementation of effective and credible techniques. This is the reason why you need a branding agency to handle this aspect. Of course, there has to be a set of interrelated ideas and marketing strategies. It’s not just that you have to convey the message right away that your products are what people badly need. There are steps to be implemented. Your brand should be understood well by the target customers. This is the gist of why you have to make sure to get the right services from a legitimate service provider.
Branding is a sort of a marketing strategy, to say the least. It’s all about making people happy and satisfied. Every time a user will choose your products (the crafted solution), they have to feel their essential potency. When you fail in this aspect, it can be hard for you to attain massive growth and success. Of course, doing business is all about making people happy, nothing else. Doing this can purposely drive your business to the next level. Step by step, you need to ensure that your company is going to flourish through a high level of competitiveness. In other words, your company should be competitive enough. This must be your way towards success.
A trusted branding agency does have the right tools and technologies.
Because we’re already in the modern time, there are tools and technologies that a branding agency should be using for the benefits of business owners. The very reason why you have to secure them is the need to increase the level of your company’s visual identity. This is truly a requisite. As far as doing business is concerned, you must have to make sure that your company does have the right technologies. When it becomes a reality, branding your company particularly the offered products can easily be done. The visual identity factor is the big thing here. You need not to compromise this matter because speaking of success, it serves as one of the main determinants.
You need to take advantage of the technological advancement in today’s business landscape. Nowadays, people are using the Internet through their personal computers and/or smartphones. That is why the approach must be in line with the use of modern-day tools. There are software techs as well which you can use in optimizing the digital platforms. The idea is simple. You need to boost the performance of your brand on the Internet. That is why modern-day Internet marketing is encouraged by experts. You have to observe and apply those techniques related to present digital marketing optimization. Your brand can truly benefit from it. As a matter of fact, there is what is called “i-branding” which emphasizes the use of the web to boost the performance of the different brands in the world today.
The Internet is highly regarded as one of the most important platforms where engaging and interacting with potential customers can be done. This is a digital space wherein you can showcase the beauty and helpfulness of your products. You need to understand that by maximizing the use of web-related solutions for business, your brand can have a number of benefits. Not to mention the increase in the engagement level, generating more leads and producing sales is possible through this process. Hence, you’re advised to trust one of the available branding companies these days.
Boosting business success is the ultimate goal of every business entity.
It is vital to comprehend that you have to execute the right branding techniques because you have to boost the performance of your company. When you’re able to have a number of leads, the success rate of your business is going to rise dramatically. This is quite essential as a strategy. Generally speaking, you need to do proper branding since it is about making your products (as a solution) vital. When people embrace your offers, the possibility is for them to use and patronize your brand. Your company will then be considered as one of the most trusted providers of effective solutions. The success of your business therefore depends on how people are going to appreciate and embrace your offers.
You need to establish a strong foundation to attain high-level competitiveness. Being competitive means you’re going to be trusted by a lot of potential customers. Take note that those website and/or app users belong to your potential market. To convert them, you need to build a strong brand identity. The level of which should be enough to sustain. Business sustenance can happen when there are more people to patronize the offered solution. So, it’s about numbers once and for all. When you have more, there can be huge sales and revenues to follow. This is the simple equation as far as hitting sustainable income and revenues is concerned.
The right branding company can work in line with your own business perspectives.
Of course, you must have your own business blueprint or master plan. You should not be launching your products or services if you don’t have any perspective, framework, and plan at first. This is the first order of business – create a doable and working master plan. The hired branding agency has to work with you in this regard. In other words, they should act as your partner in creating the right plan for your company. Be reminded that branding is a challenging and difficult task to execute. It’s not definitely easy to realize the tasks associated with the achievement of the plan. But when you have the right company from the available branding companies today, attaining it is highly doable.
The hired company should lead the way towards the establishment of the right brand identity design. What is this? Well, it is about the design of your business which expounds how great you are as a solution provider. It has a number of important elements. One of the important elements you need to know is the consistency of the message. Conveying the right message to the target audiences should be done correctly, coherently. Don’t deviate from this suggested rule because it can have adverse impacts. You want real success, right? It can only be achieved when you’re in the right direction. So, make sure that your brand is served by the perfect branding agency which can work parallel to your own business perspectives.
A great branding firm can lead you to the next level.
There is a significant idea here. Its essence is equally important as of the above-cited contexts. When looking for an agency to handle the branding aspect of your business, make sure that the firm can drive you to the next level. What does it mean by this? Simply put, you have a target market and in branding context, all you need to do is to touch the market. Make the target customers believe that what you’ve got is truly the solution they badly need. You have to make them believe that the best decision they can ever make in their entire life is when they will decide favorably to your offers. Buying your products is the right thing they have to do. This should be the content of the message which can be found in your own website, mobile app, and/or other digital platforms.
The branding company is the one which can clarify everything as regards to how to hit the desired goals and objectives. Meeting the needs and demands of the target customers is of course the most important pillar when you’re branding your business. Satisfying the customers must be the endpoint. Contextually, you can achieve it when you’re able to hire the right company with deep branding-related work experiences. But then always put this in your mind! You need one that is able to work for the benefits of your brand. There has to be a suitability factor. It means when you hire, make sure the hired agency is suitable to work for your business brand identity to become strong.
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https://gbhackers.com/you-must-hire-the-right-branding-agency-because-of-these-factors/
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Founder and International MD of BeecherMadden, MD at Nicoll Curtin, Cyber Security Awards Judge, Industry Speaker.
The well-reported cybersecurity skills shortage has worsened and now stands at almost 2.9 million. With too few cybersecurity professionals for the roles required, attracting talent is a key issue. But companies with mature cybersecurity teams are reporting another issue: Retaining their employees is a big challenge. Preliminary results of our salary survey, due out in 2019, tells us that employees achieve a bigger salary increase when moving jobs, and the 2018 report from (ISC)² shows that only 15% of employees have no intention of leaving their current employer.
Ensuring that salary levels are set to attract the best isn’t the only solution to your retention problem. These strategies can also help.
1. Allow project work outside of the day job.
Based on my experience, employees who have a real passion for the job and work on projects in their spare time are the most sought-after. They can demonstrate commitment to their work, and that shows through in an interview. These are the employees who are going to find a way to fix the problem because that’s what they love. They are going to innovate and find better solutions.
Helping them feed that passion benefits everyone. The business gets employees with constantly developing skills who may even find a solution with a business benefit. What we hear from these select few, time and time again, is that they don’t want to move jobs because they don’t think another employer will give them time for these projects. They are happy and motivated.
Employers can make it explicit in a job offer that a key benefit is that a percentage of their working time can be dedicated to personal security projects. It can also be used to attract candidates. Telling a penetration tester they aren't just going to be trying to break into a company, but will also get to try and break this new smart device is exciting and different. It’s my No. 1 tip to retain your technical employees.
2. Make sure cybersecurity is taken seriously by the business.
The best cybersecurity employees are really engaged with the industry and they look externally to find better solutions or to spot trends. If the trend they spot is that their organization is behind or not taking cybersecurity seriously, they will be tempted to move on. These candidates want to effect real change and do a good job. If they are prevented from doing this due to budget constraints, or a leadership team that hasn’t committed to cybersecurity, they will move to an organization where this exists.
To retain your employees, your business leadership need to engage with the security team. Recognition for successes can go a long way. Employees need to get support if business areas aren't cooperating with implementing security processes. The security leadership can also communicate better with the team on what the board is interested in, how budgets were agreed and highlight the successes they have had.
3. Demonstrate a route for career progression.
Respondents have listed career progression as the No. 1 reason for changing jobs almost every year in the six years I have been producing salary reports. It’s more important to candidates than a salary increase. Yet many candidates do not see how they can move up in their current organization. If they are provided with an opportunity to learn new skills and develop their career, if they can see the path, they will stay with your organization.
Regular one-to-ones explaining the opportunities that exist and examples of others who have progressed are both important tools to utilize. Make it obvious what skills (technical and non-technical) they need to obtain to move into the next role. If possible, offer funding and time off for further study to support continuous learning and future advancement. Sometimes, allowing employees the time to do that, can also have an impact on retention as they may be concerned they won't achieve that if they move roles externally.
4. Strong leadership is important.
Part of providing good career progression includes have a strong leader. Having a boss you enjoy working for resonates with everyone, not just those in cybersecurity. One of the nuances of cybersecurity is that some have risen to management very quickly, often as a result of being the only person available to promote. Providing strong leadership to your team really helps employees feel connected to the vision of the business and builds a connection for them in their role.
Having a well-respected cybersecurity leader will help you retain staff, and also attract new ones. This goes beyond gaining good leadership skills. Give your employees time, so that they can learn from you. A cybersecurity leader who is active on the speaking circuit or is seen in the industry as a thought leader will make your employees proud to be a part of your team.
5. Wait for employees to become fatigued with moving.
This isn’t a quick fix, but it will come. Candidates get approached about jobs on a regular basis — and with 2.9 million roles going unfilled, this isn’t going to change. The most sought-after might be getting approached five or six times a day, every day. After a while, this becomes boring and they stop listening. Employers will prioritize candidates with more longevity in their roles and moving jobs then becomes harder. As salary increases stabilize, moving becomes less attractive.
The cybersecurity skills shortage isn’t going away, but there are some key steps organizations can take to retain these hard-to-find employees and improve employee engagement along the way.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2018/11/21/five-smart-ways-to-increase-retention-among-cybersecurity-teams/#20fc1dd1d285
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https://www.cloudrangecyber.com/news/2018/11/28/five-smart-ways-to-increase-retention-among-cybersecurity-teams
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Anna Pagani2016-05-19 12:07:322016-06-06 18:42:33“(In)Security of Things – From wearable to SmartGrids… New internetworking with old flaws” Future Challenges in Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism Research: the CyberROAD perspective May 16, 2016/in All, Events /by Anna PaganiThe research project CyberROAD organizes its final event Future Challenges in Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism Research: the CyberROAD perspective at the University of Cagliari on May, 25th. Enrico Frumento of CEFRIEL will hold a speech on The CyberROAD roadmap.
CyberROAD, funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme, is aimed at identifying current and future issues in the fight against cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism, in order to draw a strategic roadmap for cyber security research. The Cyber-crime and Cyber-terrorism research roadmap is built through an in-depth analysis of all the technological, social, legal, ethical, political, and economic aspects on which cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism are rooted.
CEFRIEL is part of the consortium that represents all the players and stakeholders involved in the fight against cyber crime and cyber terrorism: law enforcement, public bodies, universities and research centers, as well as companies and industries.
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http://www.cefriel.com/tag/cyber-crime/
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Keeping up with the Internet Of Things can be difficult these days also new strains of Ransomware popping up every week.
Hence this weeks Ransomware was dubbed PyCL because it’s programmed in Python also researchers saw it running through the EITest malware.
All respondents did say that even after paying the ransom consequently they did not get all their files back or unlocked.
It’s especially relevant that Ransomware is out to get your companies files for money not cooperate and give it back.
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http://blackboxconnections.com/blog/2017/03/31/new-one-day-ransomware-strain-pops-up-over-the-weekend/
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CleanTalk eliminates the need for CAPTCHA, questions & answers and other ways which use complicated communication methods for spam protection on your site.
Invisible to the visitors, spam protection has a positive effect on the loyalty of the site's audience.
Fraud Prevention:
CleanTalk provides lists of spam active IP/email addresses which were seen by the service in spamming on the websites, and lists of domains that are promoted using spam.
Every day CleanTalk gets information about thousands of new spam IPs/emails and some of these IP are used for fraud/DDoS/hacking/fraud and other attacks too. Write to us to test our database.
API to check IPs, domains and emails blacklisted for abuse or fraud via CleanTalk BlackList database to prevent fraud, spam, and other online threats.
About BitNinja
BitNinja is an easy-to-use server security tool, which can be installed on your server within a couple of minutes and requires virtually no maintenance, a mixture of an on-premise and cloud based solution.
It is an agent which sits on your infrastructure and sends the attack information to the central server which is in the cloud.
We have a new technology called the defense network, which means that every BitNinja protected server learns from each attack and shares the learned information with the central server and with all the other BitNinja enabled servers, so the shield just gets stronger and stronger with every single attack.
Does this service offer multi-user capability (e.g. teams)?
Yes, you can add/invite new members to your account on the Dashboard/Users menu using the List/Add Users button. You can set 4 predefined roles to each user, depending on the level of access you want to grant. Now you can choose between Admin, Server Operator, Server Group Operator or Invoice/Accounting Manager, but later on, we plan to add new roles with more defined access points.
With the power of collective intelligence, your server becomes more protected every second, as we sync attack information among all the BitNinja protected servers worldwide.
Moreover, while cloud-based security solutions require your traffic to be redirected through their servers, with BitNinja, you don’t have to do any configuration. Also, any failures of the cloud-based party can make your server unavailable, which is a huge risk to take. Our service runs on your own existing infrastructure, so there is no downtime if anything stops running in our system.
BitNinja directly protects not only on HTTP, but all other protocols (SMTP, IMAP, POP3, SSH, FTP) as well.
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https://crozdesk.com/compare/shield-antivirus-vs-cleantalk-vs-bitninja
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Virus Protection starts with educating your staff: what constitutes a risky email, should I click on this link… When our clients aren’t sure about an email they call us! We also post about common virus outbreaks on facebook and encourage staff to ask questions to help protect themselves and your business.
Of course good virus protection software, and frequent updates are also important and we can help you choose the right protection for your business, and either schedule visits to keep it updated or show your staff how to do the updates themselves.
Backups are really the third part of protecting yourself. Antivirus can only start working on a cure for a new virus after they find out about it. If you’re unlucky enough to get it in the first few days, your Antivirus probably won’t be able to protect you.
Viruses that hide in email attachments are also hard to find – there’s nothing for your Antivirus to detect until you’ve clicked the attachment. Once clicked the virus races to disable your Antivirus, and if it manages to hide for even a few seconds that can be long enough for your files to be damaged.
Cryptolocker is one of the new kinds of Ransomware Virus. Yup. It’s a virus that will encrypt your data and charge you to get it back. (They use BitCoin accounts to stay anonymous). There’s money to be made, so new versions are being released all the time now. You do have to click on an attachment in the email before the virus can activate, but once you have done that the data is usually unrecoverable. You either pay the ransom, or lose your files… or you revert to your backup and thumb your nose at the virus makers. You do HAVE a backup, right?
Of course – if the worst happens… we’ll be there to remove the virus (overnight if necessary) and get your computer network secured again.
Saving your data is always our number one priority, so any virus removal with us begins with a backup.
Cryptolocker is about the only virus that we haven’t been able to recover any data from, but even with the big C there are some recovery methods emerging for older versions.
It is a good idea to check with an IT Provider just what their policy is before you let them try to remove a virus. Some companies will format your computer (meaning you lose everything on it), either as a first or second resort. Its’ actually against the law for them to wipe your data without warning you in writing first, but unfortunately it does happen.
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https://helpmedave.com.au/business-it-support-sydney/computer-security/virus-removal-and-virus-protection/
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L33tdawg: “… also at a level that wasn’t overwhelming” – Is it just me, or does that sound quite demeaning?
Computer security conferences tend to be male-dominated affairs. It’s not that women aren’t present, but just not anywhere near their normal proportional representation in society.
Resolved: Maintenance: PASS and PASS based Web Hosting may be slow on 4/12 – 4/15 (15.4.2019)
Resolved: Maintenance: Pinnacle will be partially unavailable 04/13/19 (15.4.2019)
Update: Reminder: Alerts and email notifications associated with alerts.it.psu.edu will be retired on April 17 (15.4.2019)
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https://www.viruss.eu/security-news/hacking-contest-seeks-to-attract-women-to-information-security/
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As you may or may not know the cloud has had PowerBi for a while now and it has been a great success at data visualization creating powerful dashboards and helping people make informed decisions every day.
And now we have PowerBi moving on-prem with the PowerBi Report Server your users will be able to create, publish, and distribute beautiful reports quickly using this tool, as well since Power BI Report Server is part of Power BI Premium you are cloud ready for when you want to move to the cloud.
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https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/christwe/2018/01/10/powerbi-tidbit-using-powerbi-on-prem/
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1 Dec 2018 ... Journal of Cybersecurity Research (JCR) publishes both theoretical and applied articles that significantly contribute to the understanding of ... cyber security ieee paper 2018 - engineering research papers CYBER SECURITY IEEE PAPER 2018. Introduction to the Minitrack on Cyber Security and Software Assurance free download. Determined adversaries ... The European Union as a Cybersecurity Actor by Jed Odermatt : SSRN 23 Mar 2018 ... University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law Research Paper No. ... It then discusses the EU's approach to cybersecurity issues, focusing on three ... Cybersecurity - IEEE Conference Publication - IEEE Xplore
The cyber security specialists and cyber criminals started the competition that can be compared with development of offensive weapons and defensive ones to withstand the attacks. Cyber security is the field of science that is developing constantly and rapidly, so there are always lots of interesting topics for the research paper.
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The winner of the Dutch Cyber Security Research Paper (DCSRP) Award 2018 was: "ASLR on the Line: Practical Cache Attacks on the MMU" by Ben Gras, ...
(ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study - Virginia Cyber Alliance surprise that research shows the shortage of cybersecurity professionals is now ... For the (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study (formerly the Global Informa-. RAID 2018 : Home Researchers working in the field of computer and information security ... RAID 2018 is soliciting research papers on topics covering all well-motivated security ... Cybersecurity: Threats, Challenges, Opportunities - ACS The five pillars of cybersecurity readiness 51 ... make decisions around cybersecurity. Because, despite the ..... from a research paper at the Social. Science ... What are some of the must read papers in cyber- security?
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Journal of Cybersecurity | Oxford Academic
A recent research paper published by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) takes a look at the cyber security debate around Huawei as the potential supplier of 5G technology for next generation wireless networks. It will consider the strategic and legal issues raised by ...
Cybersecurity Research Papers - Academia.edu View Cybersecurity Research Papers on Academia.edu for free. 30 Cyber Security Research Paper Topics - A Research Guide for ... Our cyber security research paper topics were gathered by the experts in this field. Lift your grades up and become the best student in class! (PDF) A Recent Study over Cyber Security and its Elements 8 Dec 2017 ... International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science ... In this paper we proposed study of Cyber Security and its elements.
Collection of Deep Learning Cyber Security Research Papers ... papers on security topics that use Deep Learning as part of their research. What follows is a list of the papers/slides/videos that I ... State of Cybersecurity 2019 - Security Certification - CSX Publications, Whitepapers and Research. The Nexus Articles. Cybersecurity Resource Center. State of Cybersecurity . CAREERS. Career Roadmap Tool. Career Pathways Training. Advance Your Career. LEARNING. Corporate Training. Training for Individuals. Conferences. Webinars. YOUR CSX. Access your purchased course material and labs, register for ...
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https://iwriteymx.firebaseapp.com/birkhimer55882nebu/research-paper-on-cyber-security-2002.html
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Dmitry Fedotov from Togliatti, Russia.
The first story in the Western media about Paunch’s arrest came on Oct. 8, 2013 from Reuters, which quoted an anonymous former Russian police detective. But the initial news of Paunch’s arrest appears to have broken on Russian news blogs several days earlier. On Oct. 5, Russian news outlet neslushi.info posted that a hacker by the name of Dmitry Fedotov had been arrested the night before in Togliatti, a city in Samara Oblast, Russia. The story noted that Fedotov was wanted for creating a program that was used by various organized crime groups to siphon roughly 26 billion rubles (USD $866 million) from unnamed banks. Another story from local news site Samara.ru on Oct. 8 references a Dmitry F. from Togliatti.
This is an interesting lead; last week’s story on Paunch cited information released by Russian forensics firm Group-IB, which did not include Paunch’s real name but said that he resided in Togliatti.
Fast-forward to this past week, and we see out of the Russian publication Vedomosti.ru a story stating that Paunch owned his own Web-development company. That story also cited Group-IB saying that Paunch had experience as an advertising manager. This Yandex profile includes a resume for a Dmitry Fedotov from Togliatti who specializes in Web programming and advertising, and lists “hack money” under his “professional goals” section. It also states that Fedotov attended the Volga State University of Service from 2003-2005.
That Yandex profile for Fedotov says his company is a site called “neting.ru,” a Web development firm. The current Web site registration records for that domain do not include an owner’s name, but a historic WHOIS record ordered from domaintools.com shows that neting.ru was originally registered in 2004 by a Dmitry E. Fedotov, using the email addresses [email protected] and [email protected].
A cached contact page for neting.ru at archive.org shows the same [email protected] email address and includes an ICQ instant messenger address, 360022. According to ICQ.com, that address belongs to a user who picked the nickname “tolst,” which roughly translates to “fatty.”
A user who picked the nickname “tolst” or “fatty” posted this image of his new Porsche Cayenne in March 2013
This brings up something I want to address from last week’s story: Some readers said they thought it was insensitive of me to point out that Paunch himself called attention to his most obvious physical trait. But this seems to be a very important detail: Paunch had a habit of picking self-effacing nicknames.
The pictures of Paunch released by Group-IB show a heavyset young man, and Paunch seems to have picked nicknames that called attention to his size. One email address known to have been used by the Blackhole author was “[email protected]” (“paunchik” means “doughnut” in Russian). Blackhole exploit kit users who wished to place their advertisements in the crimeware kit itself so that other customers would see the ads were instructed to pay for the advertisements by sending funds to a Webmoney purse Z356971281174, which is tied to the Webmoney ID 561656619879; that Webmoney ID uses the alias “puzan,” a variant of the Russian word пузо, or “potbelly.”
Turns out, “tolst” was a common nickname picked by Paunch. We can see a user who picked that same “tolst” nickname posting in a Russian car forum in March 2013 about his new ride: a white Porsche Cayenne. According to this photo released by Group-IB, Paunch also owned a white Porsche Cayenne. Tolst posted pictures of the interior of his Porsche here.
Neting.ru’s archived FAQ points to an official payment page at virtual currency Webmoney, which includes the name Dmitry E. Fedotov and the ICQ number 360022. That same Webmoney account shows up on wmid.name, a site that lists account holders who have a reputation for being late with promised payments. The last account on the bottom of that page is an entry that lists the same Webmoney ID, along with Dmitry Evegeny Fedotov‘s date of birth (Nov. 6, 1986), passport number (3606578837), and physical address. It’s not clear when Fedotov was added to this list, but it’s possible he was simply unable to pay for promised transactions due to his early October arrest and detention.
This Odnoklassniki profile for a Dmitry Fedotov from Togliatti also puts his birthday at Nov. 6, and says he attended Volga State University of Service from 2003 to 2005.
Early on, Fedotov appears to have made a living by writing and selling Web scripts for various online currency exchange sites. But by 2009, this young man was growing more interested in computer security — specifically Web browser vulnerabilities.
The Web community Fido20.ru includes a member named “tolst” from Togliatti who gives his name as Dmitry Fedotov and was very active in discussions about network security, privacy and hacking. In this post from 2009 titled “Vulnerabilities in browsers and their plugin-ins,” Fedotov can be seen warning users about unspecified new vulnerabilities in Apple’s Quicktime and Microsoft’s DirectX versions 7 through 9.
In another thread, Fedotov encourages the sharing of browser exploits and provides links to several vulnerability archives. He also tells fellow forums members that they are asking to get hacked if they leave various browser plugins activated.
“As I have done before, I am asking all the users as well as IT Security professionals to disable all plug-ins and add-ons in their browsers,” Fedotov warned forum members. “Do not think that if you are not users of Internet money (web money), there is no danger of being infected. In this case, the infected PCs are turned into socks proxies, spam/ddos bots and all the bad activity is done under your name, so that law enforcement can place all the blame on your shoulders. Safe surfing and good luck to you.”
You right Brian it doesn’t matter at all but still Paunch ( “paunch-ik” )witch means — a large and protruding belly; potbelly. And (- ik ) at the end stands for уменьшительно-ласкательный and it all come to ” little boy with a potbelly” nowhere where near you translation of “doughnut”. But well done for trying anyway .
I wonder if you know the difference between Дорогой and Дорогой ,Стрелки and Стрелки .кружки and кружки ?
One of the main characters is named Ponchik (Пончик) who is also overweight. at some point he strikes it rich and changes his name to Mr. Ponch (Мистер Понч)
I highly recommend the book, not only because it’s a major cultural reference, but also because it somehow managed to predict the modern Russian capitalist system to a t.
Interesting! I imagine, also – it isn’t common for someone in the US to call someone very familiar “Dear friend”; likewise, depending on the situation and cultural shift, Russian, or any language would have alternate meanings for words of the same spelling.
And we have tons of descriptive garbage that would be almost impossible for someone from even another neighborhood to understand – just local customs.
Look for voksalna to declare that you have written yet another adolescent and/or ad hominem attack on dear Paunchoolichka.
It is not Brian’s fault, but it is strange that an English transliteration of Тольятти is Togliatti when there is clearly no hard ‘g’ letter or sound in the Russian word. It would be understandable if it was similar to сегодня with the ‘g’ sound changed to a different sound.
That figure refers to the total estimated amount taken by all people using the exploit kit.
Try slowing down your reading you might not invent things in your head when you see figures in a story about a person …
I find it kind of amusing that wmid.name is, after a fashion, doxing criminals who get caught.
In their zeal to punish people who don’t pay their bills, they expose personal details that criminals would rather stay hidden… and just in time for reporters to dig them up for articles about their criminal activities.
Hmm. Timeline. Let’s see : he leaves Volga State University in 2005, by which time he has already set up his own Web development company. So, he’s smart and ambitious.
Up to 2009 he seems to be on the side of the good guys, warning against browser-based malware exploits. He’s also interested in network security. Perhaps his interest is already veering towards the opportunities offered by exploiting vulnerabilities, but that’s not known for certain.
If the hacker in the regnum.ru news report is indeed Fedotov then some time between 2009 and August 2011 he goes rogue and starts writing malware code. Blackhole first appears in 2010, but would have taken some time to develop; so was 2009 the year Fedotov actively began work on it?
Some time after February 2012 he is arrested, co-operates with the police, goes to trial in April this year. His criminal activities are only noted as being between August 2011 and February 2012, and the charges specifically mention the potential damage to Russian banks from his programs. Still, he receives only a lenient 6-month suspended sentence
But … less than 6 months after his trial Fedotov is arrested (again) on October 4th, and this time the charges are much more serious. What changed in the intervening six months? Was it just the investigation by Group IB that made it impossible for the authorities to ignore his activities?
It is likely that Fedotov was a developer, perhaps the lead developer, of the Blackhole exploit kit. But if all he received during the development phase was a series of small payments, was he working for someone else? Perhaps the mysterious J.P.Morgan, who clearly was still at large and active after Fedotov’s arrest?
Lokks like there is another post about the Blackhole clan. Looks like up to a dozen were taken; 31. December 6, Softpedia – (International) Russian authorities prosecute BlackHole creator and 12 other suspects. Authorities in Russia announced charges against the alleged creator of the BlackHole exploit kit and 12 others for allegedly using BlackHole to distribute banking trojans and cause losses totaling $2.1 million. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Russian-Authorities-Prosecute-BlackHole-Creator-and-12-Other-Suspects-406627.shtml
The short rticle seems a bit misleading, but I had to share. If the card site is going down, what is Brian to do!
December 9, Wired.com – (International) Guilty verdict in first ever cybercrime RICO trial. An Arizona man was found guilty of federal racketeering charges for his participation in an underweb marketplace known as Carder.su that sold stolen payment card information, counterfeiting equipment, and online criminal services. The marketplace created $50.5 million in losses according to a government estimate. Source: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/12/rico/
carder[dot[su went down quite some time ago. the forum that took on many of its members was carder[dot]pro and more recently cpro[dot]su. Sadly, the latter disappeared a little over a month ago, and it’s not clear what the story is there, but it was widely assumed to have been overrun by feds and researchers, as are many crime forums.
for better or worse, carder[dot]su and their ilk are not unique snowflakes; there are dozens upon dozens of these carding forums. there are so many that I’m still discovering more of them each week. 🙂
Understood. What the article talks about is using that RICO law to “evenly” distribute punishment to all users of the site(s), thus squashing any sort of half-botched sentencing.
The Feds were in carder, selling fake id’s for years, so I am sure they have a laundry list they are cleaning up.
Good job on keeping up, I know it can be a pain in the rump sometimes to get the info you seek, just stay safe out/in there young man.
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https://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/12/who-is-paunch/
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Were there a cybersecurity zodiac, 2016 would have been the year of the phish. For proof, look no further than the starting point of the (Russian-led) Democratic National Committee hack that potentially cost Hillary Clinton the U.S. Presidential election or the massive spikes in spear-phishing and whaling attacks. Ransomware and mobile malware were also on a steep ascent, largely buoyed by the prevalence of phishing.
For a clearer picture of the year that was, allow us to paint with numbers. Here are 10 crazy cybersecurity statistics from 2016.
10. 93% of Security Managers Overwhelmed
If these crazy cybersecurity stats are any indication, it has been an insane year for security operations centre managers. According to a report by McAfee, nearly all of them (93%) feel overwhelmed and unable to triage potential threats.
If you count yourself among this group and need some help, start your New Year’s resolutions early by reaching out to a reputable cybersecurity expert like those at Vircom today.
These are but a few of the many crazy cybersecurity stats that have been coming out of this past year, an undeniably game-changer in the field. Here’s to a safe and happy 2017!
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Advanced Metaphor Protection: cybersecurity vs. cyber semantics Fishing is something your dad does; ‘phishing’ is when a hacker baits and hooks you with […] ‘App-y’ Holidays With These Christmas Hacks For most Millennials, the notion of a holiday hack evokes images of the Christmas […]
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https://www.vircom.com/blog/the-10-craziest-cybersecurity-statistics-of-2016/
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The government has announced the creation of a new UK Cyber Security Council to develop a skilled workforce to tackle the ever-rising threat levels.
The most important component of a strong national capability is attracting proficient talent to work in both government and industry. With a budget of £2.5 million the Council will take on the job of building this capability. Objectives include:
To ensure the UK remains a global leader in cyber security.
The government is asking for views on its cyber security skills strategy to help shape and refine its work. Comments can be made here with a closing date of midday on Friday, 1st March.
The Council will build on initiatives already in place, including Cyber Discovery, a programme designed to encourage young people to consider a career in cyber security.
The Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund aims to increase training in the UK with the hope that increased security awareness will spread to all sectors of the economy. Government and industry are therefore collaborating closely to shut down the growing threat to business and infrastructure. The new Council’s aim is to supply the necessary talent to keep the UK at the forefront of cyber security.
Margot James, Minister for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Making sure we have a skilled cyber security workforce now and for the future is not only central to our national security but is also fundamental to the UK becoming the world’s best digital economy. This strategy alongside the creation of an independent UK Cyber Security Council will be the next step in equipping our growing and vibrant cyber security sector with the expertise it needs for years to come.”
