Cyber Security Threats
Stay informed about the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats. Explore the latest developments in malware, ransomware, and zero-day vulnerabilities, and learn how to protect your digital assets from these risks.
Poor Patch Management Policies Result in Cyberattacks and Huge Settlement
The importance of implementing good patch management policies was clearly highlighted by the WannaCry ransomware attacks in May. The ransomware attacks were made possible due to poor patch management policies at hundreds of companies. The … Read more
Devastating Losses Inflicted by Ransomware Attacks on Small Businesses
Ransomware attacks on small businesses can have major consequences. Many small companies have little spare capital and certainly not enough to be doling out cash to cybercriminals, let alone enough to cover the cost of … Read more
Latest Business Email Compromise Scam Methods Revealed
Numerous email compromise tactics have for some time been in use by scammers to trick business executives into making fraudulent wire transfers. Recently, a Symantec security specialist has observed that some scammers have begun taking … Read more
Microsoft Security Bulletins to be discontinued In January 2017
If yours is one of many businesses which depend upon Microsoft Security Bulletins to remain informed about new patches and fixes to known vulnerabilities, you and your colleagues should prepare yourselves for an upcoming change … Read more
Federal Agencies Asked to Deploy DMARC to Stop Impersonation Campaigns
A U.S senator is asking the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to implement DMARC to prevent impersonation attacks being conducted through email. In recent months, several government agencies have been focused on … Read more
Malicious Word Macros Responsible for Spreading MacOS Malware
According to IT Security researchers, MacOS malware is now being spread by malicious Word macros. This is the first occasion on which MacOS malware has been recognised as having been used to spread this attack … Read more
$28,000 Paid for Key following January Los Angeles Valley College Ransomware Attack
A ransomware attack on an LA Valley College on the 6th of January, 2017 lead to student data being locked and resulted in some 1,800 college staff – both administrators and teachers – being unable … Read more
OPM Data Breach Victims targetted by Locky Ransomware Campaign
The culprits responsible for Locky ransomware have begun using data obtained in the OPM data breaches of 2014 and 2015 in a new campaign designed to spread cryptoransomware. It remains unknown exactly how much data … Read more
Christmas Period Malware Infections Increase by more than 100% in 2016
Malware infections over the Christmas holiday period are something to be expected. Every year as the number of online shoppers increases, the number of Windows malware infections increases with them. Data from Enigma Software Group … Read more
Spam King Gets 30-Months Prison Sentence
The self-titled Spam King, Sandford Wallace, has been given a 30-month jail sentence in relation to a Facebook spam campaign carried out between November 2008 and February 2009. Wallace illegally gained access to around 550,000 … Read more
2017 US Data Breaches at Record Breaking Level
2017 US data breaches have reached a record high, jumping an incredible 29% year over year. The mid-year data breach report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) and CyberScout shows there were 791 reported … Read more
Leak of 1.5 Million Player Profiles confirmed following ESEA Hacking Incident
E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA) has confirmed that it has been subject to an attempted extortion after a hacker successfully infiltrated one of its game servers. The incident enabled the hacker to steal the player profiles … Read more
85 Million Dailymotion Users effected by Cyberattack
LeakedSource has claimed that email addresses, usernames, and passwords have been accessed by the hackers responsible for a recent Dailymotion cyberattack. Dailymotion is one of the biggest internet video sharing platforms and, according to Alexa, … Read more
Children’s Hospital in Kansas City Alerts 5,500 Patients following Potential PHI Breach
It has been confirmed that Kansas City Children’s Mercy Hospital has now began the process of notifying more than 5,500 patients that portions of their electronic protected health information have been exposed online. It was … Read more
Confirmation of Ransomware Attack Women’s Health Centre in Kentucky
A sole-practitioner gynaecologist’s clinic in Ashland, Kentucky has become the most recent healthcare provider to be targeted by ransomware attackers. The Department of Health and Human Services’ was recently informed of the attack by Ashland … Read more
County Sherriff’s Office Confirms Payment of Bitcoin Ransom to Unlock Files
Cybercriminals responsible for a ransomware attack against a Sherriff’s office in Arkansas have received payment of 3 Bitcoin ($2,400) to supply the relevant keys to decrypt files that had been locked by the ransomware. Carrol … Read more
More than 1 Billion Yahoo Accounts Compromised in by 2013 Cyberattack
Yahoo confirmed in September 2016 that it had been the victim of hacking which had compromised approximately half a billion accounts; however, it has now revealed that a Yahoo cyberattack in 2013 was two times … Read more
Verizon Communications Data Leak Resulted in Exposure of 6 Million Accounts
Human error was to blame for a massive Verizon Communications data leak that saw the personal information, account details and PIN numbers of more than 6 million customers exposed on the Internet. The Verizon Communications … Read more
Pornographic Ads Targets Children in AdultSwine Malware Campaign
Over 60 apps have now been deleted from Google Play Store due to the presence of AdultSwine Malware, a form of malware that displays pornographic adverts on users’ devices. Many of the apps that included … Read more
Microsoft Releases Windows XP Updates to Address WannaCry Campaigns
Microsoft has released emergency Windows XP updates to tackle exploitation of the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) vulnerability used to infect computers globally with ransomware on May 12, 2017. The move came as a shock … Read more
New Report Shows Changing Trends in Phishing