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https://www.todayslegalcyberrisk.co.uk/main-news/new-council-making-uk-global-leader-cyber-security/
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I'm not sure that this is the right discussion but if it isn't please tell me.
I just got my new laptop with windows 7 home premium installed and I'm having a tough time accessing certain folders and features. I set up my login name with administrative permissions but I still cant get into certain folders. In particular the "Documents and Settings" folder. I have checked the permissions of this folder and see that administrators have 'full control' of this folder but trying to access it brings up the "access is denied" popup. I am at a lose as to how to proceed. I had one rare thought and that was that perhaps one has to upgrade to windows 7 professional in order to access these folders but that couldn't possibly be. Right?
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https://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/107322-folder-permissions.html?s=0275ab747bbe619013c062b42b77ddf7
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It's time to do away with the mundane pinstripe tie, and add this playable Tetris tie to your wardrobe.
The tie, which comes complete with animated falling tetrominoes, is the work of naval engineer Bill Porter. His DIY neckwear makes use of a tiny DigiSpark microcontroller, around 80 RGB LEDs, and of course an actual necktie.
Porter estimates that his 8-bit creation cost him around $50 to make, and he hopes to improve it with Bluetooth connectivity, allowing someone to play Tetris on the tie via a connected smartphone that acts as a controller. But don't go looking for one at your nearest Macy's just yet—Bill's creation is only a prototype.
Yup, we live in a world where Bluetooth enabled ties are becoming a thing. Now, how about adding that addictive music, too?
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http://www.pcworld.com/article/2042873/play-tetris-on-this-led-equipped-tie-and-leave-onlookers-puzzled.html
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A developer discovered that an update released for the 'strong_password' Ruby gem contained malicious code that allowed an attacker to remotely execute arbitrary code.
Developer Tute Costa was updating gems used by a Rails application when he noticed that version 0.0.7 of strong_password was pushed out on RubyGems.org, the Ruby community's gem hosting service, but not on GitHub.
Strong_password is a Ruby gem that developers can integrate into their applications to ensure that the passwords being set are strong. The gem has been downloaded nearly 250,000 times, including over 38,000 times in the case of version 0.0.6.
An analysis of strong_password 0.0.7, released on June 25, revealed that a few lines of code had been appended to the end of a file. The code was designed to wait for a random number of seconds (up to one hour), check if the application using the gem was running in production and, if so, fetch and run code from a Pastebin post.
The Pastebin post was editable so the payload could have been changed by the attacker at any time.
After discovering the malicious code, Costa reached out to the developer of strong_password, Brian McManus, who said someone had hijacked the gem and he had lost ownership. After being alerted by Costa, RubyGems representatives pulled the malicious version, locked the account used by the attacker, and assigned McManus as the owner of the gem.
The issue has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2019-13354. Rubysec, which provides security resources for the Ruby community, has advised users who installed version 0.0.7 to immediately downgrade to version 0.0.6.
Unfortunately, data from rubygems.com shows that the malicious version was downloaded 537 times before it was pulled.
The incident has been discussed by many on Hacker News. Some expressed concern that the attack may have been the result of a vulnerability affecting the entire Ruby ecosystem, while others believe the attacker most likely compromised the gem developer’s account. Some believe a powerful vulnerability would have likely been exploited against a much more popular gem — the most popular have tens and even hundreds of millions of downloads — while others think this may have been part of a targeted attack.
This is not the first time a malicious Ruby gem has been discovered this year. In late March, someone pushed out a malicious version of bootstrap-sass, which has roughly 29 million downloads. The malicious version included a stealthy backdoor that allowed attackers to execute arbitrary commands on server-side Rails applications.
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https://www.securityweek.com/malicious-code-planted-strongpassword-ruby-gem
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Last week, RA Labs noticed MS17-010 exploit attempts against production networks we’re monitoring, seemingly unrelated to the massive WannaCry outbreak two weeks ago. On Monday, May 22, we observed an active worm at one customer site. We immediately alerted their staff of the incident, then filtered SMBv1 traffic through the ThreatSweep™ to limit the spread of the worm. Within minutes, the customer’s IT staff had identified and isolated the system in question, and working with RA Labs, tied together several host-based Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) consistent with the EternalRocks worm. The culprit was a Windows 2003 server that hadn’t been manually patched yet. Within a few hours, the system was patched, cleaned and restored to service.
ThreatSweep acts on security threats around the clock, but this is just one example of how RiskAnalytics provides meaningful, actionable visibility to our customers’ IT staff every day. EternalRocks is one of several worms recently observed in the wild, exploiting 0-day vulnerabilities that had been stockpiled by the US Government’s spy agencies and leaked by ShadowBrokers. Some samples of this worm feature a 24-hour delay from initial infection to any malicious activity such as scanning for vulnerable hosts. It appears to be mostly-dormant, but the command-and-control infrastructure could be used to deploy any number of malicious payloads at a moment’s notice.
ThreatSweep detects the techniques used by these worms. It can block attack attempts, and will issue a HOTAlert™ to your staff instantly when this activity is observed inside your network.
Our advice for dealing with these new worms is similar to our advice for WannaCry:
• Ensure all software patches are applied to all systems in your organization.
• Identify unsupported operating systems, and come up with a migration plan to decommission unsupported software that can’t be patched.
• Reduce the exposure of unnecessary network services to the Internet.
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https://www.riskanalytics.com/2017/06/01/incident-response-case-study-new-worms-exploiting-the-nsa-toolkit/
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From ImageWare Systems, the FaceID is a facial-recognition program that dramatically enhances the ability to identify suspects. It employs high-technology biometrics and parallel processing to identify a suspect by measuring distinctive facial characteristics. Using the eyes as a reference point, Face ID uses a complex mathematical formula to produce a data record representing the face. The data record is then used to compare against a digital database of enrolled images.
I want to hear from you. Tell me how we can improve.
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https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/77080-facial-recognition-software-1
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RTX 2060 review, 3rd-gen Ryzen news, and the best of PCs at CES 2019 | The...
The U.S. International Trade Commission Monday rejected an IBM request to review a decision that denied the company's attempts to block the import of hardware made by Asustek on patent infringement grounds.
IBM in January of last year filed a patent infringement complaint with the ITC, alleging that Asus was importing and selling infringing products in the U.S. The ITC decided that it will not review the ruling of an administrative judge, who found that Asus had not infringed on IBM patents, and terminated the investigation.
Asus, which is based in Taiwan, sells PCs, and hardware including motherboards, PC components and peripherals.
The patents cover fan, power supply and networking technologies. The patents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are numbers 5,008,829, 5,249,741 and 5,371,852.
In March, an ITC administrative judge ruled in favor of Asustek, saying it did not infringe IBM's patents.
"We are disappointed with the Commission's decision and will review our options for taking an appeal to the Federal Circuit," said an IBM spokesman. Asus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
To comment on this article and other PCWorld content, visit our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.
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https://www.pcworld.com/article/168406/article.html
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So I've tried to buy 6 month game time from the Origin store in the UK. Both with a bank card and paypal (Both of which have worked in the past.) But I get a 'Payment Authorisation Failed' message, it doesn't take my money nor do I get a code.
I phone EA up (Thankfully they have an Irish phone number now) and the chap says due to a Risk Asssement by a company Digital River? (I didn't catch it, so unsure) that I would have to wait 72 hours before they approve the purchase and I'd get my code.
What a lot of bollocks surely? Has anyone had this, and it WORK? I'm just trying to pay some accounts here, not diffuse a nuclear bomb.
Players at the edge and almost leaving.. surely now EA will fix it?
You know what though, I wouldn't hold my breath.... #9
So two phone calls later, and a very rude experience with EA live chat support I have my codes..
The phone man was extremely helpful, the online chat I tried was extremely rude. Who told me to phone my bank, then when I said I had the issue with paypal too their response was simply 'Then phone paypal, anything else?'.
You're a better man then me Mapper.
I am not planning on phoning anybody.
If they use my credit card, great. If not then so be it.... Everything will drop and I will find a new hobby...
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http://stratics.com/threads/cant-buy-gametime-due-to-a-risk-assessment.262907/
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Our distinguished council of cybersecurity experts.
The University of San Diego's Center for CyberSecurity Engineering and Technology (CCSET) has an Advisory Council formed by representative cybersecurity leaders and experts from industry. This board assists the CCSET by providing input regarding the center's objectives, as well as evaluation of the programs and curriculum.
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https://www.sandiego.edu/engineering/cyber-security-center/advisory-council.php
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With a strong understanding of the basics and benefits of 5G, enterprises and IoT device and equipment manufacturers are now looking toward use cases to gauge its potential return on investment, according to recent research from Forrester.
In answering the question, “do I really need 5G?” enterprise stakeholders and manufacturers must evaluate their specific use case requirements against the differentiated characteristics of 5G networks, according to Dan Bieler, principal analyst serving CIOs at Forrester. That involves looking beyond speed and low-latency benefits that typically characterize 5G discussions, and taking into consideration additional use case requirements – like battery life and quality of service – that 5G can enable. For instance, long battery life is crucial to enabling industrial IoT use cases like remote supervision and control of machinery, as well as smart city and utility projects. In turn, high quality of service is vital for health care technology that uses video feeds to monitor patients.
“5G means you’re building something new, not just speeding up existing processes,” Bieler said. “Compared to 3G and 4G, 5G is a much bigger game in the B2B space. The average user won’t have to have 5G.”
Bieler co-authored the report, “IoT Use Case Requirements Will Shape Your Need for 5G” to help provide clarity amidst an influx of questions Forrester is receiving around the ROI of 5G. Over the last six months and in particular, since Mobile World Congress last month, 5G has gained a lot of momentum, Bieler said, adding he hasn’t seen such hype around a new mobile topic since UMTS. That is in spite of the fact that global 5G network standards are still in development – with core network architecture standards not expected until September 2018 – and broad commercial deployments in selected metropolitan cities not likely to start until 2019. That said, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the international standards-setting organization, is fast-tracking the development of global 5G network standards, and network operators and equipment manufacturers are deploying 5G trials and proofs of concept, according to the report.
What’s also interesting is those questions about 5G are coming from different “decision-makers,” than networking questions typically would, according to Bieler.
“We’re not having a discussion between just network managers and engineers, but business line managers,” Bieler said. “It’s a very interesting debate which is very unlike the discussion we had in the past.”
It’s important to remember that “emerging 5G networks won’t replace current wireless network technologies, but exist in tandem with existing wireless networks including LTE-A, NB-IoT and proprietary low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technologies,” according to the report.
“Each type of network has specific bandwidth capabilities and network characteristics that can address an array of use cases with diverse connectivity requirements,” the report’s authors wrote.
When considering 5G use cases “be honest with yourself” in calculating the return on investment, Bieler said. There are many alternatives to debate as part of a 5G discussion, including NB-IoT, and unlicensed LWPA providers like SigFox and LoRa.
“Take 5G very seriously. It will be essential for many use cases coming up,” Bieler said. “But the vendors will try to push a technology at the end user community, which might not be absolutely necessary and might not generate the returns the enterprise customers might hope for.”
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https://www.itprotoday.com/software-development/enterprises-now-eyeing-5g-iot-use-cases-determine-roi
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Safe Hosting Cloud handles sensitive cardholder information daily. Sensitive Information must have adequate safeguards in place to protect them, to protect cardholder privacy, to ensure compliance with various regulations and to guard the future of the organisation.
Safe Hosting Cloud commits to respecting the privacy of all its customers and to protecting any data about customers from outside parties. To this end management are committed to maintaining a secure environment in which to process cardholder information so that we can meet these promises.
Information security incidents must be reported, without delay, to the individual responsible for incident response locally – Please find out who this is.
We each have a responsibility for ensuring our company’s systems and data are protected from unauthorised access and improper use. If you are unclear about any of the policies detailed herein you should seek advice and guidance from your line manager.
Acceptable Use Policy
The Management’s intentions for publishing an Acceptable Use Policy are not to impose restrictions that are contrary ’s established culture of openness, trust and integrity. Management is committed to protecting the employees, partners and Safe Hosting Cloud from illegal or damaging actions by individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly. Safe Hosting Cloud will maintain an approved list of technologies and devices and personnel with access to such devices as detailed in Appendix B.
Keep passwords secure and do not share accounts.
Authorized users are responsible for the security of their passwords and accounts.
All PCs, laptops and workstations should be secured with a password-protected screensaver with the automatic activation feature.
All POS and PIN entry devices should be appropriately protected and secured so they cannot be tampered or altered.
Because information contained on portable computers is especially vulnerable, special care should be exercised.
Postings by employees from a Company email address to newsgroups should contain a disclaimer stating that the opinions expressed are strictly their own and not necessarily those of Safe Hosting Cloud, unless posting is in the course of business duties.
Employees must use extreme caution when opening e-mail attachments received from unknown senders, which may contain viruses, e-mail bombs, or Trojan horse code.
All sensitive cardholder data stored and handled and its employees must be securely protected against unauthorised use at all times. Any sensitive card data that is no longer required for business reasons must be discarded in a secure and irrecoverable manner.
If there is no specific need to see the full PAN (Permanent Account Number), it has to be masked when displayed.
PAN’S which are not protected as stated above should not be sent to the outside network via end user messaging technologies like chats, ICQ messenger etc.,
All Access to sensitive cardholder should be controlled and authorised. Any Job functions that require access to cardholder data should be clearly defined.
Any display of the card holder should be restricted at a minimum of the first 6 and the last 4 digits of the cardholder data.
Access to sensitive cardholder information such as PAN’s, personal information and business data is restricted to employees that have a legitimate need to view such information.
No other employees should have access to this confidential data unless they have a genuine business need.
If cardholder data is shared with a Service Provider (3rd party) then a list of such Service Providers will be maintained as detailed in Appendix B.
Safe Hosting Cloud will ensure a written agreement that includes an acknowledgement is in place that the Service Provider will be responsible for the for the cardholder data that the Service Provider possess.
Safe Hosting Cloud will ensure that a there is an established process including proper due diligence is in place before engaging with a Service provider.
Safe Hosting Cloud will have a process in place to monitor the PCI DSS compliance status of the Service provider.
Physical Security
Access to sensitive information in both hard and soft media format must be physically restricted to prevent unauthorised individuals from obtaining sensitive data.
Employees are responsible for exercising good judgment regarding the reasonableness of personal use.
Personnel using the devices should verify the identity of any third party personnel claiming to repair or run maintenance tasks on the devices, install new devices or replace devices.
Personnel using the devices should be trained to report suspicious behaviour and indications of tampering of the devices to the appropriate personnel.
A “visitor” is defined as a vendor, guest of an employee, service personnel, or anyone who needs to enter the premises for a short duration, usually not more than one day.
Media is defined as any printed or handwritten paper, received faxes, floppy disks, back-up tapes, computer hard drive, etc.
Media containing sensitive cardholder information must be handled and distributed in a secure manner by trusted individuals.
Visitors must always be escorted by a trusted employee when in areas that hold sensitive cardholder information.
Procedures must be in place to help all personnel easily distinguish between employees and visitors, especially in areas where cardholder data is accessible. “Employee” refers to full-time and part-time employees, temporary employees and personnel, and consultants who are “resident” on Safe Hosting Cloud sites. Network Jacks located in public and areas accessible to visitors must be disabled and enabled when network access is explicitly authorised.
All sensitive cardholder data must be protected securely if it is to be transported physically or electronically.
Card holder data (PAN, track data etc) must never be sent over the internet via email, instant chat or any other end user technologies.
If there is a business justification to send cardholder data via email or via the internet or any other modes then it should be done after authorization and by using a strong encryption mechanism (i.e. – AES encryption, PGP encryption, IPSEC, GSM, GPRS, Wireless technologies etc.,).
The transportation of media containing sensitive cardholder data to another location must be authorised by management, logged and inventoried before leaving the premises. Only secure courier services may be used for the transportation of such media. The status of the shipment should be monitored until it has been delivered to its new location.
10.Disposal of Stored Data
All data must be securely disposed of when no longer required , regardless of the media or application type on which it is stored.
An automatic process must exist to permanently delete on-line data, when no longer required.
All hard copies of cardholder data must be manually destroyed as when no longer required for valid and justified business reasons. A quarterly process must be in place to confirm that all nonelectronic cardholder data has been appropriately disposed of in a timely manner.
Safe Hosting Cloud will have procedures for the destruction of hardcopy (paper) materials. These will require that all hardcopy materials are crosscut shredded, incinerated or pulped so they cannot be reconstructed.
Safe Hosting Cloud will have documented procedures for the destruction of electronic media. These will require:
o All cardholder data on electronic media must be rendered unrecoverable when deleted e.g. through degaussing or electronically wiped using military grade secure deletion processes or the physical destruction of the media; o If secure wipe programs are used, the process must define the industry accepted standards followed for secure deletion.
All cardholder information awaiting destruction must be held in lockable storage containers clearly marked “To Be Shredded” – access to these containers must be restricted.
11.Security Awareness and Procedures
The policies and procedures outlined below must be incorporated into company practice to maintain a high level of security awareness. The protection of sensitive data demands regular training of all employees and contractors.
Review handling procedures for sensitive information and hold periodic security awareness meetings to incorporate these procedures into day to day company practice.
Distribute this security policy document to all company employees to read. It is required that all employees confirm that they understand the content of this security policy document by signing an acknowledgement form (see Appendix A)
All employees that handle sensitive information will undergo background checks (such as criminal and credit record checks, within the limits of the local law) before they commence their employment with Safe Hosting Cloud.
All third parties with access to credit card account numbers are contractually obligated to comply with card association security standards (PCI/DSS).
Company security policies must be reviewed annually and updated as needed.
12.Network security
Firewalls must be implemented at each internet connection and any demilitarized zone and the internal company network.
A network diagram detailing all the inbound and outbound connections must be maintained and reviewed every 6 months.
A firewall and router configuration document must be maintained which includes a documented list of services, protocols and ports including a business justification.
Firewall and router configurations must restrict connections between untrusted networks and any systems in the card holder data environment.
Stateful Firewall technology must be implemented where the Internet enters Safe Hosting Cloud Card network to mitigate known and on-going threats. Firewalls must also be implemented to protect local network segments and the IT resources that attach to those segments such as the business network, and open network.
All inbound and outbound traffic must be restricted to that which is required for the card holder data environment.
All inbound network traffic is blocked by default, unless explicitly allowed and the restrictions have to be documented.
All outbound traffic has to be authorized by management (i.e. what are the whitelisted category of sites that can be visited by the employees) and the restrictions have to be documented
Safe Hosting Cloud will have firewalls between any wireless networks and the cardholder data environment.
Disclosure of private IP addresses to external entities must be authorized.
A topology of the firewall environment has to be documented and has to be updated in accordance to the changes in the network.
The firewall rules will be reviewed on a six months basis to ensure validity and the firewall has to have clean up rule at the bottom of the rule base.
Safe Hosting Cloud have to quarantine wireless users into a DMZ, where they were authenticated and firewalled as if they were coming in from the Internet.
No direct connections from Internet to cardholder data environment will be permitted. All traffic has to traverse through a firewall.
The systems configuration standard should be applied to any news systems configured.
All vendor default accounts and passwords for the systems have to be changed at the time of provisioning the system/device in network and all unnecessary services and user/system accounts have to be disabled.
All unnecessary default accounts must be removed or disabled before installing a system on the network.
Security parameter settings must me set appropriately on System components
All unnecessary functionality (scripts, drivers, features, subsystems, file systems, web servers etc.,) must be removed.
All unnecessary services, protocols, daemons etc., should be disabled if not in use by the system.
Any insecure protocols, daemons, services in use must be documented and justified.
All users with access to card holder data must have a unique ID.
All user must use a password to access Safe Hosting Cloud network or any other electronic resources
All user ID’s for terminated users must be deactivated or removed immediately.
The User ID will be locked out if there are more than 5 unsuccessful attempts. This locked account can only be enabled by the system administrator. Locked out user accounts will be disabled for a minimum period of 30 minutes or until the administrator enables the account.
All system and user level passwords must be changed on at least a quarterly basis.
A minimum password history of four must be implemented.
A unique password must be setup for new users and the users prompted to change the password on first login.
Group, shared or generic user account or password or other authentication methods must not be used to administer any system components.
Where SNMP is used, the community strings must be defined as something other than the Standard defaults of “public,” “private” and “system” and must be different from the passwords used to log in interactively.
Administrator access to web based management interfaces is encrypted using strong cryptography.
The responsibility of selecting a password that is hard to guess generally falls to users. A strong password must:
Be as long as possible (never shorter than 6 characters).
Include mixed-case letters, if possible.
Include digits and punctuation marks, if possible.
Not be based on any personal information.
Not be based on any dictionary word, in any language.
If an operating system without security features is used (such as DOS, Windows or MacOS), then an intruder only needs temporary physical access to the console to insert a keyboard monitor program. If the workstation is not physically secured, then an intruder can reboot even a secure operating system, restart the workstation from his own media, and insert the offending program.
To protect against network analysis attacks, both the workstation and server should be cryptographically secured. Examples of strong protocols are the encrypted Netware login and Kerberos.
All removable media (for example floppy and others) should be scanned for viruses before being used.
All the logs generated from the antivirus solutions have to be retained as per legal/regulatory/contractual requirements or at a minimum of PCI DSS requirement 10.7 of 3 months online and 1 year offline.
All Workstations, servers, software, system components etc. owned must have up-to-date system security patches installed to protect the asset from known vulnerabilities.
Where ever possible all systems, software must have automatic updates enabled for system patches released from their respective vendors. Security patches have to be installed within one month of release from the respective vendor and have to follow the process in accordance with change control process.
Any exceptions to this process have to be documented.
16.Remote Access policy
It is the responsibility of Safe Hosting Cloud employees, contractors, vendors and agents with remote access privileges ’s corporate network to ensure that their remote access connection is given the same consideration as the user’s on-site connection .
Secure remote access must be strictly controlled. Control will be enforced by two factor authentication via one-time password authentication or public/private keys with strong passphrases.
Remote access connection will be setup to be disconnected automatically after 30 minutes of inactivity
All hosts that are connected internal networks via remote access technologies will be monitored on a regular basis.
All remote access accounts used by vendors or 3rd parties will be reconciled at regular interviews and the accounts will be revoked if there is no further business justification.
Vendor accounts with access network will only be enabled during the time period the access is required and will be disabled or removed once access is no longer required.
17.Vulnerability Management Policy
All the vulnerabilities would be assigned a risk ranking such as High, Medium and Low based on industry best practices such as CVSS base score.
As part of the PCI-DSS Compliance requirements, Safe Hosting Cloud will run internal and external network vulnerability scans at least quarterly and after any significant change in the network (such as new system component installations, changes in network topology, firewall rule modifications, product upgrades).
Quarterly internal vulnerability scans must be performed by internal staff or a 3rd party vendor and the scan process has to include that rescans will be done until passing results are obtained, or all High vulnerabilities as defined in PCI DSS Requirement 6.2 are resolved.
Information systems that process transmit, or store card holder data must be configured in accordance with the applicable standard for that class of device or system. Standards must be written and maintained by the team responsible for the management of the system in conjunction with the Information Security Office.
All network device configurations must adhere required standards before being placed on the network as specified in Safe Hosting Cloud configuration guide. Using this guide, a boilerplate configuration has been created that will be applied to all network devices before being placed on the network.
Before being deployed into production, a system must be certified to meet the applicable configuration standard
Updates to network device operating system and/or configuration settings that fall under Safe Hosting Cloud standards are announced by the Information security Office. Updates must be applied within the time frame identified by the Information security Office.
Administrators of network devices that do not adhere standards (as identified via a previous exception) must document and follow a review process of announced vendor updates to operating system and/or configuration settings. This process must include a review schedule, risk analysis method and update method.
All network device configurations must be checked annually against the configuration boilerplate to ensure the configuration continues to meet required standards.
Where possible, network configuration management software will be used to automate the process of confirming adherence to the boilerplate configuration.
For other devices an audit will be performed quarterly to compare the boilerplate configuration to the configuration currently in place.
All discrepancies will be evaluated and remediated by Network Administration.
Change control Process
Changes to information resources shall be managed and executed according to a formal change control process. The control process will ensure that changes proposed are reviewed, authorised, tested, implemented, and released in a controlled manner; and that the status of each proposed change is monitored.
The change control process shall be formally defined and documented. A change control process shall be in place to control changes to all critical company information resources (such as hardware, software, system documentation and operating procedures). This documented process shall include management responsibilities and procedures. Wherever practicable, operational and application change control procedures should be integrated.
All change requests shall be logged whether approved or rejected on a standardised and central system. The approval of all change requests and the results thereof shall be documented. A documented audit trail, maintained at a Business Unit Level, containing relevant information shall be maintained at all times. This should include change request documentation, change authorisation and the outcome of the change. No single person should be able to effect changes to production information systems without the approval of other authorised personnel.
A risk assessment shall be performed for all changes and dependant on the outcome, an impact assessment should be performed.
The impact assessment shall include the potential effect on other information resources and potential cost implications. The impact assessment should, where applicable consider compliance with legislative requirements and standards.
All change requests shall be prioritised in terms of benefits, urgency, effort required and potential impact on operations.
Changes shall be tested in an isolated, controlled, and representative environment (where such an environment is feasible) prior to implementation to minimise the effect on the relevant business process, to assess its impact on operations and security and to verify that only intended and approved changes were made. (For more information see System Development Life Cycle [citation here]).
Any software change and/or update shall be controlled with version control. Older versions shall be retained in accordance with corporate retention and storage management policies. All changes shall be approved prior to implementation. Approval of changes shall be based on formal acceptance criteria i.e. the change request was done by an authorised user, the impact assessment was performed and proposed changes were tested.
All users, significantly affected by a change, shall be notified of the change. The user representative shall sign-off on the change. Users shall be required to make submissions and comment prior to the acceptance of the change.
Implementation will only be undertaken after appropriate testing and approval by stakeholders. All major changes shall be treated as new system implementation and shall be established as a project. Major changes will be classified according to effort required to develop and implement said changes. Procedures for aborting and recovering from unsuccessful changes shall be documented. Should the outcome of a change be different to the expected result (as identified in the testing of the change), procedures and responsibilities shall be noted for the recovery and continuity of the affected areas. Fall back procedures will be in place to ensure systems can revert back to what they were prior to implementation of changes.
Information resources documentation shall be updated on the completion of each change and old documentation shall be archived or disposed of as per the documentation and data retention policies.
Specific procedures to ensure the proper control, authorisation, and documentation of emergency changes shall be in place. Specific parameters will be defined as a standard for classifying changes as Emergency changes.
All changes will be monitored once they have been rolled-out to the production environment. Deviations from design specifications and test results will be documented and escalated to the solution owner for ratification.
File integrity monitoring system logs.
Audit Logs must be maintained for a minimum of 3 months online (available for immediate analysis) and 12 months offline.
Review of logs is to be carried out by means of Safe Hosting Cloud’s network monitoring system hostname), which is controlled from Safe Hosting Cloud console hostname). The console is installed on the server hostname / IP address), located within Safe Hosting Cloud data centre environment.
The following personnel are the only people permitted to access log files which individuals have a job-related need to view audit trails and access log files).
The network monitoring system software ) is configured to alert Safe Hosting Cloud [RESPONSIBLE TEAM] to any conditions deemed to be potentially suspicious, for further investigation. Alerts are configured to:
A dashboard browser-based interface, monitored [RESPONSIBLE TEAM].
Email / SMS alerts [RESPONSIBLE TEAM] mailbox with a summary of the incident. Safe Hosting Cloud [ROLE NAME] also receives details of email alerts for informational purposes.
The following Operating System Events are configured for logging, and are monitored by the console hostname):
Any additions, modifications or deletions of user accounts.
Any failed or unauthorised attempt at user logon.
Any modification to system files.
Any access to the server, or application running on the server, including files that hold cardholder data.
Actions taken by any individual with root or administrative privileges.
Any user access to audit trails.
Any creation / deletion of system-level objects installed by Windows. (Almost all system-level objects run with administrator privileges, and some can be abused to gain administrator access to a system.)
The following Database System Events are configured for logging, and are monitored by the network monitoring system software and hostname):
Any failed user access attempts to log in to the Oracle database.
Any login that has been added or removed as a database user to a database.
Any login that has been added or removed from a role.
Any database role that has been added or removed from a database.
Any password that has been changed for an application role.
Any database that has been created, altered, or dropped.
Any database object, such as a schema, that has been connected to.
The following Firewall Events are configured for logging, and are monitored by the network monitoring system software and hostname): a) ACL violations.
Invalid user authentication attempts.
Logon and actions taken by any individual using privileged accounts.
Configuration changes made to the firewall (e.g. policies disabled, added, deleted, or modified).
The following Switch Events are to be configured for logging and monitored by the network monitoring system software and hostname):
Configuration changes made to the switch (e.g. configuration disabled, added, deleted, or modified).
The following Intrusion Detection Events are to be configured for logging, and are monitored by the network monitoring system software and hostname):
Any vulnerability listed in the Common Vulnerability Entry (CVE) database.
Any generic attack(s) not listed in CVE.
Any known denial of service attack(s).
Any traffic patterns that indicated pre-attack reconnaissance occurred.
Any attempts to exploit security-related configuration errors.
Any authentication failure(s) that might indicate an attack.
Any traffic to or from a back-door program.
Any traffic typical of known stealth attacks.
The following File Integrity Events are to be configured for logging and monitored by software and hostname):
Actions taken by any individual with Administrative privileges.
Any Creation / Deletion of system-level objects installed by Windows. The Secure Application development policy is a plan of action to guide developers’ decisions and actions during the software development lifecycle (SDLC) to ensure software security. This policy aims to be language and platform independent so that it is applicable across all software development projects.
The adherence to and use of Secure Application Development Coding Policy is a requirement for all software development on Safe Hosting Cloud information technology systems and trusted contractor sites processing Safe Hosting Cloud data.
Safe Hosting Cloud Coding Standards for Secure Application Development. All code developers
shall verify that their code is in compliance with the most recent and approved coding standards and guidelines.
Only validated code shall be implemented in production environment. A review and validation ensures that code exhibits fundamental security properties to include correctness, predictability, and attack tolerance.
Application Code Developers shall:
Ensure code meets the level of confidence that software is free from exploitable code vulnerabilities, regardless of whether they are already designed into the software or inserted later in its life cycle.
Ensure code provides predictable execution or justifiable confidence and that the software, when executed, will provide security functionality as intended.
Coding techniques must address injection flaws particularly SQL injection,buffer overflow vulnerabilities, cross site scripting vulnerabilities, improper access control (insecure direct object reference, failure to restrict URL access, directory traversal etc.,), cross site request forgery (CSRF), broken authentication and session managment
Never trust incoming data to the system, apply checks to this data.
Never rely on the client to store sensitive data no matter how trivial.
Disable Error messages that return any information to the user.
Use object inheritance, encapsulation, and polymorphism wherever possible.
Use environment variables prudently and always check boundaries and buffers.
Applications must validate input to ensure it is well-formed and meaningful.
Risk: Denial of Service in systems or network devices because of the network scans.
Mitigation measure 1: network scans must be performed in a controlled manner. The start and end of the scan must be notified to responsible personnel to allow monitoring during testing. For any sign of trouble will abort the scan in progress.
Mitigation measure 2: scanning tools must be configured to guarantee that the volume of sent packets or sessions established per minute does not cause a problem for network elements. In this sense, we must perform the first scans in a very controlled way and a use minimum configuration that may be expanded when is evident that the configuration is not dangerous for network devices or servers in the organization.
Responsible for web site thebl.com:
External intrusion tests will be performed remotely from the supplier’s premises .Internal intrusion tests will be conducted in the office Safe Hosting Cloud of the Organization. Audit team must to have access to the Organization’s network. It must manage access permissions to the building early enough to ensure that the audit team can access without problems during planning period.
All the tests will be conducted from the equipment owned by the audit team so no equipment for the execution of the tests is required. The only requirement in this regard will be to have an active network connection for each member of the audit team. Those connections must provide access to the target network segment in every case.
Control of inappropriate access.
Cross – site request forgery (CSRF).
Broken authentication and incorrectly session management.
Any other vulnerability considered High Risk by the organization.
For all findings or vulnerabilities identified during the tests carried out will be generated and documented sufficient evidence to prove the existence of the same. The format of the evidence can be variable in each case, screen capture, raw output of security tools, photographs, paper documents, etc.
‘Security incident’ means any incident (accidental, intentional or deliberate) relating to your communications or information processing systems. The attacker could be a malicious stranger, a competitor, or a disgruntled employee, and their intention might be to steal information or money, or just to damage your company.
The Incident response plan has to be tested once annually. Copies of this incident response plan is to be made available to all relevant staff members, and take steps to ensure that they understand it and what is expected of them.
Employees of Safe Hosting Cloud will be expected to report to the security officer for any security related issues.
Safe Hosting Cloud PCI security incident response plan is as follows:
Each department must report an incident to the Information Security Officer (preferably) or to another member of the PCI Response Team.
That member of the team receiving the report will advise the PCI Response Team of the incident.
The PCI Response Team will investigate the incident and assist the potentially compromised department in limiting the exposure of cardholder data and in mitigating the risks associated with the incident.
The PCI Response Team will resolve the problem to the satisfaction of all parties involved, including reporting the incident and findings to the appropriate parties (credit card associations, credit card processors, etc.) as necessary.
The PCI Response Team will determine if policies and processes need to be updated to avoid a similar incident in the future, and whether additional safeguards are required in the environment where the incident occurred, or for the institution.
If an unauthorised wireless access point or devices is identified or detected as part of the quarterly test this is should be immediately escalated to the Security officer or someone with similar privileges who has the authority to stop, cease, shut down, and remove the offending device immediately.
A department that reasonably believes it may have an account breach, or a breach of cardholder information or of systems related to the PCI environment in general, must inform Safe Hosting Cloud PCI Incident Response Team. After being notified of a compromise, the PCI Response Team, along with other designated staff, will implement the PCI Incident Response Plan to assist and augment departments’ response plans.
Make forensic and log analysis available to appropriate law enforcement or card industry security personnel, as required.
Assist law enforcement and card industry security personnel in investigative processes, including in prosecutions.
The card companies have individually specific requirements the Response Team must address in reporting suspected or confirmed breaches of cardholder data.
Incident Response notifications to various card schemes
In the event of a suspected security breach, alert the information security officer or your line manager immediately.
The security officer will carry out an initial investigation of the suspected security breach.
Upon confirmation that a security breach has occurred, the security officer will alert management and begin informing all relevant parties that may be affected by the compromise.
Shut down any systems or processes involved in the breach to limit the extent, and prevent further exposure.
Alert all affected parties and authorities such as the Merchant Bank (your Bank), Visa Fraud Control, and the law enforcement.
Provide details of all compromised or potentially compromised card numbers to Visa Fraud Control within 24 hrs.
Team via phone at 1-636-722-4100.
Provide a detailed written statement of fact about the account compromise (including the contributing circumstances) via secured e-mail to [email protected].
Provide the MasterCard Merchant Fraud Control Department with a complete list of all known compromised account numbers.
Within 72 hours of knowledge of a suspected account compromise, engage the services of a data security firm acceptable to MasterCard to assess the vulnerability of the compromised data and related systems (such as a detailed forensics evaluation).
Provide weekly written status reports to MasterCard, addressing open questions and issues until the audit is complete to the satisfaction of MasterCard.
Promptly furnish updated lists of potential or known compromised account numbers, additional documentation, and other information that MasterCard may request.
Provide finding of all audits and investigations to the MasterCard Merchant Fraud Control department within the required time frame and continue to address any outstanding exposure or recommendation until resolved to the satisfaction of MasterCard.
Once MasterCard obtains the details of the account data compromise and the list of compromised account numbers, MasterCard will:
Identify the issuers of the accounts that were suspected to have been compromised and group all known accounts under the respective parent member IDs.
Distribute the account number data to its respective issuers.
The role of the security officer is to effectively communicate all security policies and procedures to employees within Safe Hosting Cloud and contractors. In addition to this, the security officer will oversee the scheduling of security training sessions, monitor and enforce the security policies outlined in both this document and at the training sessions and finally, oversee the implantation of the incident response plan in the event of a sensitive data compromise.
Maintaining a formal security awareness program for all employees that provide multiple methods of communicating awareness and educating employees (for example, posters, letters, meetings).
The Information Technology Office (or equivalent) shall maintain daily administrative and technical operational security procedures that are consistent with the PCI-DSS (for example, user account maintenance procedures, and log review procedures).
Monitor and control all access to data.
Maintain a list of service providers.
Ensure there is a process for engaging service providers including proper due diligence prior to engagement.
Maintain a program to verify service providers’ PCI-DSS compliant status, with supporting documentation.
Written contracts require adherence to PCI-DSS by the service provider.
Written contracts include acknowledgement or responsibility for the security of cardholder data by the service provider.
25.Third party access to cardholder data
All third-party companies providing critical services must provide an agreed Service Level Agreement.
All third-party companies providing hosting facilities must comply with Safe Hosting Cloud’s Physical Security and Access Control Policy.
All third-party companies which have access to Card Holder information must:
Adhere to the PCI DSS security requirements.
Acknowledge their responsibility for securing the Card Holder data.
Acknowledge that the Card Holder data must only be used for assisting the completion of a transaction, supporting a loyalty program, providing a fraud control service or for uses specifically required by law.
Have appropriate provisions for business continuity in the event of a major disruption, disaster or failure.
Provide full cooperation and access to conduct a thorough security review after a security intrusion to a Payment Card industry representative, or a Payment Card industry approved third party.
26.User Access Management
Access to company is controlled through a formal user registration process beginning with a formal notification from HR or from a line manager.
Each user is identified by a unique user ID so that users can be linked to and made responsible for their actions. The use of group IDs is only permitted where they are suitable for the work carried out.
There is a standard level of access; other services can be accessed when specifically authorized by HR/line management.
Each user will be given a copy of their new user form to provide a written statement of their access rights, signed by an IT representative after their induction procedure. The user signs the form indicating that they understand the conditions of access.
Access to all company systems is provided by IT and can only be started after proper procedures are completed.
As soon as an individual leaves Safe Hosting Cloud employment, all his/her system logons must be immediately revoked.
As part of the employee termination process HR (or line managers in the case of contractors) will inform IT operations of all leavers and their date of leaving.
Access Control Policy
Access Control systems are in place to protect the interests of all users of Safe Hosting Cloud computer systems by providing a safe, secure and readily accessible environment in which to work.
Safe Hosting Cloud will provide all employees and other users with the information they need to carry out their responsibilities in as effective and efficient manner as possible.
Generic or group IDs shall not normally be permitted, but may be granted under exceptional circumstances if sufficient other controls on access are in place.
The allocation of privilege rights (e.g. local administrator, domain administrator, super-user, root access) shall be restricted and controlled, and authorization provided jointly by the system owner and IT Services. Technical teams shall guard against issuing privilege rights to entire teams to prevent loss of confidentiality.
Access rights will be accorded following the principles of least privilege and need to know.
Every user should attempt to maintain the security of data at its classified level even if technical security mechanisms fail or are absent.
Access IT resources and services will be given through the provision of a unique Active Directory account and complex password.
No access to any Safe Hosting Cloud IT resources and services will be provided without prior authentication and authorization of a user’s Safe Hosting Cloud Windows Active Directory account.
Password issuing, strength requirements, changing and control will be managed through formal processes. Password length, complexity and expiration times will be controlled through Windows Active Directory Group Policy Objects.
Access to Confidential, Restricted and Protected information will be limited to authorised persons whose job responsibilities require it, as determined by the data owner or their designated representative. Requests for access permission to be granted, changed or revoked must be made in writing.
Users are expected to become familiar with and abide policies, standards and guidelines for appropriate and acceptable usage of the networks and systems.
Access for remote users shall be subject to authorization by IT Services and be provided in accordance with the Remote Access Policy and the Information Security Policy. No uncontrolled external access shall be permitted to any network device or networked system.
Access to data is variously and appropriately controlled according to the data classification levels described in the Information Security Management Policy.
Access control methods include logon access rights, Windows share and NTFS permissions, user account privileges, server and workstation access rights, firewall permissions, IIS intranet/extranet authentication rights, SQL database rights, isolated networks and other methods as necessary.
A formal process shall be conducted at regular intervals by system owners and data owners in conjunction with IT Services to review users’ access rights. The review shall be logged and IT Services shall sign off the review to give authority for users’ continued access rights
Usage of appropriate testing using tools like net stumbler, kismet etc. must be performed on a quarterly basis to ensure that:
Any devices which support wireless communication remain disabled or decommissioned.
If any violation of the Wireless Policy is discovered as a result of the normal audit processes, the security officer or any one with similar job description has the authorisation to stop, cease, shut down, and remove the offending device immediately.
The firmware on the wireless devices must support strong encryption for authentication and transmission over wireless networks.
Any other security related wireless vendor defaults should be changed if applicable.
Wireless networks must implement industry best practices (IEEE 802.11i) and strong encryption for authentication and transmission of cardholder data.
An Inventory of authorized access points along with a business justification must be maintained. (Update Appendix B)
I agree to take all reasonable precautions to assure that company internal information, or information that has been entrusted by third parties such as customers, will not be disclosed to unauthorised persons. At the end of my employment or contract with Safe Hosting Cloud, I agree to return all information to which I have had access as a result of my position. I understand that I am not authorised to use sensitive information for my own purposes, nor am I at liberty to provide this information to third parties without the express written consent of the internal manager who is the designated information owner.
I have access to a copy of the Information Security Policies, I have read and understand these policies, and I understand how it impacts my job. As a condition of continued employment, I agree to abide by the policies and other requirements found in Safe Hosting Cloud security policy. I understand that noncompliance will be cause for disciplinary action up to and including dismissal, and perhaps criminal and/or civil penalties.
I also agree to promptly report all violations or suspected violations of information security policies to the designated security officer.
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https://safehostingcloud.com/information-security-policy/
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is a program released by the software company GFI Software Ltd.. Frequently, people decide to uninstall this application. Sometimes this can be easier said than done because removing this manually requires some knowledge related to PCs. One of the best EASY approach to uninstall is to use Advanced Uninstaller PRO. Here is how to do this:
1. If you don't have Advanced Uninstaller PRO on your system, install it. This is good because Advanced Uninstaller PRO is a very efficient uninstaller and general utility to take care of your computer.
6. Navigate the list of applications until you find or simply activate the Search field and type in "". The app will be found very quickly. When you click in the list , the following information about the application is shown to you:
Star rating (in the lower left corner). This explains the opinion other users have about , from "Highly recommended" to "Very dangerous".
Reviews by other users - Press the Read reviews button.
Details about the application you want to uninstall, by pressing the Properties button.
For instance you can see that for :
The web site of the program is: http://www.gfi.com
The uninstall string is: MsiExec.exe /I{0674B216-AB46-42EB-BEA9-60702316154E} 7. Click the Uninstall button. A confirmation window will come up. accept the uninstall by clicking Uninstall. Advanced Uninstaller PRO will then uninstall .
8. After uninstalling , Advanced Uninstaller PRO will ask you to run a cleanup. Click Next to perform the cleanup. All the items that belong that have been left behind will be detected and you will be able to delete them. By removing using Advanced Uninstaller PRO, you can be sure that no Windows registry entries, files or directories are left behind on your computer.
Your Windows PC will remain clean, speedy and ready to run without errors or problems.
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https://www.advanceduninstaller.com/GFI-LANguard-Network-Security-Scanner-44ea152b42ff7dc3db4da9cc6adab34d-application.htm
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Avast announced that two out of five digital households worldwide are vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The Avast Smart Home Report 2019 contains insights from over 16 million smart home networks, revealing that 40.3 per cent of homes worldwide (47.1% in Australia) have more than five smart devices connected and 40.8 per cent (33.4% in Australia) of these contain at least one vulnerable connected device.
The report illustrates that just one connected device can compromise the security of the whole home network.
Avast consumer president Ondrej Vlcek says, “People use their smart TV to watch their favourite Netflix series or connect their baby monitor to their home network. However, often they don’t know how to maintain the security of that device.
“It only takes one weak device to let in a bad hacker and once they are on the network, they can access other devices and the personal data they stream or store, including live videos and voice recordings. Simple security steps will significantly improve the integrity of digital homes.” “For example, the setting of strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication for all device access, and ensuring software patches and firmware updates are applied when available.”
Weak credentials and out of date software
The majority (69.2%) of vulnerable devices in households worldwide (55.4% in Australia) were discovered to be vulnerable due to having weak credentials, such as simple passwords or the use of one-factor authentication.
A further 31.8 per cent of these devices worldwide (45.1% in Australia) were vulnerable due to not being patched.
Avast also scanned 11 million routers worldwide and found that over half (59.7%) worldwide either have weak credentials or software vulnerabilities.
Out-of-date software is often the weakest link in the security chain, making it an easy gateway for cybercriminals looking to access other connected devices.
Printers were found to be the most prevalent vulnerable device worldwide, featuring in the top three list in every single country scanned and topping the list in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.
Media streaming boxes (e.g. set-top boxes, Chromecasts, TiVos) have entered the top five, and are incidentally the third most prevalent IoT device found in digital homes, after TVs and printers.
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https://itbrief.co.nz/story/one-third-of-connected-homes-in-australia-at-risk-of-cyber-attack
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System security issues are often a big concern for both owners of servers, and those, who support these servers. Maintaining an acceptable level of network security is a continuous process. That's why we strongly recommend our customers to view system security as an ongoing process, and not a one-time interference.
Remsys can perform a one-time security audit and take the necessary measures to improve your data safety, however the benefits of such actions would be temporary, simply because after a certain period of time the security level will drop.
The main question is - who will be responsible for maintaining the security of your information.
Cutting-edge technology is necessary to identify the continuously appearing threats, but knowledgeable professionals and established processes are also required. For a big number of companies, skillful security specialists are hard to come by. Many lack confidence in their capability to maintain quality network security, with staff deficiencies being called the top problem.
By providing managed support services to companies all over the world, Remsys engineers have acquired the deep expertise in data security system that is hard to replicate by an individual organization.
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https://www.remsys.com/system-security
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Manno, G & Liguori, V 2006, 'Vulnerability assessment of a coastal sector in south sicily (Italy)', pagg. 510-513.
Manno G, Liguori V. Vulnerability assessment of a coastal sector in south sicily (Italy). 2006.
Manno, Giorgio ; Liguori, Vincenzo. / 4 pag.
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https://pure.unipa.it/it/publications/vulnerability-assessment-of-a-coastal-sector-in-south-sicily-ital-2
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As you know, high quality is rarely free. The same goes for antiviruses. And if for the home computer free of charge downloaded protective software can be enough, then the business needs more enhanced protection. And for this, you need to acquire a professional antivirus. With improved functionality and individual support.
If you look at the properties and quality of paid services, you can easily get lost. Naturally, all companies will try to exhibit their product in the best possible way. However, antivirus must be chosen objectively. And we will tell you what products are worthy of your attention.
This year, according to experts, the best paid antivirus 2019 are the products presented below.
AVG Internet Security 2019. Antivirus Czech manufacturer. In 2019, the developers significantly added antivirus functionality and fixed many bugs. There are functions Do not Disturb.
Avast Internet Security 2019. Avas is considered one of the best antiviruses. Another Czech product offers multi-level protection, including Anti-rootkit, Protection on the Web, and much more. If you used the free version of the antivirus, definitely evaluate the premium benefits.
Avira Internet Security Suite 2019. Avira Internet Security Suite is a German updated program to protect your PC at several levels. Avira’s premium version allows the user to control the process of tracking the verification process, protects against phishing, hacking, spyware, and thieves. At the same time, the functionality does not conflict with the system.
Bitdefender Internet Security. Multi-level web protection, secure Internet banking, parental control. All this is in the Bitdefender Romanian security software. The product provides automatic protection with high speed. Multi-level web protection includes anti-phishing, anti-malware protection, secure search, an isolated web browser, and an electronic wallet for secure Internet banking and online shopping. Parental control with web management allows you to block unwanted content and track the online activity of your children.
Kaspersky Internet Security. Comprehensive Kaspersky Anti-Virus offers high-level professional protection. The program has been multi-stage tested and has shown its effectiveness against viruses and various types of malware. So, among them were even the latest Trojans and worms. Kaspersky Internet Security provides such functions as Parental Control, Payment Protection and many other functions that will be especially useful for corporate systems.
Norton Security. American innovative antivirus that provides multi-level protection. A simple and modern interface is combined with 5 scanning algorithms, even for a not very new Windows system.
ESET NOD32 Internet Security. The new version has been thoroughly developed and improved. The anti-virus even detects hidden rootkits and bugs and updates the registry of viruses on a regular basis. There were cases when only this antivirus could deal with the most neglected cases of infection.
Web Security Space for Windows. This is a thoughtful computer protection complex, which includes Spider Gate, parental control, phishing, payment protection The anti-virus quickly finds even disguised viruses and promptly deletes them.
This year, the results of the selection of tops show that professionals never lose grip. Such antiviruses as Avast, Avira, and Kaspersky will occupy the first places for functionality and efficiency for a long time. Therefore, if you want to buy a paid antivirus for yourself or a corporate network, then these options will give you impassable protection.
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https://tellyupdatesonline.com/featured/best-paid-antivirus-2019/
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With a belief that everyone should have the opportunity to participate and thrive in the economy, San Francisco-based Square, Inc. is on a mission to build tools that make commerce easier and more accessible to all.
Square was founded in 2009, with offices in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Ireland, and the UK. It offers sellers a broad range of payment acceptance options, complemented by reporting and analytics, next-day settlement, and chargeback protection. The company’s point-of-sale (POS) software and associated business services are designed to help sellers succeed. For example, significant innovation through the use of Squaredesigned readers for smartphones and tablets enables merchants to accept card payments in a secure manner without the complexity and cost of managing traditional fixed POS devices. The origin of the now substantial global mobile POS (mPOS) card acceptance market can legitimately be traced back to Square.
As with all companies, data integrity and the security of transactions are mission-critical factors. However, Square has a rather unique philosophy in the way it approaches its security architecture. Most attackers try to exfiltrate data so that they can work in the seclusion of their own systems. Square’s environment was architected from the very outset to prevent that from happening, incorporating hardware security modules (HSMs) as a required element.
The uniqueness and value proposition of Square’s offerings have made the company a resounding success and this has influenced the design criteria for the infrastructure. Square opted to handle scalability at the application layer and this created the need to be able to conveniently move keys between HSMs.
A key factor for selecting the optimal HSM for the Square implementation was a module’s ability to process vast amounts of data. Square profiled its software to understand how many authentication code operations and how many encryption calls were taking place, and replicated this to test HSM performance.
SOLUTION
Square’s technical team performed a rigorous evaluation of multiple vendors and selected the nCipher nShield Solo HSM because of its compelling performance across the full suite of tests. The nCipher solution’s inherent ability to scale – enabled by the seamless sharing of keys across HSMs without user intervention or complex key cloning activities – was another of the many standout features
The success of the nCipher nShield Solo HSM in the crypto-anchor role has since paved the way for their use in injecting keys into Square’s readers to authenticate the devices. Every hardware product has its own unique key and the nCipher products are a critical part of that process.
RESULTS
The fundamental value of the HSM-centric crypto-anchor approach has remained sound over an extended period of time. Several years since Square decided to use nCipher nShield HSMs, the choice of nCipher as a partner continues to hold valid.
The requirement to regularly conduct both internal and external audits can frequently be very labor-intensive and time consuming. However, the presence of the FIPS-certified nCipher HSM can contribute to streamlining the process. During its DSS audit, for example, Square specifically highlighted that its data is protected by an encryption key, located in the nCipher hardware security module. The inclusion adds to the volume of evidence provided to the auditors to demonstrate that any potential issues are being handled in a robust and compliant manner.
Today’s fast moving digital environment enhances customer satisfaction, gives competitive advantage and improves operational efficiency. It also multiplies the security risks. nCipher Security empowers world-leading organizations by delivering trust, integrity and control to their business critical information and applications.
Our cryptographic solutions secure emerging technologies – cloud, IoT, blockchain, digital payments – and help meet new compliance mandates, using the same proven technology that global organizations depend on today to protect against threats to their sensitive data, network communications and enterprise infrastructure. We deliver trust for your business critical applications, ensuring the integrity of your data and putting you in complete control – today, tomorrow, at all times.
To find out more how nCipher Security can deliver trust, integrity and control to your business critical information and applications, visit www.ncipher.com.
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https://www.ncipher.com/resources/case-studies/square-deploys-ncipher-security-hsms-to-fight-cyber-attackers-on-its-own-terms
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The EU Agency for network and information security (ENISA) is organising the first Transport cybersecurity conference, in cooperation with the European Commission (DG MOVE), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the EU Agency for Railways (ERA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
The continuous evolution of the transport sector and its importance across EU, has spurred the need for cybersecurity to be considered in a coordinated manner. The increased connectivity and interdependencies between transport sectors, introduce novel opportunities for the citizens but also raise challenges to be addressed, notably security.
Accordingly, the conference will bring together international organisations, private industry, regulators, academia, and the management of EU decentralised agencies and European Commission services. Approximately 150 participants are expected to join the event, including international high-level speakers from different sectors.
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https://europa.eu/newsroom/events/1st-transport-cybersecurity-conference_en
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Over the past nine months, I have spent a substantial amount of time investigating and detailing the plight of dozens of small businesses that have had their bank accounts cleaned out by organized criminals. One of the most frequent questions I get from readers and from my journalist peers is, “How many of these stories are you going to tell?”
The answer is simple: As many as I can verify. The reason is just as plain: I’m finding that most small business owners have no clue about the threats they face or the liability they assume when banking online, even as the frequency and sophistication of attacks appears to be increasing.
I am now hearing from multiple companies each week that have suffered tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollar losses from a single virus infection (last week I spoke with people from four different companies that had been victimized over the past two months alone). In each of these dramas, the plot line is roughly the same: Attackers planted malicious software on the victim’s PC to steal the company’s online banking credentials, and then used those credentials to siphon massive amounts of money from the targeted accounts. The twists to the stories come in how the crooks evade security technologies, how the banks react, and whether the customers are left holding the (empty) bag.
In most cases I’ve followed, the banks will do what they can to reverse the fraudulent transactions. But beyond that, the bank’s liability generally ends, because — unlike consumers — businesses do not have the same protection against fraud that consumers enjoy. Indeed, most companies that get hit with this type of fraud quickly figure out that their banks are under no legal obligation to reimburse them.
Earlier this month, I spoke with the CEO of Eskola LLC, a Treadway, Tenn. roofing firm that had $130,000 stolen from its online bank accounts in a series of five unauthorized wire transfers in late January. The bank was able to reverse most of those transfers, but Eskola was unable to recover more than $30,000 of the stolen money.
“It really took our bank by surprise and triggered a whole series of internal reviews, because they told me they’ve been hit several other times since then,” Jon Eskola said. “They said so far this year, it’s been the number one thing that’s come across their plate, and that this type of crime had increased 500 to 600 percent over a year ago.”
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https://krebsonsecurity.com/tag/orange-family-physicians/
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The WhatsApp communications app is seen on a smartphone. Picture: Patrick Sison/AP
INTERNATIONAL - WhatsApp and its parent Facebook Inc. sued spyware manufacturer NSO Group, alleging that the Israeli company used malware to hack into the mobile phones of 1,400 people and conduct surveillance.
Between January 2018 and May of this year, NSO created WhatsApp accounts that it used to send malicious code to targeted devices, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco. The bogus accounts were created using telephone numbers registered in different countries, including Cyprus, Israel, Brazil, Indonesia, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Between roughly April 29 and May 10, NSO unleashed its code over WhatsApp servers targeting attorneys, journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents, diplomats, and other senior foreign government officials, the suit said.
While NSO was unable to break WhatsApp’s encryption, the company developed its malware to access messages and other communications after they were decrypted on the targeted devices.
NSO Group disputed the allegations and said it would “vigorously fight them.” “The sole purpose of NSO is to provide technology to licensed government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to help them fight terrorism and serious crime,” the company said in a statement. “Our technology is not designed or licensed for use against human rights activists and journalists. It has helped to save thousands of lives over recent years.”
Human rights groups and researchers have raised alarms for years about NSO Group, which makes mobile device surveillance software that ostensibly helps governments combat “terror and crime.” Activists, however, say governments misuse NSO’s products to target human rights defenders, journalists and critics.
In this Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019 photo, a Facebook app is shown on a smartphone in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Spyware makers don’t want to accept that their products are used by bad actors, said John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.
“They want the credibility of having powerful intelligence services as their customers, but at the same time they want to take credit only for the alleged successes while disclaiming responsibility for any of the alleged abuses,” Scott-Railton said. “This lawsuit shatters the illusion of this unaccountable bubble.”
NSO said its technology helps government intelligence and law enforcement agencies thwart major terrorist attacks, bring home abducted children and stop pedophiles and other criminals.
“We consider any other use of our products than to prevent serious crime and terrorism a misuse, which is contractually prohibited,” NSO said in the statement. “We take action if we detect any misuse. This technology is rooted in the protection of human rights – including the right to life, security and bodily integrity – and that’s why we have sought alignment with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to make sure our products are respecting all fundamental human rights.”
But U.S. whistle-blower Edward Snowden last fall accused the company of helping Saudi Arabia track and kill government critic Jamal Khashoggi.
Banks that arranged the buyout of NSO Group earlier this year have struggled to place the $500 million of debt they had committed to provide for the deal as many investors deemed the company too risky to touch. They were forced to fund the loans with their own cash before being able to offload the debt at a discount of 90 cents on the dollar.
WhatsApp is seeking an injunction against NSO Group that would bar the company from using WhatsApp and Facebook services. In a Washington Post op-ed, WhatsApp Chief Executive Officer Will Cathcart said that leaders of tech firms should, at a minimum, “call for an immediate moratorium on the sale, transfer and use of dangerous spyware.”
The lawsuit comes after WhatsApp revealed a security flaw in May that allowed “an advanced cyber actor” to deliver malware via WhatsApp by placing a call to a user. WhatsApp said it had patched the vulnerability. While it didn’t name NSO Group for exploiting the vulnerability, the Israeli group was widely believed to have been behind it.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Citizen Lab, have accused the NSO Group of selling its malware to oppressive regimes for the purpose of watching dissidents. In December 2018, Saudi dissident Omar Abdulaziz sued NSO Group, claiming the company’s software enabled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to hack his phone and track his communications with Khashoggi, the murdered Washington Post journalist. NSO has said the Abdulaziz lawsuit makes a number of false claims.
FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2018, file photo the icons of Facebook and WhatsApp are pictured on an iPhone in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Facebook has sued the Israeli hacker-for-hire company NSO Group for allegedly targeting some 1,400 users of its encrypted messaging service WhatsApp with highly sophisticated spyware. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
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https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/technology/facebook-sues-israels-nso-on-alleged-whatsapp-malware-hack-36385615
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U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), the chair of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security recently held an “Examining the Evolving Cyber Insurance Marketplace” hearing to place the focus on the issue of data breaches.
This hearing looked into the market selling policies that are meant to provide consumers with protection against cyber attacks.
It examined the rapidly growing cyber insurance market and heard experts speaking about the various challenges, forms of coverage, and opportunities that are opening up within the industry, as well as the impact that this is having on cyber security. That hearing followed two others that had previously been held in February on the same subject. Those were entitled “Building a More Secure Cyber Future: Examining Private Sector Experience with the NIST Framework,” and “Getting It Right on Data Breach and Notification Legislation in the 114thCongress.”
The goal has been to better understand the environment and need with regards to cyber insurance policies.
The first hearing last month looked into the partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the private sector with the goal of improving vital cyber security infrastructure. The purpose of the second hearing was to give the committee a larger amount of data in order to improve its ability to develop a federal data breach bill.
The hearings brought in a full range of previous industry experts. These included the e-Management chief executive officer, Ola Sage; Zurich North America Management Solutions Group senior vice president Catherine Mulligan; Lockton Companies cyber security and privacy vice president, Ben Beeson, and the Quinnipiac University School of Law adjunct professor of insurance law Michael Menapace counsel, Wiggin and Dana LLP.
Beeson took a moment to underscore the fact that cyber insurance is not only an important force within the market, but that it can also propel improvements to cyber security for enterprise. That, in turn, will then enhance the protection that is openly and readily available to consumers, and to the entire country.
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https://www.liveinsurancenews.com/senate-places-a-focus-on-cyber-insurance-coverage-against-data-breach/8537160/
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Acunetix WVS (Web Vulnerability Scanner) 7 Review – Engine & Scanning Improvements February 23, 2011 | 15,083 views We wrote our first review of Acunetix WVS 6 back in January 2009 and published an update about the release of Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner (WVS) 6.5 in June 2009.
The team over at Acunetix have been working hard on version 7 for quite some time and released a new build with added features earlier this year in February. It also has an entirely new attack vector, DOM XSS.
If you are already familiar with WVS, it’ll feel on the surface much the same as the old version as the interface hasn’t changed drastically (which is a good thing).
Most of the improvements and major changes in version 7 are under the hood, but at first use you will notice the difference. The scanner is much faster and seems more intelligent (there were noticeably less false positives than I remember in version 6) and it has much better support for Web 2.0 and AJAX powered web applications. That is of course a huge area now and very important for a tool like this that focuses on Web Security to support well (the modules have been re-written to support technologies such as such as JSON, XML and more). It also helps that it uses new unique verification techniques so you don’t have to wade through all the false positives by hand.
The order and layout of the scan results is also clearer and easier to follow with better sections and more information about each alert. The information given is also more complete with links to the original advisory and for application based flaws, it’s also extremely easy to see the full headers returned by the web server, relaunch the attack with the HTTP Editor, retest the alert or mark it as a false positive.
It also gives suggestions on how to fix the issue, these are usually quite general though rather than specific technical instructions. One thing I really like about WVS it’s a very well equipped scanner which can crawl, scan, do vulnerability checks and has a bunch of handy tools for comparing results and even fuzzing.
With the HTTP Fuzzer can define your own character sets, iterations, use files and much more. It’s a very neat tool and not only for fuzzing, you can also use it to validate query sets to create your own valid input rules for WVS to test.
Another useful tool to have built in to this kind of application is a local HTTP Proxy – which is labeled in WVS as HTTP Sniffer. The HTTP Sniffer acts as a proxy and allows you to capture, examine and modify HTTP traffic between an HTTP client and a web server. You can also enable, add or edit traps to trap traffic before it is sent to the web server or back to the web client.
It also has a tool called the Authentication Tester, which you can use to perform dictionary/brute-force attacks against login pages which use both HTTP (NTLM v1, NTLM v2, digest) or form based authentication. This tool uses two predefined text files (dictionaries) which contain a list of common user-names and passwords. You can add your own combinations to these text files. It’s a very easy to setup brute-forcing tool for form-based authentication testing.
For those of who do this for a living, the Compare Results tool is great for those clients you scan regularly – it even allows you compare site structure. With this and regular scans you can easily monitor if and when any vulnerabilities are introduced and keep things under control.
Overall this new version of WVS feels similar to version 6 but somehow tighter, faster and more efficient – if you liked WVS before, you’ll love it now.
As an addition for the more advanced users, you can actually write your own Acunetix WVS Vulnerability Checks now too. As the new Checks are JavaScript in WVS 7 – it’s faster, easier and more flexible to write completely new Checks or edit existing Checks.
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http://www.darknet.org.uk/2011/02/acunetix-wvs-web-vulnerability-scanner-7-review-engine-scanning-improvements/
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POA Pharma Scandinavia AB and its affiliates (collectively “POA”) are committed to preserving the privacy of all individuals that share their information with POA. POA is committed to ensuring that if we handle information about any individual, we do so with full regard to the individual’s privacy and in full compliance with applicable laws on data privacy and confidentiality.
Our Data Protection and Privacy Policy (“Policy”) will define the main types of personal information that we may have access to and process within our organisation; how we use any personal information and the steps which are taken to protect the information that you provide to us. The Policy also sets out how POA complies with data privacy laws and regulations, including but not limited to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”), and other national laws implementing data privacy and confidentiality requirements.
POA has put in place internal policies to ensure that our employees are fully aware of the legal requirements relating to data privacy and confidentiality.
By registering on or otherwise submitting your details via any POA site, you consent to the collection, use and transfer of your information under the terms of this Policy.
POA will collect and process Personal Data, including names and contact details, of customers, prospective customers and other business contacts in the course of our marketing activities and other legitimate business related purposes.
When you visit or register on any POA website, you may be asked to voluntarily provide certain information about yourself, including your name and contact details. We may also collect information about you from e-mails or letters you send to us. We may use your information to contact you for your views on our products and to notify you occasionally about important changes or developments to the site or our products. Further, where you have consented, we might also use your information to let you know about other products which we offer which may be of interest to you and we may contact you by post, telephone or fax, as well as by e-mail. If you change your mind about being contacted in the future, please let us know, either by availing of the “unsubscribe” option in our marketing-related correspondence or by contacting us (see Section 8).
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Where Sensitive Personal Data is processed, data protection law requires us to have (as well as one of the legal grounds described above), an additional legal ground to justify using this sensitive information. The appropriate additional legal ground will depend on the circumstances and includes (a) processing that is necessary for carrying out obligations and exercising specific rights in the field of employment or social security, (b) processing in connection with the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, (c) processing that is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as ensuring high standards of quality and safety of health care and of medicinal products or medical devices, and (d) explicit consent of the data subject – where we choose to rely on consent to process Sensitive Personal Data we always obtain the explicit consent of the individual data subjects concerned.
POA may from time to time collect information from you by using “cookies”. At POA, we are strongly committed to protecting your privacy and as such we want to ensure that you are always aware of how we are using cookies on our websites and how this may affect you.
You can navigate around our websites without giving us any personal information. However, the cookie policy in this section sets out a brief explanation explaining our practices for the occasions where cookies are used.
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Cookies may be used on our customer facing applications, and although we are not actively storing any information pertaining to the user in a form of a cookie, some of the application servers which POA uses may write temporary files to enable them to perform as part of their normal usage. This data is not recorded by POA.
Cookies do not usually contain personally identifiable information, and if at times POA requires you to register your information, the cookie which is associated with your registration information is used in a limited manner to allow POA to offer increased functionality of our websites. We do not share any of our data with any third parties. The personal or system information is not stored in the cookie.
To allow you to control your own use of cookies, you will need to reset your web browser to either allow you to accept cookies, reject cookies or notify you on each occasion that a cookie is sent to you. To find out more about cookies, and how to actively manage how they are used on your computer, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org. Please check our website periodically to inform yourself of any updates.
POA also uses industry standard web analytics to track web visits, Google Analytics. The information generated by the cookie about your use of our websites (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of our websites, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may opt out of web analytics by installing these tools on your computer: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
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https://www.poapharma.com/sv/data-protection-and-privacy-policy/
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There's a general consensus that people are now more aware of security threats than ever before. Therefore, when we commissioned the 'Cyber Strategies for Endpoint Defense 2014' report from Ponemon, we expected to find a greater level of knowledge and cyber security competency. What we got was a different picture.
What's clear is that organizations are still battling with securing their endpoints and protecting them against next generation attacks, such as Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs).
As I shared in my last blog, APTs has been ranked as the highest security priority by 77% of businesses, yet just 5% told Ponemon that they are fully prepared to deal with these attacks.
Unsurprisingly, 81% of businesses claim endpoint security is difficult to achieve.
With threat numbers only increasing and attack vectors becoming more complex all the time, we have to question why this is.
If we look at the fact that only 9% are rating end user experience as a priority, we start to see a chain reaction.
When I managed an IT environment, I too was guilty of believing that security was the most important thing and the end user experience was almost insignificant if the environment was secure. However, what I've come to realize is that the end user experience is of paramount importance. Without this consideration, the security solution you implement is destined to be inflexible from the start. By locking down systems and ignoring the end users, people just can't do their jobs properly, and that means productivity suffers massively.
When this happens, you're likely to be faced with lots of frustrated workers claiming they need administrative rights to do what they need to do. It often feels like the only way to make it stop and solve the problem is to hand them out. However, once you do this, your security controls are instantly weakened, and as temporary rights often become permanent you start to lose visibility of user behaviour.
That’s likely why over half of businesses admit to having zero to low visibility of users, including software downloads and access to apps and databases and over 20% cannot determine how many users they have with admin rights.
More and more organizations are handing excessive privileges out, with over 40% admitting that admin rights are increasing for a variety of reasons, including mobile use (65%), cloud apps (57%), inability to control app use (50%) and employee demands (40%).
This is a backwards step: admin rights should be on the decline! Let’s not forget that 92% of the critical security vulnerabilities in 2013 are mitigated by removing admin rights.
Instead of tacking the challenge, many IT professionals are side-lining privilege management in favour of reactive, comfortable technologies, such as antivirus and network based IPS.
Why? There appears to be a disparity between perception and what's working in the real world.
In the Ponemon study, the top four effective security controls were found to be intrusion prevention, web content filtering, email content filtering and multi-factor authentication.
However, experts studying real-world attack data such as the Australian Department of Defense, SANS and the Council on Cyber Security all rank application control, patching of applications, patching of operating systems and minimizing admin rights as the top strategies against actual attacks in the current environment – rating them all as essential.
On the other hand, strategies like anti-virus and IPS are classified as good but inadequate on their own against next generation attacks placing much lower down the list.
What can we learn from this? If organizations are to effectively manage and protect their endpoints, there needs to be a better understanding of today’s solutions and more emphasis on prioritizing those that are most effective, not just those that are quickest or simplest to implement. More than that, security professionals must start considering the user experience as a vital priority in any security implementation.
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https://www.beyondtrust.com/blog/entry/endpoint-security-is-eluding-many-businesses-but-why
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Image-I-Nation Technologies, Inc., which provides hosting services and software to consumer reporting agencies like Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, experienced a supply chain breach that left users’ personal information exposed for as long as two weeks.
Last Dec. 20, the company “discovered that there had been unauthorized access to our database containing the personal information of individuals who had a consumer report through our system at some point in the past,” according to a breach notification filed with the Montana Department of Justice, noting that the incident occurred between Nov. 1-15, 2018.
“Based on our investigation, we have determined that the personal information that was potentially accessed could have included first and last names, dates of birth, home addresses, and Social Security numbers,” the company, which is owned by FRS Software, said.
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https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/image-i-nation-supply-chain-breach-exposes-data-of-major-credit-agencies-customers/
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In about a month the first graduates of the new Anonymous hacking school could start having an impact on the frequency of cybercrime.
"You could have a quarter of a million people who could be educated on how to hack, not professionally, but enough to be significant," says Karim Hijazi, CEO of security start-up Unveillance. He bases that projected impact on the number of followers that the hacking group LulzSec acquired on Twitter during its 50-day spree -- 285,550. When LulzSec disbanded last week, its members announced formation of the school. He says that from what he's read about the school, it will teach skills that include setting up Zeus botnets, the keystroke logging malware for stealing banking logins. "Every little script kiddy will know how to create a botnet."
RECOMMENDED: Traditional host-based anti-virus software losing luster? And while individuals may not be skilled enough to create massive botnets, their cumulative effect could be significant, he says.
Graphic: Diego AguirreIn addition to attacking Web sites and posting stolen data online, LulzSec served the purpose of recruiting new, younger members for Anonymous, Hijazi says. When LulzSec disbanded, it reaffirmed its endorsement of AntiSec - its hacking movement against corporate and governmental corruption -- which is being carried on by Anonymous, a loosely organized hacking group from which LulzSec sprang.
The implication was for LulzSec members committed to AntiSec to join Anonymous. "It was a good campaign on behalf of Anonymous," Hijazi says.
Meanwhile, look out for malicious activity from the freshly graduated Anonymous hacker class. "They could buy up domains for command and control servers and could have a botnet up next week of some value," he says. Read more about wide area network in Network World's Wide Area Network section.
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http://www.pcworld.com/article/234996/hackers_near_graduation_ready_attacks.html
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Dell has added Pluribus Networks to its lineup of disaggregation partners.
Dell will now offer Pluribus' Open Netvisor Linux operating system on its S6000-ON and S-4048-ON 10G/40G switches. This is an addition to the Cumulus Networks, Big Switch Networks, Midokura and VMware packages Dell already supports on those switches.
Dell's strategy is to make its merchant silicon-based hardware appealing to cloud providers who usually opt for bare metal switches running a variety of operating systems that they can easily replace or expand for scale or other requirements.
+ MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: Michael Dell: On SDNs and networking for the masses +
Others pursuing this strategy, or a variation of it, include HP and Juniper Networks. Juniper is offering its own JUNOS operating system on an Open Compute Project-compliant switch under its brand.
Citing data from Gartner, Dell says combined white-box and branded white-box "brite-box" -- switches will constitute more than 10% of global data center port shipments by 2018, up from under 6% in the first half of 2014.
Pricing and packaging details for Pluribus Open Netvisor Linux on Dell's switches will be available in the third quarter.
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https://www.cio.com.au/article/577512/dell-adds-pluribus-brings-linux-based-os-its-data-center-switches/
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With the many challenges facing the maritime industry over the next couple of years, the Conference aims to discuss these issues from various perspectives - the regulatory requirements, practicality, legal implications, and the impact to both shipowners and seafarers.
The Conference also celebrates women in maritime, in line with IMO’s World Maritime Day theme for this year: ‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Community’ where top female industry professionals join our panels to share their views and opinions on current issues facing the industry.
Participants will explore insights on new requirements and legislation, disruptive technology, cargo issues of today, and the upcoming challenges of loss prevention from a top speaker line-up of senior, internationally recognised industry speakers.
More details on the event website.
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https://standard-club.com/risk-management/events-and-training/2019/05/2019-nautical-institute-singapore-conference.aspx
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Whilst global ransomware attacks and data breaches may make the news headlines, it’s important to remember that it’s not just large businesses and corporate enterprises that are affected by cyber-crime. For small and medium-sized businesses, increased reliance on technology to support their operations is making them vulnerable to attack.
According to the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2018[1], 43% of businesses experienced a cyber security attack or breach in the last 12 months. Of those who experienced an attack, 75% were the result of fraudulent emails or being directed to fraudulent websites. These statistics may seem worrying but they aren’t a surprise.
Over the last year, we have increasingly seen insurance claims made by small businesses falling foul of email phishing and social engineering scams. Global ransomware attacks like WannaCry may steal the headlines, but the truth is phishing scams are much simpler for cyber criminals to profit from. In recent research, a fifth of all SME respondents cited online fraud as one of their top cyber problems in the last three years.[2]
Ransomware attackers generally demand amounts in the hundreds of pounds while phishing and social engineering attacks can see businesses lose many thousands. What is worrying is how sophisticated and difficult scams are becoming to detect. While it is still possible to identify a potential phishing attack by the email address used, criminals are increasingly accessing email servers and monitoring traffic for opportunities. The increased volume and detail of personal data available via social media, also means that it is becoming easier for criminals to use your own information to give more credibility to the scam.
Reducing the risks
The first thing for any business owner to understand is that a cyber-attack is more a question of when rather than if. You may not think you have anything worth stealing but cyber criminals know that they can exploit data or finances by targeting you.
Hardware and software defences are an essential part of your overall cyber security risk management plan. Making sure you install operating system updates promptly, regularly back-up data, use anti-virus software and strong passwords are basic security precautions. However, these measures may only go so far if awareness of cyber risks amongst your employees is low. Cyber criminals view employees as a vulnerable entry point; targeting individuals is a means to gain access to your systems and/or finances. Training and educating employees is therefore a simple but vital step all businesses can take to reduce the risk of attacks.
There are numerous resources available to help you. The National Cyber Security Centre 10 steps to Cyber Security, provides a solid risk management approach for businesses. In addition, The Business Emergency Resilience Group (BERG), which is part of Business in the Community (BITC), launched the Would You Be Ready campaign, aimed at helping businesses become more cyber resilient.
Insurance also has a role to play in protecting businesses against the effects of cyber-attacks. Many cyber insurance policies, aimed at small and medium businesses, provide access to experts such as forensic IT specialists, PR agencies and legal support to assist in the period following an incident.
With more reliance on online activities, devices and connected technology to run businesses, cyber criminals will undoubtedly become more sophisticated. Being aware of the risks, ensuring security measures are in place and educating employees are all vital steps you can take to reduce the risk and the likelihood of becoming a victim of a cyber-attack
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https://www.smeweb.com/2018/05/22/smes-increasingly-hit-phishing-cyber-crime/
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Vulnerable smart devices aren’t just an inconvenience – they might potentially kill you. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that some insulin pump models are vulnerable to hacking via a “Man-in-the-middle” type attack – and that users should switch models as soon as possible.
Insulin pumps are small electronic devices that diabetics use to give themselves automatic doses of insulin through a catheter. They help automate the process of testing the blood sugar levels, determining the needed dose, and administering it. They also can communicate via wireless frequency to a nearby device to record dosages that have been metered out and to receive additional dosage directions. As an advanced technology, this helps diabetics live their lives without needed a doctor’s micromanagement. But, as the FDA is pointing out, there are some problems with some insulin pumps that could lead to a “Terminal Man” type situation.
Look out for medical hackers “An unauthorized person with special technical skills and equipment could potentially connect wirelessly to a nearby insulin pump to change settings and control insulin delivery.” stated the special notice from the device manufacturer Medtronics. The consequences from a hack could be fatal. A hacked device could potentially lead to hypoglycemia for the connected user (if additional insulin is delivered) or hyperglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis (if not enough insulin is delivered) from the device.
Not only were some of the identified devices hackable, these vulnerabilities were built into several of the devices with no updates or corrective steps possible.
Welcome to the future
The FDA move is one of the first times a medical device has been essentially yanked from the market due to a serious cybersecurity issue. As more medical makers incorporate IoT features into their products, look for this type of situation to repeat.
It appears that the identified devices were built without a sufficiently in-depth security inspection – a common enough issue in the IoT. In the first wave of IoT devices, it was common that devices such as security cameras had set passwords and unencrypted communication with other devices or servers — a set of features which rendered the devices unfixable, perpetually vulnerable to hackers, and set the stage for the global Mirai botnet DDos attacks.
Overall, IoT devices still do not have much in the way of any security requirements. However, medical devices – whether or not they have smart technologies incorporated into them – are highly regulated. In addition, the security of patient data is also a big feature for medical apps in the United States thanks to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) — even if general protection for consumer data privacy is near zero.
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https://www.avira.com/en/blog/smart-insulin-pumps-flagged-for-cybersecurity-issues
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The executable stack specifier in the ELF header can be stripped by using the execstack utility. To verify the current state of Notes and Domino with respect to whether they request an executable stack, the checksec.sh script can be used. For example, the following indicates that Domino uses an executable stack:
$ ./checksec.sh --file /opt/ibm/domino/notes/latest/linux/server
Note the presence of RWE in the permissions column. This indicates that the stack is Readable, Writable, and Executable. A properly-configured stack will only have the RW flags.
To perform the same checks and changes for IBM Notes, use the /opt/ibm/notes/lnotes executable instead. Vendor Information (Learn More)
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http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/350089
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As organizations around the world raced to develop strategies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, an independent business risk study shows cybersecurity leaders were largely left out.
The way in which organizations plan for and manage business risk is among the many profound changes taking place as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, many cybersecurity leaders are still struggling to get a seat at the table.
In fact, a study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable reveals an alarming disconnect between business and cybersecurity leaders. Although nearly all respondents (96%) say their organizations have developed COVID-19 response strategies, 75% say that business and security efforts are only “somewhat” aligned, at best.
This is deeply concerning at a time when the sudden, widespread embrace of work-from-home models in response to the pandemic is unleashing a plethora of end-user devices upon corporate networks. Remote desktops, once a nice-to-have offering for a select group of workers, are now essential tools used by scores of employees to keep organizations running. Employees are suddenly connecting to core business systems and applications using their own previously untested — and potentially vulnerable — consumer routers and home networks. The popularity of internet-of-things (IoT) devices makes them potential threat vectors. The average home network could include an Amazon Alexa or other voice-activated tool, internet-connected TVs and video game devices, and assorted laptops, tablets and phones belonging to spouses, children or others in the household.
The Brookings Institute estimates that, as of April 9, 2020, up to half of American workers were working from home, which it calls “a massive shift.” Indeed, a Pew Research study shows that, prior to the pandemic, only 7% of civilian workers in the United States — roughly 9.8 million of the nation’s approximately 140 million civilian workers — had access to a “flexible workplace” benefit or telework option.
And cybercriminals are swooping in to take advantage of the exponentially expanding attack surface. According to the Forrester study, as of mid-April 2020, four in 10 organizations (41%) had already experienced at least one business-impacting* cyberattack as a result of a COVID-19-related phishing or malware scheme. The data, based on an online survey of more than 800 business and cybersecurity leaders in 10 countries, is drawn from the study, The Rise of the Business-Aligned Security Executive.
COVID-related scams were the No. 1 source of all business-impacting cyberattacks reported in the study. Although the World Health Organization had only declared COVID-19 a pandemic a few weeks earlier, by the time the survey was conducted COVID-related attacks had already outpaced other business-impacting attacks such as fraud (40%), data breach (37%), ransomware (36%) and software vulnerability (34%).
On a personal level, I find the survey results oddly validating: They confirm I’m not the only security leader worried about these trends. Two out of three respondents to the Forrester survey (67%) say they are very or extremely concerned that the workforce changes necessitated by COVID-19 will increase their organization’s level of risk.
Making matters worse, roughly half of the cybersecurity leaders (48%) surveyed say they have only moderate to no visibility into their remote, work-from-home employees.
One of the key ways to bridge this disconnect is for organizations to bring cybersecurity into the fold when developing risk management strategies.
How risk management can help you become a business-aligned cybersecurity leader
CISOs, CSOs and other cybersecurity leaders are uniquely suited to taking on a bigger role in risk management and the related disciplines of business continuity, disaster recovery and crisis management. Our work puts us squarely at the intersection of technology and business. We have visibility into all of the systems, data and processes required to deliver on a business continuity and disaster recovery plan. Being involved in risk management can also make your job a little more manageable: If you can understand all of your critical processes and assets from a broad enterprise risk perspective, it will only make you stronger in cybersecurity as well.
There’s also a clear operational benefit to be gained from performing risk management exercises which can serve as a bridge between the business and the infosec sides of the organization. What is revealed in the process will help the entire organization understand how to best prioritize resources — both human and financial — to keep the business running even during a crisis.
Sentara Healthcare: a case study in effective alignment
Sentara Healthcare offers a case study in effective alignment. In an interview with Tenable, Dan Bowden, CISO at Sentara Healthcare, noted that at the start of the pandemic, the organization’s IT and security teams found themselves charged with two crucial tasks: enabling a large number of employees to work from home; and helping to convert regular hospital rooms to serve as intensive care unit (ICU) rooms by switching out the operational technology (OT) and internet of things (IoT) systems needed to care for a sudden influx of critically ill patients.
“In March and April, I would say over 50% of our total work effort was dedicated to building ICU room capacity, and figuring out how [we can] use technology to reduce personal protective equipment (PPE) burn,” said Bowden.
While the transitions were ultimately successful, the organization’s patching process was thrown into a two-month disarray as a result.
“I'm a very aggressive vulnerability scanning CISO, and my team is [as well],” said Bowden. “We have a demand-based policy of what happens when we find a new vulnerability. And we had to tweak our vulnerability scanning timing and our patching policy a little bit because our IT teams were changing the beds in hospitals. A regular [hospital] room is configured a certain way from a technology perspective. And when you change that to an ICU room, there's a cascading change across a bunch of technology systems and applications that accompany that. Our infrastructure and application teams were very busy changing our surface of beds that we offered from a small number of ICU beds to a very large number of ICU beds. So we had to figure out how to continue complying with our patching schedule in a way that we could manage risk efficiently and effectively. We relied on Tenable's Vulnerability Priority Rating a lot for that. We probably used it much more aggressively this spring and summer than we have in the past.”
By June, the patching process was back on track. Now, as the fourth quarter approaches, Bowden is faced with significant budget decisions — as are so many industry sectors that experienced the economic impact of COVID-19. “We're trying to reduce [operating expenditures] and get back on budget. How do we make 2020 a break even year? We are very focused on basic lights on, doors open operations as well as any new requests that arise due to variations in COVID-19 spread.”
Bowden adds: “We have a very progressive leadership team that is saying to all of us ‘be creative, help us figure out how we grow in the midst of all this.’ So we've got a few big projects to tackle relative to that as well.”
Showing return on cybersecurity investments
At a time when organizations worldwide are facing a potentially lengthy period of economic uncertainty, it becomes more critical than ever to prioritize investments based on risk. The Forrester study shows that when security and the business are aligned, they deliver notable results. For example, 85% of business-aligned security leaders have metrics to track cybersecurity ROI and impact on business performance versus just a quarter (25%) of their more reactive and siloed peers. The business-aligned security leader is also eight times as likely as their more siloed peers to be highly confident in their ability to report on their organization’s level of security or risk. And the vast majority (86%) have a process that clearly articulates expectations and demonstrates continuous process improvement, compared with just 32% of their more reactive and siloed peers.
Getting involved in the development of your organization's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) strategy will put you on the path to becoming a business-aligned cybersecurity leader.
These six steps will help with your initial enterprise risk identification and assessment:
Develop and distribute a risk assessment survey to key stakeholders. These are typically fielded to the senior director level and above and should include representatives from all of the major departments in your organization, including finance, legal, human resources, information technology, information security, sales, operations, marketing and R&D. Once your survey is complete, you’ll want to organize the responses into risk categories so you can compile an inventory of enterprise risks.
Conduct research and analysis to compare your organization’s enterprise risks to industry risk surveys.
Develop a risk assessment methodology, including probability and impact, to get a total risk rating.
Identify key leaders in your organization and devote time to interviewing them to get their feedback on risks and prioritization as well as risk probability and impact.
Present your risk assessment results to executives to finalize the top risks and assign executive risk owners.
Work with executive risk owners to identify mitigation activities for the top risks.
Performing the above steps is a painstaking exercise that yields a high degree of benefit by giving you a clear set of priorities. You’ll have an agreed-upon list of enterprise risks. While cybersecurity is likely to be its own standalone enterprise risk, it will certainly impact many, if not all of the enterprise risks in some form.
Couple the enterprise risk assessment with a business impact analysis — essential to business continuity and disaster recovery to determine which critical systems and business processes your organization can least afford to live without — and the two serve as the foundation for developing a business-aligned cybersecurity strategy. You’ll emerge with a list of your most critical enterprise risks and processes, making it equally possible to clearly prioritize responses in a time of crisis — regardless of whether the crisis results from a cyberattack, a natural disaster or a global pandemic — and when normal business operations resume.
In stable times, it’s all too easy for organizations to treat enterprise risk management as a mere check-box exercise best left to a segregated team of risk professionals. With COVID-19, business and technology leaders have found themselves enrolled in a crisis management crash course. It’s up to each of us to take this as an opportunity to rethink our approach to enterprise risk so we’re better prepared for the down times and well positioned to benefit when things are going well.
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https://www.tenable.com/blog/what-covid-19-response-strategies-tell-us-about-the-business-cybersecurity-disconnect
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We have some information in our User Manual under the Help menu for Disaster Recovery, and you can find this in the KB Article section. Or you can reference the manual here https://www.clickstudios.com.au/downloads/version8/Passwordstate_User_Manual.pdf
Generally you should never need to do anything with these keys, as long as you have backups of your Passwordstate folder and database. It is recommended to keep backups of the keys though, in case you chose to encrypt the AppSetting section in the web.config file.
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https://www.clickstudios.com.au/community/index.php?/topic/2837-how-to-use-the-exported-encryption-keys/&tab=comments
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In July 2020, Morgan Stanley alerted clients that their personal data may have been leaked as a result of two separate incidents in 2016 and 2019 involving the decommissioning of data center hardware. Shortly thereafter, the financial giant was slapped with eight lawsuits alleging negligence in how they handled client data. And in October 2020, the firm was fined $60 million by the U.S. Treasury Department for “failure to exercise proper oversight of the 2016 decommissioning of two Wealth Management business data centers located in the U.S.” and a lack of “adequate due diligence in selecting a vendor and monitoring its performance.”
While the disclosure and fine gave us a glimpse into Morgan Stanley’s missteps, it was only on August 9 of this year that the company finally responded to the lawsuits, which have been consolidated into one case in the Southern District of New York.
Data Discovered on Decommissioned Devices
In October 2017, an IT consultant in Oklahoma discovered Morgan Stanley data on used hard drives that he had purchased from ITAD vendor KruseCom. He then contacted Morgan Stanley’s IT department, who took steps to recover the drives.
During this investigation, Morgan Stanley confirmed that the drives came from the decommissioned data center and notified clients of the potential breach.
In a separate incident in 2019, Morgan Stanley upgraded “wide area application services” devices in 500 local branch offices. They stated that “a small number” of those devices are unaccounted for and may contain confidential information. No third party vendor was implicated in the 2019 incident.
Vendors Blamed for Breach
In Morgan Stanley’s legal filing, they identify the vendors who were contracted to decommission the data centers and dispose of the equipment.
“In 2016, Morgan Stanley decommissioned two data centers and contracted with a vendor (Triple Crown, who is not NAID AAA Certified) to remove the devices from those centers, wipe any data that the devices may have contained, and properly recycle the non-data materials,” states Morgan Stanley in the court response.
The filing goes on to claim that Triple Crown, unbeknownst to Morgan Stanley, sold the devices to another vendor, New Jersey-based ITAD firm AnythingIT, who in turn resold the devices to KruseCom — who ultimately either destroyed the drives or resold them online.
Morgan Stanley claims that Triple Crown fraudulently claimed to have destroyed the devices, even billing the company for data destruction services and supplying “certificates of indemnification” rather than certificates of destruction.
It is unclear whether Morgan Stanley intends to take any legal action against Triple Crown or the other vendors, none of whom were named as defendants in these cases. For their part, AnythingIT told ITAD trade publication E-Scrap News that they were “never contracted or required to perform data wiping or destruction on any equipment involved with this case,” and that they simply purchased the decommissioned equipment from Triple Crown and resold it. Triple Crown has not yet commented on the case.
In all of the legal filings and extensive media reporting about this case, the identity of the original vendor, Triple Crown, remains somewhat of a mystery. A technology company by that name does not appear to specialize in ITAD or data destruction, but rather “data center consulting” and networking services. This left Morgan Stanley without the support needed to properly handle the data stored on their decommissioned devices, and created a complicated web of subcontractors without clearly defined responsibilities.
Whether you need routine e-waste disposal or are undertaking a major decommissioning project, choose a vendor with the expertise and experience to keep you protected. Using a NAID AAA Certified provider gives you extra confidence in the processes they use to keep your data from falling into the wrong hands.
Scrutinize the Paperwork
Morgan Stanley claims that they were given “certificates of indemnification” that Triple Crown falsely described as certificates of destruction. However, it was still Morgan Stanley’s responsibility to catch this discrepancy and take action to clarify things.
If you aren’t sure about the documentation your vendor provides, be sure to ask questions, or even get a second opinion from another vendor, an internal resource, or even legal counsel. As CyberCrunch President Serdar Bankaci is fond of saying, “Data destruction is only half the process — the other half is the documentation. The documentation is just as important as the actual destruction.” Having clear and complete documentation of data destruction will protect you from lawsuits and penalties if questions arise.
You Are Responsible for Your Data
Though Morgan Stanley would like to blame the actions of their vendor for this data breach, the responsibility — and financial and reputational consequences — ultimately fall to them. They have already paid a $60 million fine to the U.S. government, and are now involved in a lengthy litigation process that will take years to settle.
The data that your customers, partners and employees entrust to you is your responsibility, so it is up to you to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.
If you have questions about your data destruction process, contact CyberCrunch today for a free consultation. We can help you make sure that your data won’t end up on the loose with our comprehensive, certified ITAD processes and data destruction technology.
Click here to speak with us today.
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https://ccrcyber.com/2021/09/15/the-anatomy-of-a-data-breach-cybercrunch-september-newsletter/
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If you've shopped at fashion retailer Forever 21 recently and used your credit card, you'll want to monitor your account for suspicious activity.
The company announced Tuesday that unauthorized users may have gained access to its payment systems, and could have potentially exposed credit card information of customers who shopped at their stores from March through October of 2017.
The retailer has yet to disclose which stores are part of the breach, but it's hired a leading security and forensics firm to investigate and expects to provide additional information to customers when available.
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https://1031kcda.iheart.com/content/2017-11-15-data-breachforever21-customers-credit-card-info-may-have-been-stolen/
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CITIC TELECOM CPC > Tooted ja Teenused > Infoturve > Professional Service > China Cybersecurity Law MLPS 2.0 Compliance Service
Experts consulting services in implementing a robust, fully compliant MLPS 2.0 infrastructure
China is an extremely important market, and for enterprises expanding or already operating inside Mainland China, it is imperative their digital transformation be in compliance with China Cybersecurity Law MLPS 2.0, the most up to date version of this mandatory regulation. To ensure not only an easier and smoother process to achieve this, but also more stringent and careful verification, CITIC Telecom CPC offers the China Cybersecurity Law MLPS 2.0 Compliance Service, a one-stop service covering every aspect and stage of the China Cybersecurity Law MLPS 2.0 process, including classification, registration, gap analysis, remediation and assessment. This important service is easy, reliable, and professionally administered to ensure an enterprise operates a robust, fully compliant MLPS 2.0 infrastructure.
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https://www.citictel-cpc.com/ES/ES/Pages/product-services/trustcsi-china-cybersecurity-law-compliance-service
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While information security is an ever-present challenge for all types of organizations today, most focus on providing security without addressing the necessities of staff, time, or budget in a practical manner.
Information Security Cost Management offers a pragmatic approach to implementing information security, taking budgetary and real-world constraints into consideration. By providing frameworks, step-by-step processes, and project management breakdowns, this book demonstrates how to design the best security strategy with the resources you have available.
CRC Press eBooks are available through VitalSource. The free VitalSource Bookshelf® application allows you to access to your eBooks whenever and wherever you choose.
Mobile/eReaders – Download the Bookshelf mobile app at VitalSource.com or from the iTunes or Android store to access your eBooks from your mobile device or eReader.
Offline Computer – Download Bookshelf software to your desktop so you can view your eBooks with or without Internet access.
CPD consists of any educational activity which helps to maintain and develop knowledge, problem-solving, and technical skills with the aim to provide better health care through higher standards. It could be through conference attendance, group discussion or directed reading to name just a few examples.
Use certain CRC Press medical books to get your CPD points up for revalidation. We provide a free online form to document your learning and a certificate for your records.
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https://www.crcpress.com/Information-Security-Cost-Management/Bazavan-Lim/p/book/9780849392757
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Identity theft in Riverside and San Bernardino is a crime that has become more prevalent in recent years thanks to the ease of technology. This crime can take a number of different forms, but almost always involves another person’s driver’s license, personal information and private identifying numbers. In many cases, however, these charges are based upon mistakes and misunderstandings.
At the law firm of Greenberg & Greenberg, our San Bernardino and Riverside criminal defense attorneys understand the severity of identity theft charges. We have 50 years of combined criminal defense experience, including computer crimes and related offenses. Our lawyers will thoroughly investigate your charges to determine what actually happened and to tell your side of the story.
Experienced Defense Attorneys in Riverside and San Bernardino
Typically, crimes of identity theft are committed in order to gather information to apply for credit or to sell to other individuals. Whether the crime you were charged with was based on mail theft, Internet fraud or other offenses, we will analyze the evidence and provide you with the best legal options for your situation.
We are committed to helping you achieve the most favorable outcome possible, whether it is dismissal of charges, reduced charges, alternative sentencing, or acquittal by jury.
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https://danielgreenberglaw.com/criminal-defense/white-collar-crimes/identity-theft-charges/
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IT managers are a clever and diligent bunch, but they are completely useless when it comes to leading and managing people. That is the common perception among HR managers who have to pick up the pieces after the latest IT resignation, or after a particularly bad employee engagement survey. And research among large IT functions shows that while this is a wild exaggeration, there does seem to be something behind this bleak observation.
The same research suggested that despite today’s much trumpeted technical and digital skill gaps, the big IT capability gap is still in leadership and people management capability. CIOs seldom have enough good motivators or “people managers” at their disposal.
So their teams are often disengaged and not excited to be at work. Some of us will have worked in teams where people go through the motions, but their heart is not in the job. Compare those times with the times when you’ve enjoyed being at work, doing stuff you care about and being really productive. Bosses need to remember that engagement is not just a fashionable word used by fluffy folks in HR: it can boost profits and help clients.
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Fortunately, the research shows that CIOs’ direct reports perform well at most aspects of their jobs.
It is a truism that people’s weaknesses are the flip side of their strengths, and this provides a clue to the reason for the chronic IT people management deficit. The factor that makes IT managers good at most of their jobs is the same factor that means they struggle at leading and managing people. I am talking, of course, about the natural tendency of many IT people to be very logical and to demand binary clarity in their dealings with the world. This, obviously, is a winning trait for IT workers because of the utter clarity and structure that systems demand.
But it doesn’t work in the complex world of those ambiguous, inconsistent, capricious and often confused things we call humans. There are, of course, many people who can pick their way through a complex piece of logic or code and tune in quickly to the subtle foibles and motivations of team members. But not nearly enough of them. And maybe there never will be. So what can we do to make things better? How can IT managers reach the hearts, and not just the minds, of team members?
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It would from many a blunder free us…”
So one way to improve our performance is to understand how we are seen by others. And “how we are seen” is particularly important when thinking about those who look to us for leadership. So why not give IT leaders reliable and impossible to ignore data about how they are seen by team members, and why they are seen that way? That could help them to change and become more effective.
Seeing ourselves as others see us
Upward appraisal and feedback is of course perfect for this. But too often, those activities have no impact because the simplistic ratings of a few random team members are summarized in such a way that allows them to be ignored as the grumblings of a few malcontents. And managers are left to absorb such input with little or no assistance from those who can help them improve how they manage. So after a week or two they have mentally moved back to other work priorities. Result: no improvement, so morale and productivity suffers.
Upward appraisal is the penicillin of our time: the miracle drug that becomes powerless through being used too frequently, or by being sloppily administered.
To develop leaders, one needs something better than the quick cursory annual 360 degree appraisal used mainly for pay management reasons. And, just like penicillin, this more robust in-depth process must be administered and maintained over a longer period.
Only by refusing to give up and by keeping leadership skills firmly on the agenda can employers make any difference to their leaders’ effectiveness. That means holding leaders’ feet to the fire of uncomfortable and undeniable truths. It also means allocating an experienced coach to help them make sense of this data. The message of any such coach is, at heart, good news: it’s not you they don’t respond to — it’s your behavior. By helping the individual understand how their behavior impacts on others, they can help identify ways of behaving that are much more effective. And put some improvement plans in place. Such help will be needed over a period of months not, as is so often the case, delivered in one or two sessions.
The actions needed
By taking this approach leaders can understand, perhaps for the first time, just how important they are to their teams. And that the details of how they behave really impacts on others. For example, their visible enthusiasm, or lack of it, is soon picked up and mirrored. Or they may unwittingly and unfairly be seen as uninterested, or reluctant to recognize good work. They may learn, too, that part of their job is to shield people from some of the uncertainty that can surround the workplace. Many of the necessary changes will be unique to them: we all have our own characteristics that can undermine our performance in unique ways.
2017 could be the year when your IT managers are systematically taken through a process that transforms their own morale and performance, as well as that of their workers. Make it a good year for clients, workers, shareholders and managers!
What are you doing to accelerate IT agility? Learn about the IT model that serves as a catalyst for digital transformation.
Unlock the potential of your data. How well are you harnessing information to improve business outcomes? A new CIO Playbook will help.
dtSearch® instantly searches terabytes of files, emails, databases, web data. See site for hundreds of reviews; enterprise & developer evaluations
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https://www.cio.com/article/3154445/leadership-management/fix-the-it-leadership-deficit-now.html
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The Joker virus can be scanned for and eradicated using antivirus software. Anti-virus software prevent and remove viruses, including worms and trojan horses. They may also detect and remove spyware and other types of malware. There are various anti-virus software packages that will remove the Joker virus.
Anit-virus software uses various strategies to eradicate viruses such as the Joker virus. They use signatures - which means searching for known malicious patterns in the executable virus code. Of course, these can only be created after the virus has already been distributed and infected millions of machines. To counteract this, anti-virus software commonly tries to indentify potential virus threats, which in rare cases can result in false positives.
Some anti-virus software scans continuously, which means you are always protected against known computer viruses. Anti-virus software such as Symantec, employs various methods to identify viruses such as the Joker virus:
3) Heuristic-based detection - used to identify unknown viruses (like no 2). This can be done by searching a file for virus-like instructions, or executing a program in a virtual environment and logging the actions the program makes.
Symantec anti-virus software is the de-facto standard for removing viruses. Norton anit-virus software can remove the Joker virus. For more information on Joker virus removal, click here.
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http://www.turbocashuk.com/Antivirus/Joker-virus-removal.html
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Today, Microsoft announced the worldwide availability of WebMatrix, a free set of tools designed to help website developers of all skill levels easily create, customize and publish websites to the internet. It is available in nine languages and includes tools to create new websites using either code provided through a variety of available templates, or using existing free open source Web applications like WordPress, Joomla, Umbraco, DotNetNuke, and others. Microsoft has also made available a set of video tutorials, how-to tips and other resources for helping new Web developers get started.
For more information please visit www.microsoft.com/web/webmatrix.
Winners of the annual Technology of the Year Awards are chosen by InfoWorld editors and reviewers who recognize the most outstanding products that their labs team tested during the prior calendar year.
For more information about the awards visit the InfoWorld feature, or view the slideshow about each technology.
Dollar Thrifty Auto Group moves its top-tier business application from Oracle to Microsoft SQL Server
In just four months, Dollar Thrifty Auto Group (DTAG) migrated its first, top-tier business application from Oracle to a Microsoft data management solution, a strategic move that supports the company’s goal to standardize on high-value, cost-effective technologies. Following a trouble-free summer season in 2010, DTAG’s firsthand experience of the improved performance, reliability, and reduced costs of a Microsoft database management system proved to management that SQL Server is a viable alternative to Oracle. “When we asked our key vendors to help us become more efficient within our IT operations, Microsoft was very responsive. They showed thought leadership and a willingness to find ways of reducing our costs. Rick Morris, Chief Information Officer, Dollar Thrifty Auto Group. DTAG achieved a 100 percent return on investment in one year.
For more information about how Dollar Thrifty Auto Group accomplished the migration and the learning that they had, please see the case study.
BizIntelligence. TV “Think Big. Think Broad. Think BI in 2020”
Today Microsoft announced BizIntelligence. TV (BITV), a weekly program that focuses on business analytics and performance. The show provides great stories and best practices on BI and Analytics. Highlights this week include, where BI TV will be in 2011, who they’re interviewing: guests include Dr. Robert Kaplan (Balanced Scorecard Creator), Brett King (No.1 Best Selling Author Bank 2.0) as well as interviews from CIO’s from Tesco, The Mandarin Hotel, and Microsoft thought leaders such as Kevin Turner. They also have a new LinkedIn Group and weekly Polls, where you can engage and drive not only today’s Business Intelligence conversation but also tomorrows.
For more information, watch “Think Big. Think Broad. Think BI in 2020.” Subscribe to the BI TV blog, join the LinkedIn group, and follow the conversation about the Future of BI on the BI TV Group.
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https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/stbnewsbytes/2011/01/13/january-13-2011-news-thursday-webmatrix-rtm-windows-azure-php-tool-updates-and-more-server-and-tools-news/
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In these challenging times of increased health care costs, the importance of cyber security for medical offices must not be any less than for any other organization. As the line of interaction between physician and patients continues to reduce, so has the trust that physician have in one another. Cyber attacks on medical personnel have led to a recent rash of doctor-patient relationships that put the private lives of some patients at risk. There is an alarming requirement for physicians to understand the vulnerabilities of their patients and collaborate to protect their information and to resolve the concern of medical identity theft. Safeguard your data from cyber crooks using the services at 360Cyber right now.
Even as more attention is focused on safeguarding against external risks such as infections, hackers, and malware, there are continuing efforts within the medical profession to enhance internal safeguards. Similarly important is the need for the patient and medical staff awareness of the ongoing requirement for increased cyber security procedures. Medical professionals, particularly medical professionals, are amongst the top-targeted health-care workers, surprising more so that those workers in executive position. Those who are most susceptible to cyber attacks include: data nurses, pharmacy professionals, receptionists, orderlies, laboratory professionals, and office staff. While all of these professionals have access to personal and financial data on patients, the ease with which this information is accessed may make it especially uneasy. Medical identity thieves are putting the lives of patients at risk and the most effective preventative protection is through effective security procedures.
As the threat of medical identity theft increases, a greater number of organizations are relying on accredited suppliers to help them develop their own internal or tailored cyber security services. Many company owner understand the importance of executing a plan to safeguard themselves from cyber attacks. However, many small companies lack the spending plan to invest in an IT department. A recent survey revealed that only 20% of small companies had an IT director on staff. The importance of cyber security for medical offices can not be overemphasized.
It is very important to remember that cyber-criminals do not target organizations of a certain size or elegance. In fact, they typically attack medium to larger-sized companies because of the smaller nature of their operations. In addition, cyber-criminals will sometimes pursue organizations that are not perceived as being as risky in any way. This makes it really difficult for smaller companies to successfully implement cyber security services on their own.
For smaller companies, the threat of assaulters who may not have prior experience in conducting online attacks can present severe difficulties. Medical identity thieves frequently prey upon medical facilities in an effort to acquire as much data as possible. This is due to the fact that health center databases consist of delicate personal and financial data that cyber crooks can quickly misuse. Due to the fact that they have no previous experience in this type of operation, the crooks frequently make errors throughout their attacks that can trigger damage.
In some cases, the crooks use phishing schemes to acquire access to your data. The goal of phishing is to fraudulently ask you for financial or personal information that you do not know. Normally, phishing emails will mention that they are from a company that is or has been certified by among the 3 major credit bureaus. When you click the links, nevertheless, you are opened up to an information breach, which will likely include infections and other spyware that are created to penetrate your computer. The function of the phishing email is to exploit your trust of the company that sent the email, and gain access to your personal data.
While phishing has become one of the most common methods of obtaining personal information, an information breach does not always result from a phishing attack. Often the cause of an information breach is a real outside attack. An information breach can take place when a cyber-criminal gains access to a company’s server without authorization. Depending upon the nature of the attack, the business may not have the ability to entirely mitigate the damage caused by the external attack.
With many organizations depend on the Web for their day-to-day operations, it is easy for them to fall victim to cyber-attacks. The Web has helped develop many opportunities for international organizations to reach countless consumers, however it likewise provides the possibility for enormous liabilities if business is not mindful. In order to remain protected from these possible liabilities, organizations need to implement a cyber security policy. Cyber crooks may use the Web and intranet to carry out their objectives. A good cyber security policy will help avoid cyber-attacks in the future and reduce the impact to a service must an information breach take place. 360Cyber can help you safeguard your data right now.
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https://jobberwiki.com/services/the-best-cyber-security-quote-in-new-york/the-best-place-in-garwood-for-cyber-security-quote/
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Research partners of the first round were Allianz and Cisco, who also participated in the final evaluation of the project’s results. The award for the best project team went to „Routing Security Against Prefix Hijacks“, a solution to make Internet infrastructures more secure: Routers governing Internet traffic are often vulnerable, as many network operators still use an unsecured routing protocols. The winning team therefore developed a solution to make routing between large parts of the Internet more secure. The tool helps to identify and fend off so-called prefix or BGP hijacks. With this type of attack, assailants hijack a specific range of IP addresses, gaining control over some of the Internet traffic. Attackers can eavesdrop on or alter the traffic, and redirect it, so that it does not arrive at its actual destination. However, it is also common that data traffic is inadvertently redirected due to a subnet misconfiguration. The tool can distinguish whether it is an attack or a misconfiguration. The solution will avert an attack, and in the case of a wrong configuration, assistance can be provided to the responsible administrator. An attack is averted by the solution, with a wrong configuration, one can assist the responsible network administrator. In the future the solution will be used by RIPE, which is coordinating the allocation of the European IP addresses.
One project team developed a quality check for cloud services. With this evaluation tool, a cloud provider’s service offer can be automatically checked and evaluated: Will all my data packages arrive in the cloud? How long does it take? And are there bottlenecks on the way there? Users now have an independent testing tool for their cloud services at their fingertips.
The project team „superPHISHal“ has been working on the quality control of spam filters: the security experts developed a solution that checks whether the various filter mechanisms for spam protection are set correctly and how many filter setups are faulty. superPHISHal can calculate the effects of the incorrect settings („how much less spam mails would I get with a proper setup?“) and automatically correct those incorrect settings. This significantly increases the accuracy and minimizes the risk of mails inadvertently classified as spam.
The fourth project team dealt with botnet-based attacks on email inboxes, so called email bombs: botnets register the victim’s email address on newsletters and registration pages. Such a DoS attack can flood an email inbox with thousands of unwanted emails within minutes, so that the owner of the mailbox is not able to work with it anymore. The difficulty with this attack is to automatically distinguish wanted from unwanted email, because a newsletter is not per se spam. The HIPA participants first examined the attacks: which botnets are used, where are they located and which parts of the internet do attackers use. In addition, they looked at the victims of such attacks: which organizations were attacked in which countries. The team’s solution developed during the startup accelerator will be able to ward off DoS attacks on email inboxes and filter out unwanted mail.
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Prof. Asher Cohen, President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem: „The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is proud to be a partner in the HIPA program. This program bridges the gap in cyber security between markets‘ needs and academia’s knowledge and know-how. This program, a collaboration between Fraunhofer SIT and The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, exposes participants to both worlds and enables them to bring new ideas to this growing sector. We hope this partnership will lead to additional collaborations in the near future.“
Lucia Puttrich, Hessian Minister of European and Federal Affairs: „The digitization of all areas of business and life offers great opportunities. But it also involves new risks. According to the European Commission, there were more than 4,000 blackmail Trojan attacks per day in 2016, and 80 per cent of European companies faced at least one cybersecurity incident. That’s why cybersecurity is a cornerstone of our digitization strategy. Hesse is at the forefront of German cybersecurity, with the Hesse state government launching the extensive Cybersicherheit@Hessen agenda at an early stage. I am very pleased that the cooperation between the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT in Darmstadt and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has come about. Israel is a global leader in cybersecurity issues, and exchanges with scientists and creative minds from Hesse will be fruitful for both sides.“ „Cybersecurity is the basic prerequisite for digitalization. Whether it is in automotive, production or critical infrastructures – digitalization cannot be successful without confidence in the safety and security of new technologies,“ said Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. “With our German-Israeli Accelerator, we combine the strengths of Israel as a cybernation with the excellent and application-oriented research of Fraunhofer.“
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https://nachrichten.idw-online.de/2018/01/19/german-israeli-partnership-accelerator-presents-new-ideas-and-solutions-in-cybersecurity/
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Steve Munford is the Chief Executive Officer of Sophos. When he comes down to my floor and walks towards my desk, I realise I better look smart and pay attention to what he has to say.
It turned out that Steve wasn’t delivering my P45, but instead wanted to tell me that he had received an email.
Dear Steve Munford,
I am Dominic Jefferson, Attorney to Late Mr. R Munford, he worked as an Independent Contractor in Togo. June 2008, he, wife and their only daughter were involved in a car accident. I need your assistance in repatriating the fund USD10.5M, left behind by my Late client.
Seeing as he runs a computer security company, Steve knew that it was an email scam.
But what Steve found strange is that his dad was a “Mr R Munford”, and he did work in West Africa, and he did pass away fairly recently.
However, there were some mistakes too. Steve’s dad wasn’t married, and he didn’t have a daughter.
Steve’s father’s work in Africa was in the early years of the 21st century, rather than 2008, and he’s not sure if his dad was ever working in Togo.
After all, you can imagine that a Chief Executive of a large technology firm like Sophos might be attractive to a scammer – as they may have a higher than average income. (Mind you, Steve chooses to cycle to work – so rumours of his richness may be exaggerated).
So, we’re not sure what to think of this email scam.
Of course, it’s possible that the emailer sent it to the wrong Steve Munford. So, if your name is Steve Munford, and your father died in a car crash in Togo, feel free to get in touch with Dominic Jefferson (we’ve helpfully left his phone number and email address available for you to use).
But don’t bank on ever receiving that $10.5 million..
Graham Cluley runs his own award-winning computer security blog at https://www.grahamcluley.com, and is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and gives computer security presentations. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley 19 comments on “Sophos CEO targeted by email scammer” Guido 4:59 pm This is a well-known scam, which has plagued (and upset) quite a few people in the north of Scotland (at the very least). Apart from email, they also use the postal service as a carrier (leading to complaints to Royal Mail). It's a typical Nigerian scam, where they use known information from and about the recipient to concoct the usual con message.
Reply Adrian Stapleton 10:29 am It is happening in the Highlands of N.Ayrshire to my friend i get loads all i send to [email protected] and eventually they will get there cumuppance we hope any way best wishes Butch webmaster Reply Andrew 5:00 pm I suspect that if this email was addressed to a Mr Steve Smith then the reference would be to a late Mr R Smith. No doubt the "fact" of the same surname will form part of the scam if you bit. The rest is fluke.
Reply encryptography 5:37 pm I believe that 10.5 million was meant for me, if you folks would be kind enough to collect it for me I will split it with you.
Reply Farid says: June 23, 2012 at 6:10 am Dear encryptography, As you requested, I have collected the money for you and put it in an account in your name. You don't need to split the money as I just did my bit to help a fellow human-being. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the transfer fee before depositing the money in your account. Please kindly send me $2000 transfer fee by MoneyMule Express so I can transfer the funds to you. Cordially,
Prince of Nigeria Reply zeitgueist says: June 23, 2012 at 11:36 pm Prince of Nigeria…. only a mere prince? I actually thought you would have taken a side trip to Thailand – had a quick operation, added some second grade silicon (in the strategic locations of course) and posted a photo or three as a further inducement…… At the moment, I have some 23 notifications – invitations actually – of some fantastic Aladdin's cave of wealth approaching the billions now, waiting for my urgent collection. Unfortunately, as I have not had any worthy cause to seek out and distribute such untold wealth, I have just left them in escrow – but now I have two worthy causes that will undoubtedly increase my wealth, so perhaps you can help me to exchange them from either Spanish Pesetas or the Greek Drachma….. Naturally the standard transfer fees and assorted legal charges will apply – upfront of course Reply @michaelargast 6:30 pm Does this represent leakage of sensitive information? You've just revealed a number of personal details about Steve (family details, biking to work, etc). Unless of course, you lied about those details (if so, well done!). Reply @greylines101 8:23 pm The spam itself is as standard as they come. I think they come as fill-in-the-blank templates, probably with a list of leads. The program takes the name of the recipient and uses it to populate the [Dear <BLANKBLANK<] fields. Here's where someones blog name was used to fill in the names.
The rest is a normal spam. There's a couple of other variable fields; [barrister name], [job] – sometimes Independent Contractor, sometimes Shell Development Company. This one usually uses Togo for its location though, the tragedy field is usually stuck on [car accident] and June 2008/09 seems to be a particularly tragic period in recent Togo history.
Reply Lisa Vaas 8:48 pm Tell me about it! Oy! This is like when the makers of that crazy game Far Cry introduced a villain called Vaas, who in the recent release was busy torturing a character called Lisa. I think I play a more prominent, albeit bifurcated between two characters, role than Steve does in this spam, but be that as it may, I sympathize with his unease over personal details being sprinkled into strange context. Well, actually, I was kind of flattered, and I thought of buying a bobble-headed doll representation of the villain. I still might do that… Reply jake 6:40 am Nice story, but whats a P45?
Reply Paul Ducklin 8:40 am P45s are the UK taxation forms that employers provide when you leave their employment. Although anyone leaving a job for any reason (including with goodwill on both sides) will receive one, talking about being handed a P45 is a metaphor for getting sacked. (In British English, a sacking isn't a outcome in football, though the effect on a sacked employee is even more unpleasant than the effect on an unprotected quarterback. It means to be fired.) Reply alpha4centauri 2:08 pm Online obituaries may have much more detail than that spam revealed. If his father did really die recently, a criminal who actually researched things might have had much more detail. I suspect he just got lucky and was only one step more intelligent than the fellow who sends spams to “info@” addresses and claims the deceased shared a last name with the recipient. Reply njorl 2:27 pm "Steve's dad wasn't married" – I've had some bosses like that. Reply Mohammad Badi 7:19 pm I find it really annoying with this kind of scam. You block a sender but these messages arrive from a different address every time. I feel so annoyed and what makes me angry is that I am more disappointed that "spam" and block sender aren't helping out. Reply Eloise Lunkenheimer says: June 23, 2012 at 4:39 am This scam also was sent to me about a month ago with same wording. I read it & deleted it. These greedy, lazy so & so's will try every trick in the book to get you to send them your hard earned dollars. Only thing is, they don't realize, or don't care, how hot their next living space will be for all eternity! Wish a vicious virus would attack their systems!
Last year there was another spam hitting people that a wealthy CEO had chosen a person to share his wealth ($150,000) with, BUT you had to wire a certain amount of money to them for a UPS driver to deliver the money to your door the next day! I wish the FBI could catch up with these jerks!
I was also getting emails about earning money online, but there was no name, etc from the sender, just letters & numbers. I deleted without opening it.
These desparate jerks seem to be coming out of the woodwork! Reply "gunner" says: June 24, 2012 at 9:55 pm i used to truck money around from here to there, but not in a ups truck, we used armoured trucks and armed drivers and guards, and we didn't deal with shady types from uglybuggerland. Reply fred says: June 30, 2012 at 4:33 am How come Sophos didn't block it? Reply Ronelle says: August 14, 2012 at 8:18 am “Attention Miss Sillifant, I am Dominic Jefferson, Attorney to Late Mr. R Sillifant, …..” They even went as far as sending me a message on facebook. Really, like I’m going to take a lawyer sending messages on facebook seriously! Reply Gert Temmers says: September 18, 2012 at 2:02 pm The same Mr. Dominic Jefferson also contacted me and said that Mr. Ron Temmers and his wife and daughter died in a accident in Togo. He also left 10.5 million dollars and looking for their next of kin. It is only a E-mail scam. I am Gert Temmers from the Eastern Cape. I even really dont know a person with the name of Ron Temmers who was working in West Africa Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here...
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https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/06/21/sophos-ceo-targeted-by-email-scammer/
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The patient-consumer spectrum is a growing concept in which healthcare is rapidly transitioning from a periodic activity in fixed, traditional health care settings to an around-the-clock activity that involves the generation, use, and integration of data reflecting many aspects of individuals’ lives and behaviors. Accompanying this spectrum are blurred distinctions between traditional versus consumer-generated health information and differences in expectations of how health information across this spectrum should be protected or treated.
On July 27, 2020, during the RightsCon 2020 virtual conference, the Future of Privacy Forum’s (FPF’s) Health Policy Counsel and Lead, Dr. Rachele Hendricks-Sturrup sat down with three health data governance and policy expert panelists to explore the privacy and policy implications across the broadening patient-consumer spectrum:
An audience poll was taken to garner the panel audience’s perspectives regarding the privacy of consumer-generated versus traditional health care data. Just over half (52%) of the audience members who participated in the poll felt that the privacy of consumer-generated health data should be treated the same as traditional health care data:
These split results highlight the need to discuss data privacy and rights across the growing patient-consumer spectrum. The panelists took on this challenge and offered the following key takeaways:
Data availability engenders discovery and collaboration… at a price
Dr. Hendricks-Sturrup and the panelists concluded that, in order to successfully navigate blurred expectations of privacy across this spectrum and make progress toward establishing meaningful legal and policy frameworks and best practices, diverse stakeholders from industry, academia, and civil society must be engaged and barriers to their collaboration must be addressed.
Read the post-panel white paper here.
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https://fpf.org/blog/fpf-presents-rightscon-2020-frontiers-in-health-data-privacy-navigating-blurred-expectations-across-the-patient-consumer-spectrum/
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XPAntivirus also known as XP Antivirus is a recent rogue antivirus program that may display fake virus scan results to trick you into purchasing a full version to remove the viruses on your system.
The viruses that XPAntivirus finds on your system are not actual viruses; instead they're files that were actually created by XPAntivirus in order to confuse you into needing XPAntivirus to clean your system. Entries of XPAntivirus are placed in your systems registry to make it look like legitimate viruses spreading on your PC system but instead are bogus registry entries. XPAntivirus is a fake virus removal program that starts up in Windows with each boot process. You should not purchase XPAntivirus under any circumstances. XPAntivirus is nothing more than a fake virus scan utility that tries to steal your time and money.
sorry if this is included, but i'll probably read your instructions over again.
every time i try to unregister the .dll files (shlwapi & wininet) it says that access denied, or when i try to delete them it says; x.dll was loaded, but the DllUnregisterServer entry point was not found. dllunregisterserver may not be exported, or a corrupt version of wininet.dll may be in memory. consider using Pview to detect and remove it.
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http://www.spyware-techie.com/xpantivirus-removal-guide
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Strong and affordable security tools to keep your site and customers secure.
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It’s more than just a website. It’s your business, brand, storefront, social gathering place — the center of all the amazing things you’re bringing to the world — and it deserves total protection with an SSL Certificate, Website Security and Website Backup. That’s the simplest way to stay safe on the wild, wild web.
*Our Content Delivery Network (CDN) stores your content on multiple servers around the world, which means visitors connect to servers that are physically closer to them. *Google will blacklist sites that could be considered dangerous to visitors, which makes it nearly impossible for people to find you. We identify and resolve any blacklisting issues, so there’s no interruption to your business.
*As opposed to simply scanning for malware that may have already infected your site, our Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides around-the-clock, proactive protection to block malware from ever reaching your website.
This speeds up your website’s performance by at least 50%.
When people visit a site that doesn’t have an SSL certificate, their browsers warn them: This connection is not secure.
That message can wreck the reputation of a business. It erodes trust, prompting those potential customers to leave that website — and maybe never come back.
When servers crash and security threats happen, you need a reset button. Website Backup lets you set up automatic backups of your site so you’ve got a secure version whenever you need it. After all, the most effective way to keep your site protected is by being proactive.
Need help? Call our award-winning support team at (480) 624-2500.
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https://www.attila-hosting.com/web-security/
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The cybersecurity industry is facing a crisis, as the workplace skills gap has grown by quite the margin over the last 12 months, new research has claimed.
In 2021, the world lacked the 2.72 million cybersecurity professionals necessary to secure cybersecurity assets – but it has now risen to 3.4 million this year.
(ISC)2’s 2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, based on a survey of just under 12,000 cybersecurity professionals claims that the workforce gap in the cybersecurity industry has widened year-on-year by more than a quarter (26.2%) as demand keeps on growing.
Our mission is to help users and also IT security passionate to reach relevant information related to cyber security.
This publication contains a lot of information and guidance on how to better protect your IT systems, data and activities from malicious factors, and also on how to safely navigate the Internet.
We look forward to hearing from you about cyber safety. Please let us know if there’s something specific you’re interested in learning about.
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https://dataprotectioncenter.com/security/theres-a-major-lack-of-qualified-cybersecurity-workers-around/
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The shortage of experienced cybersecurity talent may explain why a cybersecurity software engineer earns more than a CSO.
A workforce shortage means healthy salaries for experienced cyber people. The Dice report states that the top five IT security salaries are: No. 1 lead software security engineer at $233,333; No. 2 chief security officer at $225,000; No. 3 global information security director at $200,000; No. 4 chief information security officer at $192,500; and No. 5 director of security at $178,333.
Sometimes a declining market will balance the job figures when there's a labor shortage. But that won't happen anytime soon in the fast-growing cybersecurity space. The worldwide cybersecurity market is defined by market sizing estimates that range from $77 billion in 2015 to $170 billion by 2020.
One answer may lie in cross-training IT workers and converting them to security specialists. Herjavec Group, a leading information security consulting firm headquartered in Toronto, Canada, has successfully employed the strategy. Herjavec Group acquired a few IT services companies and dabbled in storage before locking down on cybersecurity as its sole focus. They cross-trained the technical people from those acquisitions into cybersecurity. The company employs expert cybersecurity advisers, consultants, incident responders, engineers and security operations center staff - difficult positions to recruit for.
Automated security solutions from the vendor community shows promise for helping to reduce the cyber staffing dilemma. "Traditional manual approaches to cybersecurity are proving to be unsustainable." said Brett Helm, Chairman and CEO of DB Networks. "Intelligent IT security automation through machine learning and behavioral analysis is faster, more accurate, and frees up skilled professionals to focus on more critical issues."
A potential strategic response in the U.S. is to send more kids to cybersecurity school. U.S. colleges and universities offer excellent cybersecurity education and Masters Degree programs - and there is clearly a burgeoning job market for graduates. But parents will need to get involved and nudge their high-schoolers to think about a career in the field.
The U.S. will have to fill its hundreds-of-thousands of cybersecurity positions over the next decade. The options are cross-training our IT workforce and getting more young people in to cybersecurity school - or outsourcing those jobs to other countries.
Symantec is pursuing another option, which may spur a trend if it works. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), a non-profit trade association in the Indian information technology and business process outsourcing industry, and Symantec recently signed a pact to develop world class skilled and certified cyber-security professionals. The partnership will focus on developing five prioritized job roles in cyber-security along with a master training program which also has scope to fund scholarship for 1,000 women undertaking the cyber-security certification by Nasscom, according to a Nasscom statement.
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https://www.cio-asia.com/mgmt/careers/cybersecurity-job-market-to-suffer-severe-workforce-shortage/?page=2
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I am new to this forum and wanted to get some information on the following question.
I am currently A+ and will hopefully be Network+ This friday. I keep hearing that these two certifications count towards either the MCSA or MCSE. Does the A+ still count if you took the first version out of this test.
Can anyone provide me some more information on this or show me a link so i cant read a little more on it.
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https://community.infosecinstitute.com/discussion/28662/a-and-network-count-towards-mcsa-mcse
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Site investigation companies should expect increased HSE attention following the recent successful prosecution of CET Limited following an accident where a drill rig operator was forced several times through a 24cm gap between the mast and the auger. Guarding and stopping devices were considered inadequate and not in compliance with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). CET were fined £20,000 (plus costs of £30,000) under Section 2 of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
A second, recent, incident, were the operator suffered a broken shoulder and two broken arms in similar circumstances only serves to underline the seriousness of ignoring the PUWER requirements.
Many AGS Members will already have received a letter from the HSE clarifying the legal responsibilities of employers to safe guard their employees.
To ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health & safety of their employees.
To undertake a suitable & sufficient assessment of the risks to health & safety to which their employees, as well as other people, are exposed arising from their undertaking or work. The significant outcomes of the assessment will normally have to be recorded.
To provide effective measures to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery.
To ensure that, where appropriate, work equipment is fitted with one or more readily accessible controls to bring the machine to a complete stop where necessary for health & safety reasons (an emergency stop).
To ensure that, apart from where necessary, no control for work equipment is positioned where it would cause a risk to the health & safety of the operator.
A risk assessment has not been done & acted upon.
A risk assessment has been done but is neither suitable & sufficient in that it does not correctly identify the measures that could reasonably be taken to eliminate or reduce the risks identified.
Access to the dangerous rotating parts of the drilling machinery is not effectively prevented in line with the hierarchy of protective measures given in the Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) & backed up in the BDA guidance.
Insufficient or inadequate emergency stops are provided.
The operator position places them in close proximity to the rotating part of machinery.
The nature of the work undertaken requires close approach to a rotating part of machinery.
Operators are not adequately trained or supervised.
Risk Assessment
The purpose of a risk assessment is for an employer to identify the risks his employees, & others affected by his work, may be exposed to. Once this is done the employer should identify the measures that need to be taken to deal with these risks.
The primary aim should always be to completely eliminate any risk identified e.g. by effective guarding; where this is not practicable the risk must be reduced as much as possible by safe systems of work & the provision of information, instruction & training.
HSE has found that drilling equipment frequently requires close approach to the rotating drill string whether to operate controls, to take samples, backfill or for other reasons. This obviously increases the risk of people becoming entangled if access to the dangerous part of machinery is not effectively prevented. Any risk assessment needs to recognise the implications of this risk & ensure that the protective measures chosen offer the highest practicable level of protection. Large piling rigs are covered by separate guidance produced by the Federation of Piling Specialists in liaison with HSE taking into account the different nature of the risks.
Levels of Protection
PUWER lays out a clear hierarchy of protective measures that is further clarified with direct reference to the drilling industry in the BDA guidance*. In simple terms the hierarchy for preventing access to the rotating parts of a drilling rig is as follows:
A fixed guard that requires physically unbolting.
A moveable guard with an interlock cutting rotational power when opened.
An adjustable guard (i.e. a fixed or moveable guard with adjustable parts or whole), the adjustable part must be interlocked. These are commonly described as “telescopic”.
A caged working area that is interlocked thus preventing risk from rotation when anyone is in the area.
Appropriate clothing with no loose attachments.
The last two points are not “stand-alone” measures but should be provided in all cases.
Where access to the rotating drill string is to be prevented by a guard it should extend from 0.5 metres above ground level in all cases to 2 metres above ground level or 2 metres above the operator position if elevated. The rotating drill string, even at relatively low speeds, is an extremely dangerous part of machinery. The law demands that the highest practicable level of protection should be supplied to prevent access to the dangerous part. As the BDA guidance quite correctly states in the “protective devices selection” section the actual decision must be made impartially & with safety, not time or cost, as the overriding concern.
In HSE’s opinion, given the practical operational difficulties a fully fixed guard would give, the best practicable solution in the majority of cases will be some form of moveable, interlocked guard.
It should be remembered that the rotating drill string is always to be considered a dangerous part of machinery from which people require the highest practicable means of protection. This will not always be the most convenient or cheapest option available.
Where manufacturers are no longer trading, or effective guards are not yet available, bespoke guarding options can be retrofitted easily in most cases.
Trip Wires, Stop Bars & Light Beams
Trip wires & stop bars are included in the hierarchy but they are clearly a lower level of protection than a physical guard be it interlocked or fixed. In order to activate a trip wire or stop bar the person is usually already entangled given the proximity of the device to the drill; plus due to the “wind-down” time further injury is likely once the device is activated.
PUWER requires access to be prevented – trip wire, stop bar or light beam type fixtures positioned in close proximity to the drill string will not usually prevent access to it. They may reduce the level of injury once a person is entangled but they do not prevent the accident occurring.
Only where a physical guard which effectively prevented access was evidently impracticable would HSE consider a trip wire, light beam, pressure pad or stop bar arrangement a realistic option; further additional measures may also be needed to lower the risk to an acceptable level, for example, relocating operator positions, the fitting of devices to remove spoil automatically preventing repeated activation, a strict regime of maintenance & testing & close supervision.
Whilst the risk of injury arising from entanglement is a major risk in operating drilling rigs it is not the only area of concern for the industry.
Risk assessments should also address other associated risks to safety & health. For example, risks from overhead power lines, underground services, vehicle movements, noise, falling objects, manual handling, soil contamination, the availability of proper welfare facilities to name but a few.
Conclusion
The entanglement risks faced by those operating, or working in close proximity to, drilling rigs are well known. The legal requirements to protect people are similarly well known & the guidance clear.
The key factor in protecting people from these dangerous machines is a realistically robust risk assessment & the provision of a truly effective means of preventing access to the dangerous part.
HSE will expect to see the highest practicable level of protection in place with full justification for measures from further down the hierarchy where they are found.
We hope that the above guidance is clear enough to leave you in no doubt about the level of protection required. If HSE has to investigate any further accidents of this kind we will take into account the additional guidance in this annex & letter we have provided to you/your Company in deciding what enforcement action may be appropriate.
The SGV Task Force was set up following a ‘stakeholder workshop’ in November 2004, at which the AGS was well represented. Simon Edwards (Merebrook) and Seamus Le Froy Brookes (LBH Wembley) have since attended Task Force meetings on behalf of the AGS – and the views of the AGS were canvassed by means of a ‘Mirror Group’ and via the normal meetings of the Contaminated Land Working Group.
The remit of the Task Force is very wide, embracing matters as diverse as the continuing professional development of those involved in contaminated land through to the detail of toxicological risk assessment.
It has been recognised by industry for some time that some of the published SGVs were at concentrations at or around background concentrations. There must be very few working in this area who have not struggled with the benzo(a)pyrene question! However, the initial view of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and Environment Agency regulators were that these were very hazardous chemicals and exposure should therefore be kept as low as possible. A year of persuasion has now borne fruit in the form of CLAN 02/05 which formally recognises that there is a big difference between the published SGVs and the concentrations of contaminants in the soil which would be capable of presenting a real hazard to people living on that land – in the terminology “a significant possibility of significant harm” [or SPOSH – how we love our acronyms!].
Concentrations at or marginally above SGVs would not necessarily meet the legal tests [in Circular 02/2000], for determining “Contaminated Land” (as defined in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990).
Of course, helpful as these statements are, one key question now begs to be answered. Namely, how far above the SGV does the concentration have to be to meet the “unacceptable intake” test. In the deadpan language of Sir Humphrey, CLAN 02/05 says that “at the present time the published Defra/Environment Agency technical guidance on risk assessment does not address this issue”. Clearly, the publication of such guidance is critical. No timetable has been set by the Task Force, but the clamour from both regulator and regulated for urgent resolution, surely can not be ignored.
Of course one has to ask where this leaves all those affected by sites designated by local authorities as “Contaminated Land” on the basis of marginal exceedence of SGVs.
The work of the SGV Task Force continues, no longer under the auspices of the Cabinet Office, but under English Partnerships’ Brownfield Strategy, under the chairmanship of Jane Forshaw (CEO of CL: AIRE (Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments). There is no doubt that pressure from industry and political determination at the Cabinet Office has at last made real progress but much remains to be done. In addition to the thorny issue of what constitutes soil concentrations capable of providing an unacceptable intake, progress on the publication of the SGVs themselves remains painfully slow.
The Agency has recently released the updated version of the CLEA UK risk assessment model for a trial period until April 2006 [www.environment-agency.gov.uk]. Formal ratification and publication of that model remains high on industry’s agenda.
It is clearly vital that the momentum needed to make progress in all these areas, which has started to develop as a result of the Task Force, must continue. The AGS will of course continue to support its work but it is vital that the absence of the Cabinet Office does not allow Defra/ the EA and the HPA to return to the previous snail’s pace.
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https://www.ags.org.uk/tag/risk-assessment/
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>weight-loss-program.exe\data002\{app}\Help.chm\Help Contents/a01-welcome.html - OK
Complete Dr.Web report view here.
This software was tested by Kaspersky Anti-Virus.
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http://www.downloadroute.com/Weight-Loss-Program-QSX-Software-Group/antivirus_report.html
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This course will take approximately 1-2 hours to complete. You must complete the presentation from beginning to end in order to receive credit for viewing this course. If you exit the presentation prior to completion, you will be required to start the presentation from the beginning in order to print a certificate of completion.
You are about to view Federal Information Systems Security Awareness course. If you are unfamiliar with the design and navigation of this course, click on “Launch Guided Tour” to view a short tutorial. To start the training, click on “Launch Federal Information Systems Security Awareness”. If you use assistive technology select "Launch text only version".
To view the course at full screen, the display settings should be set to 800x600 pixels. Instructions to change the display settings are listed below.
1. Click on the “START” button in the lower left corner of the screen. Then click “Settings” and “Control Panel”.
2. In the Control Panel window, double-click on the “Display” icon to open it.
3. In the Display Properties dialog box, click on the tab titled “Settings”.
4. In the section titled “Screen Area”, click on the slider and drag it until “800 by 600 pixels” appears.
5. Click the OK button to accept your change. You may be required to reboot your system for the changes to take affect.
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http://www.mekabay.com/infosecmgmt/disa_syssecawareness_overview.htm
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Britain on Wednesday named its former ambassador to Turkey as the new director of the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service.
Richard Moore succeeds Alex Younger, who was a career intelligence officer and became Britain's top spy in 2014.
Moore, a fluent Turkish speaker, has served as the political director of the Foreign Office, deputy national security adviser, and ambassador to Ankara from 2014 to 2017.
Prior to becoming a diplomat, Moore worked for MI6 "where he undertook a range of roles across the Service both in the UK and overseas," according to his official profile.
"I am pleased and honoured to be asked to return to lead my Service," Moore said in a statement.
"SIS plays a vital role... in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas."
Younger identified cyber-security as a top priority for Britain during his term, describing the internet as "an existential threat" to intelligence work in a rare public address in 2016.
He has also raised concern about the safety of China's private telecoms giant Huawei, which Britain this month decided to phase out of its 5G network.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Younger "carefully and effectively guided the service during a time of increased and more diverse threats."
Moore's brief official biography says he was born in Libya and is married with two children.
"Outside of work, Richard's interests include playing golf and watching cricket and rugby," says the biography.
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https://www.securityweek.com/britain-names-turkish-speaker-new-top-spy
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Delilah is the first extortion trojan that spies on victims and collects information to force them in doing malicious activities from inside.
Delilah is a strain of malware developed to extort victims into stealing insider data, it was first discovered on crime forums by the Israeli intelligence firm Diskin Advanced Technologies.
Deliah is not distributed in open crimeware forums, instead, it is shared in among exclusive criminal communities.
Delilah represents a novelty in the malware landscape, it relies on a combination of social engineering and extortion techniques.
The Gartner security expert Avivah Litan explained that the trojan was specifically designed to target employees, it gathers information on the victims in order to use them in extortion schema.
“Delilah recruits targeted insiders via social engineering and/or extortion, sometimes using ransomware techniques. It remains a closely held Trojan not yet available on the common black market, and is only shared amongst closed hacker groups, according to threat intelligence firm Diskin Advanced Technologies (DAT).” Litan wrote in a blog post.
“Once installed the hidden bot gathers enough personal information from the victim so that the individual can later be manipulated or extorted. This includes information on the victim’s family and workplace. ” The bot leverages on a component that allows spying on victims through their webcam.
“The bot comes with a social engineering plug-in that connects to webcam operations so that the victim can be filmed without his or her knowledge.”
The experts from the Israeli company explained that criminals need sophisticated social engineering techniques in order to force the victims into committing insider theft.
Delilah is delivered through gaming and adult sites, for this reason, it is suggested to organizations to prevent employees from visiting potentially malicious websites.
Insider threats are very insidious and malicious codes like Delilah could easily allow crooks to recruit insiders.
“With Trojans like Delilah, organizations should expect insider recruitment to escalate further and more rapidly. This will only add to the volume of insider threats caused by disgruntled employees selling their services on the Dark Web in order to harm their employers.”
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http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/49532/malware/delilah-trojan.html
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The Westfield name in retail is synonymous with high quality properties that offer an efficient and dynamic environment for retailers and a quality shopping experience for consumers. With a portfolio of 104 shopping centers globally, Westfield is also a leader in ensuring the protection and safety of staff and contractors in back-of-house and operational areas using state-of-the-art security technology.
At Westfield Shopping Centers throughout Australia, the organization has implemented a pioneering key control and management solution with fingerprint biometrics that allows pre-approved personnel streamlined access to and from authorized center locations with comprehensive monitoring and report functionality. The solution is based on Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatcher key control and management system integrated with the NoWAIT (National Work Authorization and Induction Training) fingerprint recognition system.
Developed for Westfield by Blue Glue® and their technology partner Morse Australia, the biometric security system known as Contractor and Visitor Validation System seamlessly integrates with existing KeyWatcher systems for secure issuance of keys to pre-authorized individuals while touchscreen video technology provides for safety messaging to staff.
“Key control and management is an essential element in administering the security aspects of a large retail property,” said Alan Jones, Director, BlueGlue P/L. “The integrated solution we devised for Westfield puts together Morse Watchman’s state-of-the-art key control with biometric technology and real time, centralized remote monitoring for an optimized system to enhance the security of back-of-house and operational areas.”
With the new system, contractors, consultants and others will no longer have to sign in and wait for a key to be issued. Emergencies that occur during off hours can be more readily acted upon because contractors can access keys without having to wait for property management to arrive on scene. Enrollment in the system is through fingerprint identification and a one-time registration allows access at any site in the program. The system additionally issues a durable identification wristband with the name, date and time stamp and all access activity is recorded for auditing purposes.
According to Jones, a range of Westfield properties had been using Morse Watchmans key control cabinets for the past ten years to store, release and track keys used throughout a property. Key control systems are designed to securely and safely store keys and release them only to authorized users. With the Morse Watchmans KeyWatcher system, each key is locked into place inside the key cabinet using a locking device which has an integrated chip, so a user can only remove a key which he or she has permission to use. The other keys stored in the cabinet remain locked in place when the user enters his or her access code or scans their card or fingerprint. In doing so, the Morse Watchmans system automatically controls who is able to use which keys.
Because the KeyWatcher was designed for interoperability with other systems, Blue Glue was able to seamlessly integrate the NoWAIT biometric system and have control through their Blue Glue Net Enterprise. Mr. Jones adds, “KeyWatcher is a quality product with an RS-232 communications port and the assistance provided by Morse Australia for the protocols made the integration process very easy.”
Proof of concept trials were performed at four Westfield Shopping Centers in the Sydney area and, based on their success, the program was rolled out on a national basis in late 2012.
One Westfield Manager is quoted as saying, “With the system, we can have a high level of confidence that only inducted and authorized personnel are working onsite. We can know who’s using our keys in real time. This has huge implications for safety and security, and with many people needing to enter authorized areas in one center alone, the system will revolutionize how our centers are accessed once the national roll-out is complete.”
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Stay in the know on the latest enterprise risk and security industry trends.
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https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/84277-how-australias-westfield-shopping-centers-control-and-monitor-key-access
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Generally speaking, CryptoLockerEU Ransomware is a modified version of CryptoLocker Ransomware that used to be popular some time ago. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that this infection is very similar to the original threat the way it acts. Our research team has tested this computer infection in a lab and revealed that it encrypts users’ files stored on the computer it infiltrates and adds a filename extension .send 0.3 BTC crypt to all locked files. After it finishes doing its job, it leaves a ransom note for users to inform them about the cyber attack and tell them how these encrypted files can be unlocked. CryptoLockerEU has been categorized as ransomware not without reason. It has fallen into this category because it encrypts users’ files and then demands money. Do not send money to cyber criminals even though it is said there that it is the only way to get files back. It is not advisable to do that because they might take your money but do not give you anything in exchange. Also, it might be very true that they do not even have the private key that can unlock files.
Your all pictures, documents, videos, and music will be all encrypted if CryptoLockerEU Ransomware successfully infiltrates your PC. As it is written in the ransom note РАСШИФРОВАТЬ ФАЙЛЫ.txt (you might see ĐŔŃŘČÔĐÎÂŔŇÜ ÔŔÉËŰ.txt due to different character encoding) left for you, these files can be decrypted by paying 0.3 Bitcoin. Users are given 7 days to do that. Files are not automatically decrypted if a user makes a payment. A letter with a “virus ID” (it is provided in the ransom note) has to be sent to one of the provided email addresses (e.g. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]) to get the “private key + software.” CryptoLockerEU Ransomware uses a strong encryption algorithm RSA-2045, so it might be impossible to decrypt files without the special key. Of course, it does not mean that our researchers encourage you to go to pay a ransom. What they suggest that you do instead is to go to recover files from a backup. If you have not backed up your important files, your only hope is a free decryption tool – it might be developed by specialists working in the cybersecurity field one day. You should also try out all free data recovery tools. They might help you to get, at least, some files back.
You will not download a ransomware infection from some kind of website on the Internet because these threats are usually distributed using another dissemination method. Our research team has carried out research to find out more about the distribution of these infections. This research has revealed that ransomware infections are usually spread in spam emails. They are not installed on the computer immediately after a user opens a spam email. Instead, this happens when a user opens an attachment found in such an email. Of course, they are not told that a malicious application will be installed on their PCs if an attachment is opened. Actually, these malicious files are usually made to look harmless, for example, it might seem that an attachment is an important document. Nobody can guarantee that other distribution methods will not be used to spread these threats in the future. Therefore, our specialists highly recommend installing a tool for protecting the system 24/7. Make sure you still stay away from spam emails after installing a security application.
It is unclear where the malicious file of CryptoLockerEU Ransomware is located, and, unfortunately, it might not be enough to erase it, meaning that it might not be easy to remove this ransomware infection from the system. If you find it too hard to erase this computer infection manually or just cannot find the malicious process and file of this threat, you should use an automatic scanner, e.g. SpyHunter. This scanner will leave no traces of malware on the system.
Close the Task Manager and open the Windows Explorer.
Pay a visit to %LOCALAPPDATA%, %APPDATA%, %TEMP%, %USERPROFILE%\Downloads, and %USERPROFILE%\Desktop.
Delete suspicious files you find.
Delete the ransom note РАСШИФРОВАТЬ ФАЙЛЫ.txt (it might have a name ĐŔŃŘČÔĐÎÂŔŇÜ ÔŔÉËŰ.txt) left by the ransomware infection.
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http://www.spyware-techie.com/cryptolockereu-ransomware-removal-guide
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Dear folks, I use Ubuntu 18 and like to have GPG - S/MIME or even PGP on it. I have read #25...
There used to be a Keybase plugin for Nylas mail, but it’s difficult (or impossible) to find now.
This is a priority, but we really need someone familiar with this to help us implement it.
So I assume the difficult part is to implement the encryption/decryption and signing/verification.
I’m not an expert but I’d assume once the mail is parsed these operations are applied to the corresponding parts.
For all the crypto operations we should use an external library like OpenPGPjs. So we just need to make sure that the email is parsed correctly, s.t. the right string goes into the right openPGP function.
The Content-Type determines the protocol and boundary which separates the different parts. For S/MIME, we have the email content and then the signature as an smime.p7s file attachment. And for PGP it is a signature.asc file.
I think Enigma mail can be of great help here and a few of their routines can be copied, e.g.:
For the protocol/boundary: package/mime.jsm · master · enigmail / enigmail · GitLab
For verification: package/verify.jsm · master · enigmail / enigmail · GitLab
Enigma mail also uses OpenPGP as their default crypto api: package/cryptoAPI.jsm · master · So looking at this, it seems more doable. But I am not an expert and it seems like the ecosystem is a bit fragmented, with different mime-types for the same thing. Aside from the crypto part there also needs to be an interface to store/search/generate keys or add certificates + changes in the composer to sign/encrypt and in the UI.
Personally, I have no experience with PGP/GPG on a technical level but I presume it is something quite similar. One of the key differences is that, in this case, some users may prefer not to trust public keyrings and build their own trust stores of public keys. The hard part though is making the trust stores secure because they will likely contain the private keys as well. On some operating systems, perhaps the provided facilities could be used (e.g. KeyChain on macOS), but I’m not completely sure.
In any way, both these endeavours will not be easy, and will require commitment, time and effort if the goal is to support the needs of many people and do it properly. Especially testing may be difficult.
I would love mail spring to support gpg, but honestly I’ve given up on the idea of the majority of my contacts being able correspond this way and I doubt they will change to differ mail clients.
What I have found useful is emacs’ ability to encrypt/decrypt a region of text. This lets you paste a message into the body of a normal message.
I think this is more important than ever given that we know that there is no MAIL hosting company will protect your mail (talking about ProtonMail that gave data to the authorities).
I’d like this client to have GPG Keys built into it.
You seem to have been miss-informed, as Protonmail only complied with Law, per their already existing terms.
And they weren’t able to give encrypted mail contents to the authorities, only the IP address.
Either if you’ve encrypted your mail content via their system, or encrypted it outside of it, nothing would have protected you from law. Including if you try to refuse to them.
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https://community.getmailspring.com/t/pgp-encryption-gpg-support-keybase/83
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The decision of whether to extradite accused NASA and U.S. military hacker Gary McKinnon is on hold while he decides whether to take a psychiatric exam to determine whether he is fit to stand trial in America, according to reports.
The High Court in the U.K. is giving McKinnon two weeks to make his choice before Home Secretary Theresa May makes a ruling on whether the 46-year-old should stand trial in his home country or across the pond, according to the BBC.
McKinnon suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. His lawyers have argued that he is at risk of committing suicide if he is extradited, and this has been backed up by medical assessments. However, McKinnon is reluctant to be re-examined because he does not believe the psychiatrist appointed by May to conduct the exam is an expert in Asperger's, according to a report Friday in the Barnet and Whetstone Press.
McKinnon could face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of charges that in 2001 he hacked into 97 computers operated by the U.S. government, including those of the Pentagon, Army, Air Force and NASA.
American authorities have said his actions resulted in a shutdown of the Army's Military District of Washington network, containing more than 2,000 computers and resulting in $700,000 in damage.
McKinnon has long maintained that he is simply a computer geek and only wanted to find evidence of alien life and UFOs. His lawyers said an extradition would lead to "disastrous consequences" for his health, including possible psychosis and suicide, according to reports. They have claimed McKinnon is in an “extremely fragile mental state.”
Led by his mother, Janis Sharp, McKinnon has been fighting extradition since 2006, with many highs and lows along the way.
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https://www.scmagazine.com/news/-/mckinnon-extradition-decision-delayed-for-new-evaluation
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We had a scenario where five particular Project Schedules were taking 8 minutes to finish publishing to the Reporting DB, but the Draft and Published database jobs were finishing in less than a minute. All other 200 schedules in the system would publish almost instantly. What is so different between the fast and slow schedules? Why is the Reporting database publish so much slower than its cousins? Another problem, likely associated, was 30 minute response time opening 15 schedules in bulk from PWA into Project Pro. But, all other aspects the system performed very fast such as Timesheets, opening Project Center and drilling down, opening Resource Center and running availability and allocation views. This was a Shared platform with SharePoint and Livelink and which some believed to be the root cause while others believed the timesheet entry task history was root cause and that Project Server was just maxed out but not so.
The main difference between the five slow schedules and all the others is the five slow schedules were specially used to capture known ongoing operational work on an annual basis. We call these Operational Schedules. The tasks were scheduled out by 1 to 2 years with all people in the organization assigned as resources with percent units. This would allow management more accurate understanding of resource availability. An example might be to assign Joe Klein for the year at 50% to the "Maintenance work" task so he shows available the other 50% of the time for other project work. With this Operational Schedule concept in mind, the real root cause will make sense as outlined below. Also, the slowest of the five schedules was an older plan with 1.5 years of timesheet actuals. Why did this one take so much longer to publish to the Reporting DB, but was quick to save to Draft db and Published db?
To find the answers to our questions, we began with an architecture and platform review, then performed a series of project publishing tests from Project Pro in a systematic process of elimination to determine which component might be the bottleneck. We determined there was no CPU, Memory, or Network bottleneck issues on any of the servers. We copied the four Project Server databases to a virtual machine running on my laptop which uses Solid State drives. Publish time reduced from 8 to 2 minutes; problem solved! It had to be a disk issue! The Production Folks moved the Project Server database files and associated log files to faster disks and now the 15 schedules would bulk open from PWA into Project Pro in less than a minute, down from 30 minutes, and the Reporting Publish job time went down from 8 minutes to 2 minutes.
I still wanted to know why the Reporting Publish jobs took so much longer on those five schedules, so I fired up PSSDiag and SQL Nexus and found the main culprit is the TimeByDay table population in the Reporting DB. The TimeByDay tables host one record for every day per resource assignment and are used by the OLAP Cubes and custom reports to allow for reporting on Time Phased work. The Draft and Published databases manage this data differently and do not have such tables nor do they experience the performance problem. In the case of the five special schedules, the TimeByDay is greater than normal schedules because of the 1 to 2 year task spans with hundreds of assignments. This generates many, many TimeByDay rows in the table, because there is one database row per resource assignment per day for every day of the year (minus calendar exceptions). For example, a two year task with 800 assignments would be approximately 400,000 rows, to be populated to multiple tables including AssignmentByDay, TaskByDay, and Baselines, etc. This generates a ton of operations on the SQL server during Publish operations.
Below is a SQLNexus analysis chart of what is happening during a Reporting Publish job and you can see the load the TimeByDay updates are exhibiting on the system.
In an effort to improve the Reporting Publish performance, I tried setting Max DOP in SQL Server to various values. The best performance was with a value of 1, as per Microsoft recommendations for SharePoint. I put the SQL data files on different drives and got a bit of improvement (because of better disk I/O) and I tried with 4k and 64k Sector size in SQL Server and noted similar speeds. There did not seem to be another way to speed things up other than faster hardware, archiving projects to reduce the database size, or optimizing the schedules.
It is very interesting to note that changing all tasks to “Manually Scheduled” adds 2 minutes to the Reporting Publish times. (Why would that be? Maybe I should write another blog article on this one?) And with Manually scheduled tasks, even making a few small change to the schedule and publishing it will still apply a heavy load to the Reporting DB but for a shorter duration (about a minute less). With Auto Scheduled Tasks in same scenario, the Reporting Publish job is quick, but checking in the schedule and re-opening it, then making a small change and publishing will go back to applying heavy load on the SQL Server.
I was still determined to improve publish times down to at least one minute without faster hardware and I believe the only answer is optimizing the Schedules. I studied the worst offender, an older schedule that has been in use for two years with timesheet actuals captured for 54 resources across 44 tasks for 920 assignments. This scenario generates a ton of TimeByDay records in the database and the planned work, actual work, and cost values are all populated in the TimeByDay tables. In fact, the “MSP_EpmAssignmentByDay” table has 19 fields in it, so you can see how each row in the table will add work for the SQL Server. I wondered if we could reduce this amount by deleting out last years’ daily entries? Will this help performance? I found that yes, it does, but this may not be the answer either because, generally speaking, you should not have to delete your data in return for performance.
I also tried deleting data to see if this would improve performance, I deleted all projects except two from PWA Server Setting, but received errors in Queue deleting from the Reporting DB. I considered that maybe my problems are related to a corrupt Reporting DB? I made a new one by provisioning a dummy PWA instance (changed the extended property key to make PWA provisioning believe it is a valid db). Then to refresh the reporting db with fresh data, I just had to back up and restore the Enterprise Custom Fields using the Admin tool in Server Settings > Administrative Backup and Administrative Restore from PWA. This process completely refreshed all data including projects, resources, custom fields, tasks, assignments, and the “ByDay” work. After all this, publishing times remained the same, so the Reporting DB was not corrupt. Now once again, I tried deleting projects and was successful. The MSP_EpmAssignmentByDay table had 2 million rows when I started deleting projects. I stopped deletions and tested project publishes with 1.4M rows and found the same performance. I tested with 1M rows, found the same performance again, and I tested with 0.5M rows with no change in performance. I reindexed the Reporting DB, same speeds. Deleting project data does not seem to help.
Summary and Lessons Learned
Make sure you have enough Disk I/O available to handle the high volume of executions on the Reporting database when publishing schedules with many "time by day" values. Operational schedules should be treated as projects where there is an end date, so don’t let several years of historical work build up over time. Implement new operational schedules each fiscal or calendar year and close the old ones to get them out of the way, but do not delete them. Think about less detailed breakdown of work in the ongoing operational project plans; overhead is overhead, so you don't need many detailed task assignments. Don’t start archiving and deleting your completed projects in an effort to improve publish performance, it won’t help much in the near term, and maybe years down the road, it will make sense to archive old projects using a documented archive plan with a regular archive process frequency.
The Reporting database could be considered a non-critical database, because it can be re-built easily and therefore, could be placed on cheaper Solid State Drives. If the drive does fail you will have a reporting outage, but PWA will still operate (until the Application Pool is recycled) giving you time to replace the SSD so the risk of failure and major outage is low and could dramatically improve performance at a low cost. A note: do not refresh the Reporting database during business hours because this process is VERY disk intensive on the SQL Server.
SQL Server's Max Degree of Parallelism (MAXDOP) property with a value of 1 is recommended for optimal performance of SharePoint and is a mandatory setting for SharePoint 2013. My testing here proves MAXDOP of 1 is an optimal setting for Project Server, as well, so a single instance of SQL Server for both products might be your best choice, but make sure your disks are architected properly with plenty of disk I/O. Try to get your own set of spindles and LUNs for Project Server, because this product can make intensive use of disk I/O. Keep in mind that Project Server was designed to allow the Administrator to configure the Reporting database to a different SQL instance than the Archive, Draft, and Published databases, this could be an answer also to improve performance.
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https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/projectserverpfeteamblog/2014/06/30/slow-performance-for-reporting-publish-jobs/
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The transaction data, credit scores, payment history, balances, as well as some linked bank accounts and Social Security numbers of 106 million Capital One customers have been exposed. According to Capital One, an unauthorized individual accessed their systems and consumer data between March 22nd and March 23rd of this year. In their press release, Capital One stated:
“On July 19, 2019, we determined there was unauthorized access by an outside individual who obtained certain types of personal information relating to people who had applied for credit card products and Capital One credit card customers.”
Overseas voters from Utah County, Utah, are provided with a unique option to cast ballots in elections this year using a mobile application that utilizes blockchain encryption to transmit information/votes back to city officials. As active-duty military and other expats are unable to vote in person, this option may provide a more secure and stable process.
The application, called Votaz, has also been tested in elections in West Virginia and Denver. Rather than using other antiquated and flawed software such as UOCAVA, Votaz claims to be much more secure and efficient. Votaz utilizes multiple authentication methods such as multi-factor authentication and facial recognition to ensure reliability while users access and submit their ballots. The application’s user data along with the filled-out ballots are then encrypted using a distributed ledger.
Read more here
Judge Rules No Jail Time for WannaCry ‘Killer’ Marcus Hutchins, A.K.A. MalwareTech
Last week, District Judge J.P. Stadmueller determined Marcus Hutchins was a free man, only requiring one year of supervised release for developing and selling the Kronos banking malware. Stadmueller also highlighted Hutchins’s good work as “too many positives on the other side of the ledger.”
The FBI arrested Hutchins on August 2017 for his alleged role in the production and distribution of Kronos between 2014 and 2015. Kronos is a banking trojan that is designed to steal banking credentials and other sensitive information from compromised computers. Hutchins defended himself, stating he “deeply” regrets his conduct and made some “bad decisions” while he was a teenager.
WatchBog, a cryptocurrency mining botnet, has developed a new variant that includes a module to scan the internet for Windows RDP servers vulnerable to the BlueKeep vulnerability (CVE-2019-0708). Researchers at Intezer suspect that more than 4,500 Linux machines have been compromised in new campaigns that have taken place since early June. Criminals can also use the BlueKeep RDP protocol vulnerability scanner module as a method to develop a list of vulnerable systems to target in the future or to sell to other malicious actors.
BlueKeep is a critical vulnerability that “could be exploited by malware with wormable capabilities, it could be exploited without user interaction, making it possible for malware to spread in an uncontrolled way into the target networks.” As always, updating your systems with the most recent software is recommended.
U.S. Files a Lawsuit Against Bitcoin Exchange That Helped Launder Ransomware Profits
The US Department of Justice has hit the now-defunct BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange with a civil lawsuit that seeks to recover more than $100 million.
According to ZDNet, “In a lawsuit filed on Friday, July 26, the US wants to recover $88,596,314 from the accounts of the now-defunct BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange, and an additional $12 million from Alexander ‘Mr. Bitcoin’ Vinnick, BTC-e’s founder and CEO.”
The lawsuit claims BTC-e helped cyber-criminals launder stolen funds, such as those who received payment of illegal cryptojacking campaigns, or ransomware payments. Vinneck has had a long history with authorities as multiple government entities have attempted to arrest or pose fines.
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https://ledgerops.com/blog/2019-07-30-last-week-in-blockchain-and-cybersecurity-news-july-30th-2019/
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how good is f-secure antivirus software….?
June 11th, 2013 F-Secure i want to know how good is f-secure before i install the software. Chosen Answer: It has very good on-demand virus detection rates and somewhat mediocre heuristics. For an unbiased test report of virus detection capabilities, go here:http://www.av-comparatives.org/ and click “Comparatives” on the left, then choose #17 and #16. by: jibbarjabar on: 7th July 11
May 24th, 2013 F-Secure I try to use my Disk Defragmentor and it says Disk Defragmentor could not start. What should I do? I shut off the computer and restarted and still the same thing. I used disk clean up and still the same thing. Any other suggestions? Chosen Answer: My best guess maybe you do not have permission to [...]
Securing a new laptop. Apart from having Norton, what should I get?
April 3rd, 2013 F-Secure Preferably free, I know of ad-aware and spybot and I also hear that you can get conflicts between different security programs so you shouldn’t mix some of them. Anyway, I basically would like to know a comprehensive list of software I need to install. Help appreciated. Chosen Answer: what u need: firewall, antivirus, antispyware, rootkit [...]
I keep getting a popup window that says BannerBot ‘Restart Failed’ and ropening tabs in IE. How do I remove it?
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http://1antivirusspot.com/tag/software
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This is part 2 of a 4-part series on Keycloak. For part 1, click here, and for part 3, click here
In the previous section, we utilized curl to perform HTTP requests to get the token. This was possible through something called a Direct Access Grant and usually, in a web application or a service, we don't want that since this involves sending plaintext username…
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https://usmanshahid.medium.com/levels-of-access-control-through-keycloak-part-2-authentication-flows-8ac3591984
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Added the ability to activate subscription using one time MB code.
Added the ability to generate one time MB code under app settings.
Improved the activation flow experience.
Issues fixed
MMAC-2966: Incorrect text displayed on VPN Configuration dialog box for Mac OS Monterey and BigSur.
MMAC-3265: Incorrect color scheme for certain buttons on dark mode.
MMAC-3265: Minor User Interface (UI) issues while navigating from dashboard to app settings.
MMAC-3024: VPN toggle did not work properly after a connection issue.
MMAC-3021: Performance issues in VPN while using certain messenger apps.
MMAC-2983: Privacy app blocking itself from establishing a VPN connection when it's added to Connection Rules.
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https://support.malwarebytes.com/hc/en-us/articles/4412419268883-Malwarebytes-Privacy-VPN-for-Mac-2-4-Release-Notes
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This text was tailored from the Local weather Tech Weekly e-newsletter, delivered Wednesdays.
Attivo Networks. Dragos. Rangeforce. Swimlane. In case you choose by means of the portfolio listing for Power Impression Companions (EIP), you’ll discover all kinds of local weather tech startups — and a minimum of 9 ventures with one core focus: securing digital and bodily networks.
EIP’s newest funding on this class, Corelight, is a specialist in community detection and response — working with a few of the world’s largest Fortune 500 corporations, authorities companies and analysis establishments. Given EIP’s principal backers — primarily utilities and energy corporations but additionally some industrial gamers akin to Enterprise Holdings (sure, the rental automobile firm) — its choice to guide Corelight’s $75 million Sequence D spherical in early September is sensible.
In spite of everything, power is the subsequent frontier for hacking incidents and cyber assaults. It’s not only a matter of commerce and comfort, it’s a matter of nationwide safety. Simply ask Colonial Pipeline CEO Joe Blount, pressured to close down its 5,500-mile-long pure fuel pipeline for 5 days this spring after a ransomware incident, triggering gasoline shortages all through the Southeastern U.S.
“We knew we had a menace, and we knew that menace needed to be contained. And subsequently, we shut the pipeline down to be able to try this,” Blount stated throughout a latest speak about his firm’s response. “There was not sufficient element to know whether or not it was past the IT system, whether or not it hit the [operational technology] system, whether or not we even had a bodily threat on the pipeline at that cut-off date.”
Because the world transitions to renewable power — and to an more and more distributed grid — there’s a rising appreciation concerning the vulnerability of those techniques. “Having a really forward-thinking safety posture goes to be desk stakes,” EIP accomplice Shawn Cherian advised me after we chatted concerning the growth final month. “As we ballot our companions about priorities, safety is sort of one of many high three objects.”
In line with knowledge crunched by TechCrunch, enterprise funding for cybersecurity entrepreneurs grew to $11.5 billion within the first half of this yr — greater than double what it was in the course of the first six months of 2020. Bettering cybersecurity for “vital infrastructure” can also be a giant focus for President Joe Biden, who issued an announcement to mark Cybersecurity Consciousness Month (sure, this month).
“Our 100-day motion plan to enhance cybersecurity throughout the electrical energy sector has already resulted in additional than 150 utilities serving 90 million People committing to deploy cybersecurity applied sciences, and we’re working to deploy motion plans for extra vital infrastructure sectors,” he wrote.
More and more, safety concerns — for each digital and bodily belongings — might want to develop into a consideration for local weather tech and inexperienced infrastructure. Keep in mind all these carbon seize services and pipelines proposed below the still-pending U.S. infrastructure invoice? They’re prime candidates for main cybersecurity investments. Ditto wind generators and photo voltaic panels.
The pandemic helped carry these points to the fore, stated Leo Simonovich, vice chairman and international head of business cyber and digital safety at Siemens Power, after we chatted final week. Cyber may develop into “the good showstopper,” the large barrier to adoption for applied sciences starting from cloud computing to good controls, he prompt.
“Many operators don’t know the way susceptible they’re,” Simonovich advised me. “By creating possession [of the challenge] however getting visibility and empowering safety groups, solely then can we get at this complexity.”
As corporations search to allow the circulation of knowledge from the wellhead to the substation — and technicians are requested to carry out and deal with duties akin to logging into wind farms from their houses — power corporations and traders should layer safety with the necessity for higher visibility into power belongings. And the earlier local weather tech startups construct safety concerns into their core growth considerations, the higher.
[Continue the dialogue at VERGE 21: the climate tech event. Register here to join more than 10,000 leaders, Oct. 25-28.]
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https://jonathandesverneyusanews.com/2021/10/13/climate-tech-needs-cybersecurity-greenbiz/
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With New Year celebrations behind us, we focus our attention and efforts towards the challenges that come along with it. With every passing day, our reliance on the internet in general and technology in particular is constantly on the rise.
The speed and convenience that technology powered solutions bring to our lives at times tend to make us oblivious of the accompanying risks. Most of the information and communication technologies today are directly or indirectly powered by the internet.
The internet is absolutely vast and crawling with threats or nefarious actors that are lying in wait for the slightest of vulnerability. Ironically, most routine users of the internet are either ignorant of cyber threats or don’t bother to take them much seriously.
It is often after exposure to a successful cyber-attack that internet users realize the potential damage that has been inflicted. For a moment, just consider the simplest scenario of your personal email account getting hacked. A large part of our personal and professional lives reside in the inbox of our email account.
Let’s expand the above simple example to discuss a very damaging and rapidly proliferating cyber attack called Ransomware.
What is Ransomware?
In a Ransomware attack, a cyber-criminal will infiltrate your personal computer or network and encrypt your entire data. In exchange for decrypting your data, the offender will demand a ransom, failing which all your priceless data will be mercilessly deleted or destroyed forever.
Even in scenarios where you end up paying the ransom, you can never be certain of retrieving your data. The power dynamics of a successfully orchestrated ransomware attack are so heavily pitched in favor of the offender that the victim feels powerless in this entire scenario.
Why is Ransomware Proliferating?
The internet comes with its own set of challenges and anonymity is one of those. As your skills in networking get honed, it becomes much easier to cloak your actual identity and location in so many layers that unboxing them is simply not possible.
Another challenge with pursuing and prosecuting the perpetrators of ransomware attacks are jurisdictional challenges. The internet knows no geographical boundaries. A cyber criminal sitting in Russia may launch a ransomware attack somewhere in the USA.
Even in the rare scenarios where the actual perpetrators of ransomware attacks are traced, the jurisdictional challenges are so complex that Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) feel incapacitated to pursue the offense. This makes ransomware a highly coveted and sought after weapon within cyber crime.
Lastly, most people in general and organizations in particular feel more inclined towards secretively paying ransom instead of pursuing other alternatives. Individuals feel desperate to retrieve their data at the earliest and don’t want to risk reporting the matter to LEAs and losing their data in the process.
Organizations on the other hand downplay ransomware attacks to avoid a publicity nightmare and risk losing valuable customers they built over many years. Just to give some perspective, the estimated sum paid to cyber criminals as ransom is easily estimated at $12 Billion in year 2019.
This whopping figure alone is sufficient to act as a motivator for the rapid proliferation of ransomware across the globe. At the same time, it comes as a painful reminder for all users of the internet, regardless of skill level, that ransomware is a cyber-threat that simply cannot be taken lightly.
Growing Scope of Ransomware
A worrisome factor in ransomware is that its influence is increasing both horizontally and vertically. Getting motivated by huge ransom payments, more cyber criminals are diverting their efforts, skills and expertise to orchestrate and execute ransomware attacks.
When cyber thugs realize that people and organizations are willing to pay handsome amounts as ransom in exchange for their data, they feel the urge to further raise the stakes. Currently, USA in particular is experiencing ransomware attacks on local, state and federal institutions.
Ransomware and State Organizations
Government organizations, regardless of whether they are at state or federal level, contain highly sensitive and personal data of millions of citizens. This data plays an instrumental role in smooth governance and managing the provision of civic facilities to residents.
The foremost intent of any ransomware attack is to disrupt the entire state apparatus that is managing the provision of all such facilities. Any such disruption causes chaos and frustration among the affected population. In addition to feeling embarrassed, state organizations also tend to lose their writ due to such incidents.
The secondary objective cyber criminals achieve from such attacks is that before encrypting the victim’s data, they make a copy of that sensitive data. This data is then bifurcated and sold in bits and pieces to various nefarious actors over the elusive but thriving Dark Web.
Some examples of this sensitive data can be social security numbers, medical records, credit card information, bank account details and much more. Over the past few months, both state and federal level institutions are experiencing very frequent and relentless efforts at penetrating their internal networks.
Preventive Approach to Ransomware
Given the disruptive power of a successfully mounted ransomware attack, the best and most prudent approach is to adopt a preventive posture. The foremost step in this process is identifying and plugging all loopholes in the network. Most infiltration’s occur by exploiting some vulnerability in the network itself.
Organizations in particular are fast realizing the harsh reality that cyber security is not a part time domain, rather it has become a highly specialized area. Secondly, holistic and all-encompassing cyber security measures are required that take care of both internal and external vulnerabilities in the network.
Another key aspect to preventing ransomware attacks is getting your cyber security evaluated for vulnerabilities by independent third parties. They bring a whole new perspective to the existing cyber security apparatus and may highlight altogether new areas for improvement.
Awareness about Ransomware
The trigger event of a ransomware attack can be something as trivial as clicking a link embedded in one of your emails. This insignificant event can trigger a chain of fateful events that can not only disrupt a whole network, but also cause financial losses that run in millions of dollars.
Constant awareness about ransomware and other cyber threats needs to be spread across every entity or actor that has even the slightest interface with any network. As an internet user, if you are alert about your surroundings, you can very likely thwart even a well-planned ransomware attack.
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https://www.dincloud.com/blog/ransomware-attacks-to-rise-in-2020
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In most cases, users pick up ransomware infections because of their bad browsing habits. Seemingly basic actions like opening unsolicited email attachments, clicking on ads while browsing questionable websites, using torrents to pirate copyrighted content, etc., can quickly bring about a serious malware infection. Thus, developing better browsing habits can help avoid a lot of malware infections.
Malicious email attachments are one of the most common ways malicious actors try to distribute malware. The emails themselves are not harmful as long as users don’t interact with them. But the moment the attachment is opened, the malware can be initiated. To carry out the spam campaign, malicious actors purchase email addresses from various hacker forums but put very little effort into writing the emails. This works in favor of users because the low effort is exactly why the emails are very easy to recognize. One of the most obvious signs of a malicious email is the sender claiming to be from a legitimate company but their email contains very obvious grammar/spelling mistakes. Legitimate emails from companies will very rarely have any mistakes in them because they make the email look unprofessional. But for whatever reason, most malicious emails contain many mistakes. A less obvious sign is how an email addresses users. If the sender claims that users use their services but uses generic words like “User”, “Customer”, “Member”, etc., to address them, it may be a sign of a malicious email. In most cases, legitimate senders address their customers using their names because it may look unprofessional otherwise. A reliable way to make sure a malicious email attachment is not opened is to scan all unsolicited email attachments with anti-virus software or VirusTotal before opening them.
Using torrents to access copyrighted content is also a speedy way to infect a computer with malware. Torrent sites are often quite poorly regulated, and this allows malicious actors to upload torrents with malware in them. It’s particularly common to find malware in torrents for popular movies, TV series, video games, software, etc. Whenever some kind of new, highly-anticipated content gets released, its torrents are full of malware. So not only is pirating illegal, it’s also dangerous for the computer/data.
What does ransomware do?
Mpag is a file-encrypting malware, which means its main objective is to encrypt victims’ personal files. It will target all personal files, including photos, videos, images, documents, etc. These are the files users are most willing to pay to get back, and ransomware operators are fully aware of that. When the ransomware is done encrypting the files, they will have a .mpag extension added to them. An encrypted text.txt file would become text.txt.mpag. Unfortunately, none of the files with that extension will be openable unless they are first decrypted using a special decryptor. But getting the decryptor will be no easy task.
When ransomware is done encrypting files, it will drop a _readme.txt ransom note in all folders that have encrypted files. The note is very generic and mostly identical to all other notes dropped by ransomware from this family. But the note does explain how users can acquire the decryptor. According to the note, victims can buy the decryptor for $980. The note also mentions that there is a 50% discount for victims who make contact with the ransomware operators within the first 72 hours. Whether that is actually the case or not is questionable but paying the ransomware is not a particularly good idea. Users should keep in mind that they are dealing with cybercriminals. The reason paying the cybercriminals is risky is because there are no guarantees a decryptor will actually be sent. There is nothing to force them to help victims, and the malware operators are unlikely to feel any obligation. Whether to pay or not is up to the victims but they need to be aware of the risks before making a decision.
For users who have copies of files in a backup, recovering files should not be an issue. However, it is essential that users first remove Mpag ransomware from their computers. If the ransomware was still present on the device when users connect to their backup, the backed-up files would become encrypted as well. Thus, it’s essential that users use anti-virus software to remove Mpag ransomware from their computers.
If users do not have a backup, recovering files will be problematic. The only option is to back up encrypted files and wait for a free decryptor to become available. But because ransomware from the Djvu/STOP ransomware family uses online keys to encrypt files, developing a free decryptor is difficult. The keys are unique to each victim, and unless those keys are released by the cybercriminals themselves, a free Mpag ransomware decryptor is unlikely. But it’s not impossible that it will be released eventually, which is why it’s a good idea to back up encrypted files and occasionally check safe sources like NoMoreRansom for free decryptors.
WiperSoft.com is not sponsored, affiliated, linked to or owned by malware developers or distributors that are referred to in this article. The article does NOT endorse or promote malicious programs. The intention behind it is to present useful information that will help users to detect and eliminate malware from their computer by using WiperSoft and/or the manual removal guide.
The article should only be used for educational purposes. If you follow the instructions provided in the article, you agree to be bound by this disclaimer. We do not guarantee that the article will aid you in completely removing the malware from your PC. Malicious programs are constantly developing, which is why it is not always easy or possible to clean the computer by using only the manual removal guide.
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https://www.wipersoft.com/how-to-remove-mpag-ransomware/
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In another note, I know that each of the blog entries have my user name posted no matter who on the MSRC is making the blog entry, I’m working on having technet fix that so that we don’t have to keep re-introducing ourselves so that you know who is talking. :> *This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights.*
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https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2005/06/28/new-security-advisory-posted-3/
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DoS attack doing with the aim of making a website offline. Attackers try to flood a network or consider a specific device or individual. You can protect and prevent this attack by distributing your servers or using firewalls, or through DDoS-specific security and taking your server into the cloud.
Usually, most of the attacks happen because of human mistakes instead of technology. So the best way to prevent being attacked from any kind of harmful attack by training your staff properly. The more you educate yourself and your staff the more you become safe and secure from
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https://boundbuzz.com/types-of-cyber-attacks-and-how-to-prevent-them/
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The weaponization of Internet of Things (IoT) botnets helped fuel a 60% increase in the size of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks last year, Arbor Networks reports.
The largest of DDoS attack in 2016 peaked at 800 Gbps (gigabit per second), compared to only 500 Gbps in 2015, Arbor Networks’ 12th annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report (WISR) reveals. Over the past 5 years, the size of DDoS attacks went up 1,233%, but experienced a 7,900% increase when compared to the attacks registered in 2005.
According to the report, 558 of the DDoS attacks observed last year were over 100 Gbps (as opposed to 223 in 2015), while 87 of them exceeded 200 Gbps (only 16 did in 2015). With an average attack size up 23% year-on-year, the security firm estimates that we’ll see it reaching 1.2 Gbps by the end of 2017.
The emergence and weaponization of IoT botnets such as Mirai and Bashlite has resulted in a massive growth in DDoS attack size, revealing the raw power of IoT devices. An attack launched by the LizardStresser IoT botnet against Brazilian banks, telecoms and government last summer reached 400 Gbps without using any form of amplification or reflection, the security firm says.
“In 2016, IoT botnets emerged as a source of incredibly high volume DDoS attacks. So far these massive attacks have not leveraged reflection/amplification techniques. They are simply taking advantage of the sheer number of unsecured IoT devices that are deployed today,” the company notes in an infographic (PDF).
However, the increased attack activity on all reflection amplification protocols too has driven DDoS attack size upwards: used properly, reflection amplification allows attackers to multiply attack traffic by hundreds of times. In 2016, DNS was the most commonly used reflection protocol, with NTP close behind, with SSDP, Chargen and SNMP also showing a significant increase in usage. The use of Chargen has experienced the fastest growth year over year, Arbor Networks says.
In addition to growing in size, DDoS attacks have also increased their frequency, and the “chances of being hit by a DDoS attack have never been higher,” the security firm says. Of the 356 service providers responding to the firm’s survey, 53% said they experienced more than 51 attacks per month last year, up from only 44% saying the same about 2015.
The WISR also reveals that 45% of enterprise, government and education respondents experienced more than 10 attacks per month. Last year, 21% of data-centers saw more than 50 attacks per month, although only 8% of them said the same a year before.
Following a trend first noticed in 2015, the complexity of DDoS attacks grew as well last year, fueled by booter/stresser services and the use of multiple simultaneous attack vectors. Application-layer attacks were extensively used, with 95% of service provider respondents registering at least one. These attacks targeted mainly services such as DNS, HTTP and secure web services (HTTPS).
According to Arbor Networks’ report, 67% of service providers and 40% of Enterprise, Government and Education (EGE) registered multi-vector attacks on their networks last year. In 2015, 56% of service providers reported seeing multi-vector attacks, with only 42% reporting the same the year before.
The emergence of massive DDoS attacks fuelled by Mirai illustrated the importance of a good DDoS protection strategy, given that one of these incidents brought down many popular services. Thus, 61% of service providers experienced attacks that fully saturated data center bandwidth, while 78% reported increased demand for DDoS managed services as the increase in attack size drew the attention of the C-suite and Board of Directors.
The report reveals that, for 25% of respondents, the cost of a major DDoS attack was north of $100,000, while 5% noted costs in excess of $1 million. When it comes to EGE respondents, 41% reported attacks exceeding their total Internet capacity, and nearly 60% estimated downtime costs above $500/minute, with some indicating much greater expense.
“As we have seen in this year’s report, attackers have used IoT devices to build and weaponize massive botnets of unprecedented size and capability. Volumetric DDoS attacks have not only reached new highs in terms of overall size, but have also increased in frequency. But, IoT botnets aren’t the only game in town. Reflection/amplification DDoS attacks have also continued to see widespread use as a tried-and-tested method for generating huge volumes of attack traffic. In addition, easy-to-use DDoS services have helped make more sophisticated multi-vector DDoS attacks increasingly common,” the report reads.
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https://www.securityweek.com/iot-botnets-fuel-ddos-attacks-growth-report
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Regardless of the sector, a company’s digital assets and patented technology are vulnerable to data theft and cyberattacks without proper protection. Just recently, hospitals have been endangered due to cyberattacks and the Covid-19 vaccine supply chain has also been targeted.
The nature of the staffing industry means the data at risk is personal data of your company’s thousands of employees. Staffing firms have reported cyberattacks this week and last week. And multiple staffing firms this year have experienced a form of attack called ransomware, where attackers threaten release of data if a sizable sum is not paid.
Employee email is a common point of weakness. Not only do they contain professional emails and confidential information, but it also has records of the company’s financial records and even bank credentials.
The email account should receive the most care of all digital accounts. Without a secure email account, no other accounts are secure. Here’s how you can make sure your email is safe.
#1 Set a strong password for your device. Your email may be stored on your computer, alongside the credentials to log in, meaning that anyone with access to your computer may have the ability to access your email.
Luckily, this is limited to those with physical access to the computer (and not hackers on the internet), but in case you lose your phone or computer or have it stolen, you should spare yourself the additional headache of losing control of your email.
Any computer or phone will make it easy for you to set a password. Go to your device’s settings and set a strong yet memorable password. You’ll enter it every time you start up your device or install software, so you’ll remember it easily.
This password is supposed to protect against physical intruders, so don’t write it down on the bottom on your device, or on a note in your drawer.
#2 Encrypt your hard drive. Your password gives access to your computer, but unless your hard drive is encrypted, anybody with access to your machine could copy your hard drive or remove it from the computer and read your emails.
Most modern laptops will encrypt the drive automatically. You can check Bitlocker on Windows or FileVault on Mac OS whether this feature is enabled on your machine. iOS will have this feature always enabled by default, and on Android, you will be able to check in the phone settings. On Linux, such features can be enabled, too.
#3 Use a password manager. Remembering passwords can be a difficult task, especially given the dozens (or even hundreds) of online shopping, social media, or forums we may have signed up for. Reusing passwords across different services is an absolute taboo, as this makes it easy to phish (fraudulently obtain) your password, and if any of the services you use is exposed or run by an evil administrator, all your other accounts are instantly compromised.
A password manager is one of these gadgets that not only improve your security but also make your life more convenient. With a password manager, you will no longer:
Even extra information such as encryption keys or recovery phrases can be stored in there.
Some password managers can autofill your login pages so you’ll only ever have to click the login field, and they will automatically create a save password and store it for you when you sign up for a new service.
The only passwords you’ll ever have to remember are the password to your computer and the password to your password manager.
In my next post, I will discuss three other steps to take to secure your data, such as two-factor authentication.
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https://www.thestaffingstream.com/2020/12/10/easy-tips-to-improve-data-security-part-1/
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If you’re trying to find an anti virus program, you’ll want to look at an avast malware review. This method has been leading the industry for decades, yet is it worth the purchase price? Avast provides a straightforward, friendly interface, nevertheless algorithms and protocols are sophisticated. Avast’s engine is extremely user-friendly will not most of the do the job without any individual input. Whilst it may not be because intuitive as some competitors’ goods, it’s a wonderful choice for those who want to keep their pc safe from dangers.
The no cost version of Avast is simple to install, and can scan your laptop or computer for viruses without forcing your computer. While it doesn’t protect you from ransomware or other risks, it offers enough protection. You are able to upgrade towards the paid release if you want more features or perhaps better customer care. While you can always make use of the free rendition, you should consider the paid plans to get better security and more advanced features. However , if you’re on a tight budget, it might be far better to go with a paid type.
In addition to antivirus protection, Avast has an further suite of tools that will help you stay protected by adware and spyware and other threats. Users may customize they and restore them to all their default configurations and see the latest posts and offered components. They will also get a VPN, or use the Cleanup feature to get rid of unwelcome software. While these tools are helpful, the cost-free version would not come with various extras, and Avast’s high grade features virtual board rooms cost extra.
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http://madent.net.pl/avast-antivirus-assessment-would-it-be-worth-the-purchase-price/
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CD Projekt Red, developed by Cyberpunk 2077, revealed on Tuesday that his network had been hacked and shared a ransom note left behind by hackers on Twitter. The attackers claimed to have got their hands on Cyberpunk’s source code, The Witcher 3, a “new version of Witcher 3” and a derived card game Gwent.
The hackers threatened to release the source code of the games, as well as documents from the accounting, legal and other departments of the Polish game studio if they “do not come to an agreement”. It seems the hackers weren’t kidding.
An auction appears on a hacker forum for the source code for one of CD Projekt’s card games, Gwent according to The edge Thursday. Thieves are looking for $ 1 million as a starting offer or $ 7 million to buy it outright. Cyber security firm Kela believes the auction is legitimate.
Update: an error was made. They have declared a starting offer of $ 1,000. This was assumed to be a typo for $ 1,000. They meant $ 1,000,000. They also sell immediately for $ 7,000,000.
Attached images provided by @DrFurfagMD pic.twitter.com/JnOcwnGqZk
– vx-underground (@vxunderground) February 10, 2021
CD Projekt does not believe that the personal data of players or users of its services has been compromised and has stated that it will not give in to hackers’ demands or negotiate with them.
The ransom note hinted at Cyberpunk’s rocky launch in December. Console versions of CD Project’s much-hyped sci-fi game were plagued by performance issues and bugs, even on the next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X.
The games studio recommended that former employees turn on fraud alerts for their personal information, but it had no evidence that those details were viewed by hackers, according to one. Tweeter Tuesday afternoon.
To our former employees: As of this moment, we have no proof that any of your personal data has been consulted. However, we still recommend caution (i.e. enabling fraud alerts). If you have any questions, please write to our dpo privacy team[at]https://t.co/0UUMoqT5tF
– CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) February 9, 2021
Sony and Microsoft both deleted Cyberpunk from their digital stores and refunds offered to unhappy customers after widespread reports that the game was nearly unplayable on base PS4 and Xbox One hardware (the original 2013 versions of consoles).
The co-founder of the developer finally recognized in apology video that the console version of his game “did not meet the standard of quality that we wanted it to meet” and outlined its plans to resolve the issues through fixes.
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https://abulletproofidea.com/cyberpunk-2077-developer-cd-projekt-hit-by-ransomware-attack-source-code-leaked/
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Education: University of Louisville - Ph.D. Computer Science & Engineering
Experience: Dr. Wright has taught in the Information Security concentration of the CIS undergraduate program at the University of Louisville since its inception. He has participated in numerous previous grants related to cybersecurity and curriculum development from the National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense and other grant initiatives from the National Science Foundation and Department of Labor, among others. After the University of Louisville entered into the first of its kind partnership with IBM in 2019, Dr. Wright has helped lead UofL's Skills Academy initiative. Through this partnership, Dr. Wright has earned the IIBM Cybersecurity Practitioner - Instructor Certificate and the IBM Artificial Intelligence Practitioner - Instructor Certificate.
Fun Fact: Dr. Wright is an avid tennis player and fan. During the pandemic, he finally found time to organize his collection of magic books and memorabilia.
Education: University of Wisconsin- PhD. Electrical Engineering
Experience: Adel S. Elmaghraby is the Director of Industrial Research and Innovation and Winnia Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the Speed School of Engineering - University of Louisville. He has also held appointments at the Software Engineering Institute - Carnegie-Mellon University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He advised over 60 master’s graduates and 30 doctoral graduates. His research contributions and consulting spans the areas of Intelligent Multimedia Systems, Artificial Intelligence, HPC, Cybersecurity, Visualization, and Simulation. His research applications include Smart Cities, Data Analytics, Medical Imaging, Bioinformatics, and Computer-Aided Diagnostics. He is a well-published author, a public speaker, member of editorial boards, and technical reviewer. He is Life Senior Member of IEEE and was recognized for his achievements by several professional organizations including a Golden Core Charter Membership by the IEEE Computer Society at the 50TH-anniversary celebration. Dr. Elmaghraby continued collaborations, mentoring, and scientific contributions have resulted in research funding, international collaboration, and published articles in many prestigious journals.
Fun Fact: Adel grew up in Alexandria, Egypt, and has been living in Louisville since 1982. He loves food and travel.
University of Louisville- M.S. Master of Science in Human Resources and Organizational Development
Experience: Robert has been with the University of Louisville for 2.5 years. Prior to this position, he served as the Veteran’s Accelerated Learning for Licensed Occupations Coordinator (VALLO) which is a department of labor project designed to bridge education gaps between transitioning military and licensure for licensed occupations in the state of Kentucky. Before joining UofL, Robert served for 26 years in the United States Army as a Utilities Equipment Repairer, US Army Recruiter, Instructor, and Senior Career Counselor. He spent 13 years of his career overseas in Europe, including three tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. He and his family retired from active duty out of Fort Knox in 2018.
Fun Fact: Robert is married to Maureen, his wife of 21+ years, they have two children currently attending UofL, (Emma & Robert) and as "empty nesters" and avid cruisers plan to take a cruise every year post COVID. Until then he enjoys binge watching random shows and occasionally sipping top shelf Bourbon and Tequila with his wife during lock down.
Education: Texas Tech University - Ed.D. Instructional Technology
Experience: Beth has been at the University of Louisville since 2014, helping faculty create high quality online courses. She also serves as a campus-wide resource on making online courses accessible to students with disabilities. She also teaches online for the West Kentucky Community and Technical College, which allows Beth to have both a designer and faculty perspective on online courses.
Fun Fact: Beth recently started learning to play fiddle and enjoys playing Old Time and Irish music.
Education: St. Catharine College- B.A. Fine Arts, M.A. Community & Regional Leadership
Experience: Pilar has been working in the realm of Higher Education since 2009. Most of her career has been working in college admissions, and has recruiting experience that spans across undergraduate, transfer/online education, and graduate programs. From 2009-2013, she worked for her alma mater St. Catharine College (Springfield, KY) in multiple departments which included admissions, athletics, and student services. In 2016, she went to work for Kentucky Wesleyan College (Owensboro, KY) as an admissions counselor for both freshmen and transfer students, and led a recruitment campaign that helped bring in the largest transfer class KWC had seen in over a decade. Prior to UofL, Pilar worked for the University of Findlay (Findlay, OH) serving as the Manager of Transfer & Online Degree Completion Admissions.
Fun Fact: Baseball is her favorite sport, and proudly roots for the New York Yankees. She enjoys painting when the right inspiration hits her (and the time), and watching old Hollywood classic movies.
Education: Illinois State University - Ph.D. Higher Education Administration
Experience: Sylvia also holds an MBA from Bradley University, a Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Life Sciences from India, and a post-grad certificate in health economics from the University of York, UK. Sylvia is an accomplished, higher education, and strategic marketing professional with a comprehensive blend of the hands-on professional and academic experience of 18+ years in both academia and fortune 500 commercial organizations. With a strong and multi-tiered background ranging from enrollment, recruitment, student advising, business development, market analytics to customer insights, and project management, Sylvia has the global experience of working through complex business and operational problems and identify clear solutions and actions
Fun Fact: She loves to paint and has a small art gallery in her home.
Experience: Jennifer has over 20 years of client relations and customer service and 10 years of working in a Human Resource capacity. She is well versed in Microsoft Office Suite and Peoplesoft.
Fun Fact: Jennifer has performed in plays since she was 7 years old in one of the oldest and continuously operating theaters in the United States and Kentucky Center for the Arts. She also enjoy reading and binge-watching baking and cooking shows. Her favorite Broadway shows are "Wicked" and "A Chorus Line" and favorite baking show is "The Great British Bake-Off"
Experience: Over the past three years, Mackenzie has gained design experience through the BFA Graphic Design program, earning proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. With this proficiency, she has been afforded the opportunity to intern with Adhawks, LLC, a design agency centered around multicultural advertisement in the greater Louisville area. With the agency, Mackenzie has been able to reach many underrepresented audiences in a way that is comfortable to them. Currently, she is working alongside a linguistics professor at UofL to illustrate and publish a set of children's books in the Chatino language, native to Oaxaca, Mexico. These books will be distributed for free in order to preserve the language.
Fun Fact:When she was a kid, she wanted to own and ice cream truck.
Education: University of Louisville- B.A. Computer Science & Engineering
Experience: Ryo has completed his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Engineering and is pursuing a career in the Information Technology field and Cybersecurity field. He has worked throughout his university years as a part-time in the Speed IT Center. In addition, he has completed three co-ops. One as a cybersecurity engineer, and two as an electrical/applications engineer. Currently he is overviewing the learning modules and making sure student’s technology is working properly for the NSA Cybersecurity Program.
Fun Fact: Ryo is an actor & model during the weekends participating in music videos, and short films.
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https://louisville.edu/education/nsacybersecurity/meet-our-team-administration-and-program-coordination
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All Postal Service employees must complete three mandatory cybersecurity training courses.
The Postal Service has introduced three courses that employees must complete as part of their annual cybersecurity training.
The deadline to complete the courses is Tuesday, Aug. 20.
Each course provides instructions on how to safeguard postal and consumer data from cyberthreats.
Employees who don’t complete the training by the deadline will have limited ACE system access until the courses are completed.
Here’s an overview:
CyberSafe Fundamentals Part I and CyberSafe Fundamentals Part II. These courses provide employees with the information they’ll need to protect USPS from cyberthreats.
CyberSafe 201: Data Protection. This course offers best practices for handling sensitive and sensitive-enhanced information to secure USPS information assets.
Employees must use the HERO portal to complete each course.
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https://www.21cpw.com/usps-cybersecurity-training-must-be-completed-by-aug-20/
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A Fresno State hard drive containing personal data for about 15,000 people was stolen in January, the university said Tuesday.
The hard drive was reported missing on January 12, a theft believed to have taken place in late December in a break-in at the school’s athletic department while the campus was closed for winter break.
Photo by Fresno State
In a news release, the university says that the external drive contained information on 300 people currently at the school, with the remainder being former student athletes, sports camp attendees, and Athletic Corporation employees. The vast majority of data files were from 2003 to 2014. The data files may have contained names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, full or last four digits of Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, usernames and passwords, health-insurance numbers and personal health information.
“Fresno State has no reason to believe that any of the information on the hard drive has been accessed or misused,” the school statement said.
The university has begun notifying those involved by letter this week – which was the soonest university officials could verify the extent of the breach and the names and contact information of those affected, officials said.
“The University is addressing this incident as a top priority to ensure that all affected parties have been notified and that information and applicable resources are made available,” said Orlando Leon, chief information officer. “Though this appears to be an isolated incident, we take any data theft very seriously and will review campus policies to ensure we have best procedures in place when it comes to security of confidential and sensitive data.”
University officials said that a police investigation began immediately after the theft of the hard drive occurred and is ongoing.
Fresno State says it will offer all those impacted a year of free credit monitoring.
Most affected individuals have been contacted. If you have any concerns, the University has set up a call center. You can reach them at 877-646-7924. The call center is open Monday through Friday, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. PST.
Breadcrumb is a cybersecurity and executive advisory firm. Located in Central California, we partner with organizations throughout the US, protecting their critical assets from cyber breach. Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation.
Breadcrumb Cybersecurity helps organizations protect their infrastructure, critical data, and reputation from today’s advanced cyber threats. Based in California, Breadcrumb offers comprehensive cybersecurity services for organizations throughout the U.S. Our services include regulatory compliance, risk assessments, digital forensics, penetration testing, incident response, technical/staff training, 24/7 security operations, and on-going advisory services.
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https://breadcrumbcyber.com/2018-3-7-fresno-state-data-breach-affects-15000-people/
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The woman allegedly responsible for the massive breach of customer data at Capital One stole data from 30 other organizations, according to new information from prosecutors.
In a new court filing, they alleged that Paige Thompson stole terabytes of information from enterprises, educational institutions and other organizations, although she claims not to have sold or distributed any of it to others.
The information is being revealed as part of efforts by prosecutors to persuade the judge to deny bail.
It alleges that Thompson has a history of threatening behavior, including threats to kill others and herself. She is also said to have harassed a couple for seven years, forcing them to obtain a protection order.
Investigators found the new information on data breaches on servers in Thompson’s bedroom.
“That data varies significantly in both type and amount. For example, much of the data appears not to be data containing personal identifying information,” the court filing explained.
“At this point, however, the government is continuing to work to identify specific entities from which data was stolen, as well as the type of data stolen from each entity. The government expects to add an additional charge against Thompson based upon each such theft of data, as the victims are identified and notified.”
It’s claimed that the Capital One breach affected over 100 million American and Canadian customers and applicants, including consumers and small businesses.
The trove included 140,000 Social Security numbers, 80,000 linked bank account numbers and one million Canadian Social Insurance numbers.
Although Thompson most recently held a position as software engineer with Amazon Web Services, the cloud provider reportedly said that the breach of its client Capital One was not the result of any insider knowledge. It is said to have been made possible by a misconfigured web application run by the bank on AWS infrastructure.
A detention hearing at a federal court in Seattle is set for August 22.
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https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/capital-one-suspect-stole-from-30/
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Hundreds of New Jersey high school girls recently participated in a national competition designed to introduce them to the fields of cyber security and technology.
The Girls Go CyberStart challenge is a program sponsored by the SANS institute that’s designed to give high school girls an opportunity to learn cyber security skills, discover their talents and explore possible career paths.
Mike Geraghty, director of the New Jersey Cyber Security and Communications Integration Cell and chief security officer for the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, said the Cyber Start completion was an online challenge that involved games and puzzles.
“They were required to do computer forensics, solve lots of puzzles, cyber-security type puzzles, decrypt and encrypt information, do some coding and a whole bunch of other things that are relevant to what we do on a regular basis," he said.
Nationally, 6,700 girls from 2,700 teams competed in CyberStart, including 453 girls from the Garden State.
“The girls in New Jersey did fantastic. In fact, the team from Bergen County Academies came in third place nationally and several other teams from the Garden state placed within the top 100 nationally,” said Geraghty.
Anoushka Ramkumar, who was on the Bergen County Academies team, said learning about cyber security was fascinating.
“A lot of the challenges were intuitive and a lot of the challenges had solutions that were close to what were on the field manual, but as the levels got higher, it was a lot harder to solve a challenge," she said.
She said cyber security is a perfect field for young women because “girls love to work together and girls really love to channel their energy and time if they’re really interested in it.”
Ramkumar added she is interested in learning more about cyber security as a possible career because “with the combination of collaboration and hard work you can really get somewhere.”
Sarah McNey, who was on the Communications High School team from Wall, said the experience was cool.
“It started off very intuitive and something would click and you would solve a problem, but then as you progress through it, it became very difficult and it took a lot of research and piecing things together," she said.
She said after participating in the challenge, she is also considering cyber security as a possible career.
“I’ve been checking out colleges and seeing if they’re good for computer science and things of that nature.”
Geraghty said cyber security is a vitally important field that has tremendous growth potential.
“In every home we have smart thermostats, we have Alexa, smart TVs — cyber security is part and parcel of living today," he said.
“It’s not something just for the nerds and the geeks. It’s for everybody to be aware of and everybody to have an understanding of.”
He said the program will be expanded in the coming months to include even more high school students in New Jersey.
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http://nj1015.com/how-nj-is-sparking-cybersecurity-interest-in-high-school-girls/
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Speed and security. Old-fashioned thinking contended that the two were incompatible; that high-velocity development and deployment of apps and software services invariably introduced higher levels of risk. However, it has become increasingly apparent that speed is a necessary aspect of security. The stakes are sky-high, with some estimates projecting that the annual cost of cybercrime losses and damage will reach $6 trillion by 2021. Fast-forward to the case for using DevOps and automation to bolster security. Before we proceed, everyone who knows what we mean by "DevOps" please raise your hand. About 95 percent of you? Good. Although there are obviously many complexities, the simplest way to explain it is in equation form: Development + Operations = DevOps. For organizations, employing a DevOps model means eliminating silos between your development and operations teams to accelerate your ability to deliver applications and services. With DevOps, engineers from both disciplines typically work together on a single team in a speedier process that is continuous rather than segmented or tiered. “This speed enables organizations to better serve their customers and compete more effectively in the market,” says tech behemoth Amazon. While there is widespread agreement around the benefits of DevOps (75 percent of executives in a recent survey), many enterprises are slow to make the transition (in the same survey just 20 percent described their adoption level as high). And you won’t be surprised to learn that the chief roadblock in the DevOps transformation journey is the concern we’ve already cited above—speed vs. security. Fear not... introducing DevSecOps (Development + Security + Operations = DevSecOps). Boom, problem solved! According to CSOonline.com:
“The simple premise of DevSecOps is that everyone in the software development life cycle is responsible for security, in essence bringing operations and development together with security functions. DevSecOps is about introducing security earlier in the life cycle of application development, thus minimizing vulnerabilities and bringing security closer to IT and business objectives.”
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https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/leverage-devops-automation-bolster-security
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The U.S. Navy has deployed a team of cyber security experts to join the military’s ongoing investigation into the fatal collision of the USS John McCain off the coast of Singapore last month, according to the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare.
Vice Adm. Jan Tighe, who serves as the director of naval intelligence, said Thursday the Navy dispatched to Singapore its Cyber Command 10th Fleet, along with a team of technical experts from Naval Sea Systems Command and Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, “to confirm that cyber had no role” in the Aug. 21 incident that killed ten U.S. soldiers.
“We have no indications or reason to believe that there was a malicious cyber attack that had an effect on either [USS] Fitzgerald or McCain, but we’ve assembled a team … to go out on the ground and look for and assess any anomalous activity that may exist onboard John S. McCain,” Tighe said at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
The investigation could take weeks-to-months to complete given its unprecedented nature. The Navy has never before deployed its D.C.-based Cyber Command abroad.
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https://www.infowars.com/navy-deploys-cyber-security-team-to-investigate-uss-john-mccain-collision/
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Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs is investigating a phishing attack after a hacker stole nearly $2.5 million worth of NFTs through the official Bored Ape Instagram account. The company disclosed the hack on Monday morning in a warning followers not to click on links or mint new tokens.
Per a screenshot shared by , the hacker behind the attack stole 133 NFTs after using BAYC’s Instagram account to promote a fake “airdrop.” Essentially, the scam promised people free tokens if they connected their MetaMask wallets to the site linked through the post. It’s unclear how the hacker accessed BAYC’s Instagram account, and Yuga Labs has yet to announce whether it will compensate those affected by the scam.
“At the time of the hack, two-factor authentication was enabled and security surrounding the IG account followed best practices,” the company . “We’ve regained control of the account, and are investigating how the hacker gained access with IG’s team.”
Among the stolen NFTs are four Bored Apes. As noted by , the most expensive token in the trove, Bored Ape (pictured above), recently sold for 123 Ethereum, making it worth approximately $354,500 at the current exchange rate. The four apes together are worth more than $1 million. One estimate by Molly White, the creator of , puts the value of the entire theft at approximately $2.4 million.
Monday’s incident is the latest NFT theft to involve a high-profile phishing attack. More than two dozen users lost access to about 250 tokens worth an estimated $1.4 million in February. As The Verge points out, what likely made this most recent scam particularly effective is that it not only came from the official Bored Ape Instagram account but that MetaMask currently only allows users to visually see their NFTs within its mobile app.
All products recommended by The Hamden Journal are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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https://www.thehamdenjournal.com/technology/bored-ape-yacht-clubs-instagram-compromised-in-2-4-million-nft-phishing-scam/160599/
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You are probably very familiar with what the term “Firewall” is and does but for those of you who are not, it is basically a piece of software or hardware that is in the middle of your internal network and the internet. It protects you from having your complete network wide open to anyone with an internet connection. That said, firewalls are no longer “enough” security to protect your critical network and business data. Here is why;
The internet and networks used to be pretty simple and hackers or would be bad actors would use uncomplicated attacks to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks. Firewalls were created and implemented as a means to simply filter and block unsolicited connections to your internal network from the outside internet, in short, “Ingress Attacks”. However, as time went on, attackers were able to circumvent these firewall systems and gain unsolicited access to internal networks. One such attack is known as ” an egress attack” better known as “Reverse Shells”. Reverse shells would allow an attacker to get a user to open a malicious file on their local internal computer and once done would make a reverse connection “outbound” back to the remote attackers’ machine, thus bypassing the filtering and blocking from the outside world in as we discussed above.
With Egress attacks, Remote Shell attacks are still common today. However, with the invention of Egress Filtering methods among other technologies such as IDS and IPS systems, those types of attacks were minimized. But, the Network Security game is a cat and mouse game after all. Attackers are normally always one step ahead of Network Security measures. Remember, it’s an attacker’s “job” to create new attacks and bypass security rules and measures.
Sadly, because of that, there is no one single security measure or technology to completely protect your network or systems. If you want to be 100% secure from malicious internet-based attacks you would need to unplug your internet modem completely, Scary, right? But it would be silly to unplug your modem since nearly 95% of today’s business is conducted with the use of the internet in some way or another.
“So what do we do?”, you ask? Great Question! Companies need to take a Layered approach to improve and maintain their Network Security posture.
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https://www.synacksystems.com/network-security-beyond-the-firewall/
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Ransomware attacks on the Colonial Pipeline, JBS Foods, and other major organizations made headlines in 2021, and show no sign of slowing down. Across the world, hackers are exploiting security weaknesses and holding the data of companies, governments and healthcare organizations hostage, sometimes demanding tens of millions of dollars in payment.
In July, between 800 and 1,500 businesses around the world were affected by a ransomware attack centered on U.S. information technology firm Kaseya.
The average ransom demand is over $100,000, which continues to grow over time. Furthermore, over a third of all companies attacked with a ransomware attack, end up paying that price, resulting, on average, in a 16-day downtime for the attacked firm.
Our speaker will shed some light on the importance of Cybersecurity as it relates to ransomware and other current Cybersecurity threats that target us all.
Our original speaker had a conflict come up and cannot make it, but fortunately I know someone who is well versed in ransomware and a Cybersecurity expert with a newly revised book that he will share with participants.
The business portion of our meeting will start at 12:45 pm, but if you would like to sign-in a little early, we will have an informal chat starting at 12:30 pm.
Today, Information Technology products and services face insidious threats from ransomware, advanced malware, and vulnerabilities. If left unchecked, they are designed to penetrate government, corporate, small business, and infrastructure systems to gain control over those systems, rob unsuspecting victims, steal identities, damage reputations, hold us hostage, or worse. Globally, Cybercrime damages are set to exceed $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.
This year, Cybercrime will cost companies, organizations & schools billions in ransom paid and lost productivity. Attendees will leave this session with a strong understanding about what is driving the Cybercrime epidemic and the threats we all face from cyber-incursions.
The webinar is presented in 2 consecutive parts. Part 1 covers ransomware and current Cybersecurity threats to provide you with general knowledge. Part 2 visits a recent case study of an actual investigation, conducted by our speaker, into a significant cyber breach perpetrated against Coach's Oats, a small business in Brea, California with healthy online sales.
The case study interests every small business owner that accepts credit card payments through a website, especially if it's built on WordPress with WooCommerce. The technical section of the case study is of particular interest to anyone that manages websites that accept credit cards online. If your clients or colleagues fit this profile, then you’ll want to learn everything you can about this type of breach so you can advise them appropriately.
A Sneak Preview into What You Will Learn from The Webinar
Learn why a Cybersecurity strategy is essential in this age of ransomware and credit card scams no matter how large or small your business. You need a plan.
Discover how Cybercriminals aggressively profiteer off you without regard for your business size. You may not know you’re bleeding cash until it’s too late.
Victor Font is an accomplished IT executive skilled at leading the development, delivery and support of robust cost-effective information services systems and architectures. He offers a unique combination of strategic vision, business acumen, and tactical leadership to consistently deliver to plan and bring value to an organization. Author of 14-books, his best sellers include The Ultimate Guide to the SDLC and Cybersecurity Primer.
Everyone that attends this webinar will receive the case study titled Coach’s Oats vs. Coco Jimenez, et al., as well as a free copy of the speaker’s Cybersecurity Primer (eBook version) compliments of Bachman & Associates. When you receive them after the webinar, you are free to send the links to these downloadable resources to anyone that you feel could use the information.
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https://www.thefeng.org/meeting/cybersecurity-ransomware-and-credit-card-scams/50346
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VIPRE Antivirus 22224 Search.turdeland2.com. Generic
Dr.Web Adware.Search.turdeland2.com
Baidu-International 3.5.1.41473 PUP.Win32.Search.turdeland2.com
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http://www.4-cybersecurity.com/pl/jak-usunac-search-turdeland2-com/
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Threat management continues to challenge security operation centers (SOCs); new research reveals that detection of advanced threats remains the No. 1 challenge for SOCs (55%), followed by lack of security expertise (43%).
According to Crowd Research Partners’ 2018 Threat Hunting Report, which surveyed cybersecurity professionals in the 400,000-member Information Security Community on LinkedIn, threat frequency and severity is on the rise. A majority (52%) say threats have at least doubled in the past year. Based on this trend, the number of advanced and emerging threats will continue to outpace the capabilities and staffing of organizations to handle those threats.
In fact, three-quarters (76%) of respondents feel that not enough time is spent searching for emerging and advanced threats in their SOC. Lack of budget (45%) remains the top barrier to SOCs that have not yet adopted a threat-hunting platform.
That said, organizations are becoming more confident in their security teams’ ability to quickly uncover advanced attacks, compared to last year. A third of respondents are confident to very confident in their team’s skills, a 7% increase over last year.
As part of this, threat hunting is gaining momentum; organizations are increasingly utilizing threat-hunting platforms (40%), up 5 percentage points from last year’s survey. Six out of ten organizations in the survey are planning to build out threat-hunting programs over the next three years.
“Following the unprecedented wave of cybersecurity attacks, threat hunting is quickly becoming a new line of defense for SOCs to proactively combat advanced security threats,” said Holger Schulze, CEO of Cybersecurity Insiders. “By pairing human intelligence with next-generation threat-hunting platforms, SOC teams can identify and resolve threats faster and more reliably.”
According to respondents’ assessments, threat-hunting tools improve the speed of threat detection and response by a factor of 2.5 compared to teams without dedicated threat-hunting platforms. The top benefits organizations derive from threat hunting include improved detection of advanced threats (64%), followed by reduced investigation time (63%), and saved time not having to manually correlate events (59%).
The most important threat-hunting capabilities for cybersecurity professionals is threat intelligence (69%), followed by user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) (57%), automatic detection (56%), and machine learning and automated analytics (55%).
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https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/threat-hunting-takes-center-stage/
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Hoping to use Windows 7’s XP Mode on your new laptop? Better check your specs, because many big-name, Intel-powered notebooks including Asus, Dell Studio, HP Pavilion, Sony Vaio, and Toshiba Satellite models may not have what it takes to run Windows 7’s XP mode. Featured in the recent Windows 7 release candidate, XP mode allows XP-specific applications to run inside Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Windows 7. Microsoft included XP mode to entice business customers to upgrade to Windows 7 even if they’re using custom-made programs that run only on XP.
To run XP Mode, your Intel-powered computer must support Intel Virtualization Technology. Problem is, many Intel laptops found on retail shelves aren’t packing Intel VT. Affected chips include Intel Celeron, Pentium Dual-Core, Pentium M, and Atom 270 and 280 processors. If you’ve got a Pentium D, Core, or Core 2 Duo chip you’ll need to check your model number because P7350/7450, T1350, T2050/2250, T2300E/2350/2450, T5200/5250/5270/5300/5450/5470/5550/5670/5750/5800/5850/5870/5900 and T6400/6570 do not support VT, according to ZDNet. AMD-powered computers may also find difficulties running XP mode since Sempron processors and some Athlon 64 chips don’t support virtualization.
That’s a pretty big list of processors that can’t support virtualization, so it’s no surprise that many laptops will be frozen out of Windows 7’s XP mode. However, for the everyday user this may not be as big an issue since XP Mode is targeted at a small segment of the market anyway — gamers take note that XP mode was not built to support video games.
If you are a part of the XP-specific minority running a custom application or another XP-specific program, you’d better make sure your processor supports virtualization before making the switch to Windows 7.
Can’t find your processor’s model number? Run GRC’s Securable a free app that can tell you if your processor supports virtualization.
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https://www.pcworld.com/article/528914/windows_7_xp_mode.html
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You may well know the answer already, but understanding the threat is the first step to creating an effective response.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that, when deployed, takes control of your systems and data. Once it has taken root, it will demand a ransom, threatening either to block your own access to your systems – in a Denial of Service (DoS) attack – or even to release your data online.
Avoiding an attack is difficult, and can never be 100% guaranteed. There are, however, a number of actions you can take to minimise the chances of a successful attack upon your IT. These measures include:
Cyber Security Awareness Training: as we said in the introduction – “just one click” can lead to ransomware infiltrating your system. The majority of successful cyberattacks and data breaches involve some form of human error – this includes those unfortunate “one clicks”. With cyber security awareness training, your team will be far more capable of spotting a potential cyberattack, with the ability to identify deceptive tactics. See below an example of an important topic that such training would cover.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): this next-generation anti-virus solution utilises Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to protect you from the newest cyber threats – commonly referred to as zero-day attacks. It even offers rollback capabilities allowing your data to be restored quickly and easily following an attack. EDR is much more effective at protecting your business than traditional anti-virus solutions that can take days to update before being able to detect emerging threats.
Backup and Disaster Recovery: With a secure and reliable backup of your data, should a ransomware attack strike your IT, you’ll be able to reverse much of the potential damage they can do. Whilst you can’t prevent a threat to publish your data, you can retrieve data or regain access to your systems and data that the ransomware had destroyed or removed.
Cyber security awareness training
Cyber security awareness training is truly one of the most important measures you can take to protect your business. As an example of the important cyber security topics that you and your team should be fully clued up on, we’ve put together a checklist for ensuring that an email is safe to be opened and interacted with.
Check emails carefully before opening. Consider whether:
Patch every device: Updating your software and devices is one of the first steps you can take to better secure your systems. Cyber criminals regularly target vulnerabilities in out-of-date or unsupported operating systems such as Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008.
Back up all critical files, often: If a file is vital to your business, you should be treating it with proportionate care – backing it up regularly – ideally off-site as on-site backups connected to your network can be vulnerable.
Close popups: Any popups, particularly those asking you to update account information or install applications that you didn’t request should be closed.
Stick to trusted sites: It’s best to stay within the websites you know and trust, and also you should be vigilant when it comes to scams. If you see a “you’re a winner” banner, steer clear.
Pay attention to your antivirus: Heed all warnings from your antivirus and report any alerts to your support team.
Use bookmarks: By bookmarking the pages you use frequently, and the pages you trust, you can better avoid fake websites that use misspellings of well-known brands – like “Gogle.com”.
National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC): The NCSC is the UK’s technical authority for cyber threats. It’s part of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and provides advice and support for the public and private sector in how to avoid computer security threats. Click here for advice on mitigating malware and ransomware attacks.
Firstly, if you do suffer at the hands of cybercriminals, we can help you to quickly respond to a ransomware attack. We’ll find the best response that minimises potential damage and downtime.
Air IT can offer all of the services and procedures mentioned above and, as part of our proactive managed IT support service, we can significantly reduce the likelihood of a successful cyberattack. We identify and deal with thousands of IT issues for our clients every month, and our Managed Cyber Security Services can decrease the overall IT support costs of your organisation by as much as 50%.
We’ll conduct 24/7 system monitoring and manage all the updates so that your applications have the patches they need to be secure.
If you’d like to find out more about what we offer, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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https://www.air-it.co.uk/2020/09/ransomware-take-control-when-a-cybercriminal-strikes/
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https://www.lellointernational.com/play-roms-on-computer-system-discover-how-to-play-roms-on-computer-with-no-problems/
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