The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) has recently released a new report showing the changing trends in phishing in 2016. The report provides interesting insights into how cybercriminal activity is changing and the attack methods most … Read more
Only 9% of Companies Have Completed Their General Data Protection Regulation Preparations
A new study conducted by the Ponemon Institute has shown that General Data Protection Regulation preparations have only been made by a small minority of companies, with almost half of surveyed organizations unsure where to … Read more
New Internet Crime Report Issued by FBI – Losses in 2016 Totaled $1.3 Billion
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued its annual Internet Crime Report, showing cybercriminals have netted at least $1.3 billion last year. The figures for the report were compiled by the FBI’s Internet Crime … Read more
Massive Global Cyberattack Uses EternalBlue Exploit and Installs Petya Ransomware
A massive global cyberattack is underway involving Petya ransomware. Ukraine has been hit particularly hard although companies all over Europe have reported that systems have been taken out of action and ransoms demanded. Social media … Read more
New Locky Ransomware Campaign Using Fake Invoices
The WannaCry ransomware campaign may have attracted a lot of media attention, but Locky ransomware presents a bigger threat to organizations with a new Locky ransomware campaign now a regular event. The ransomware was initially … Read more
Astrim Exploit Kit Now Delivering Mole Ransomware
The recent ransomware attack on University College London has been discovered to have occurred as a result of an end user visiting a website hosting the Astrim exploit kit. Exploit kits are used to probe … Read more
Retail Industry Data Breaches Most Common with U.S. Companies Heavily Targeted
The healthcare industry has been heavily targeted by cybercriminals, but retail industry data breaches are now the most common according to a recent study by Trustwave. Retail industry data breaches account for 22% of all … Read more
Study Reveals the Cost of a Data Breach
For the first time in the past seven years, the cost of a data breach has fallen, with a 10% reduction in per capita data breach costs across all industry sectors. The global study revealed … Read more
Fileless Malware Phishing Attacks Targeting Restaurants
Hackers have been conducting fileless malware phishing attacks and restaurants are being focused on. Restaurants are being targeted as they tend to have relatively weak cybersecurity defenses and criminals can easily obtain access to the … Read more
Google Phishing Scam Impacts Millions
A Google phishing scam has been discovered infiltrated online accounts over the past couple of days. Emails have been sent in the millions asking individuals to edit Google Docs files. The emails seem to have … Read more
New Locky Variant Jaff Ransomware Discovered
Jaff ransomware, a new Locky-type encryptor, is being shared around by the same group distributed by the individuals responsible for distributing the Dridex banking Trojan and Locky ransomware. This group has also previously used Bart … Read more
Cybercriminals Grab €2 million in Lazio Phishing Scam
A recent Lazio phishing scam result in €2 million being stolen from the Italian Serie A football team. The cybercriminals intercepted the last installment of a transfer of a football player to the bank account … Read more
Fireball Malware: 250 Million+ Infections and Rising
Over the past few days, a new threat called Fireball malware has been spreading rapidly and has allegedly been installed on more than 250 million computer systems. An estimated 20% of corporate networks have been … Read more
Latest Locky Ransomware Attacks Use New Infection Tactic
The most recent Locky campaign uses a different tactic to complete infection. Earlier Locky campaigns have used malicious Word macros connected to spam emails. If the email attachment is clicked on, end users are asked … Read more
EternalRocks Worm Poses Far Greater Threat than WannaCry
The EternalRocks worm is a new threat that comes hot on the heels of WannaCry ransomware. The self-replicating network work uses similar tactics to infect computers and spread to other connected devices; however, in contrast … Read more
New Uiwix Ransomware Variant Targets SMB Flaw
A new Uiwix ransomware variant has been detected using EternalBlue to gain access to vulnerable systems. Businesses that have not yet patched they systems are vulnerable to this new attack. In contrast to the WannaCry … Read more
Edmodo Data Breach: Millions of Account Details Stolen
An Edmodo data breach has been reported that has impacted tens of millions of users of the education platform, including teachers, students and parents. Edmodo is a platform used for K-12 school lesson planning, homework … Read more
Solicitors Regulation Authority Release Warning About Email Scams for Law Firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom has recently released an alert in relation to law firm email scams following a sharp increase in law firm cyberattacks. According to SRA figures, around 500 UK … Read more
Mac Malware Warning Issued: Handbrake for Mac App Infected with RAT
A Mac malware warning has been issued for any individual who recently downloaded Handbrake for Mac. A server was compromised and a remote access Trojan was bundled with the Handbrake Apple Disk Image file. A … Read more
‘Crazy Bad’ Microsoft Malware Protection Engine Bug Patched
A patch has been rushed and released to address a serious Microsoft Malware Protection Engine bug, termed ‘Crazy Bad’ by the researchers who discovered the flaw. If exploited, the vulnerability would allow threat actors to … Read more
NCCIC Issues Multi-Industry Alert on Sophisticated New Malware Threat
A sophisticated new malware threat has been discovered that is being used to target a wide range of industry sectors and infect systems with RAT/malware. The campaign is being used to spread multiple malware variants … Read more
Internet Security and Threat Report Offers Insight into Changing Attack Trends
Sabotage, subversion and ransomware attacks all increased sharply in 2016, with malware-infected emails now at a five-year high according to the latest installment of Symantec’s Internet Security and Threat Report (ISTR). For the 22nd volume … Read more
Software Exploit Attacks Rose by 25% in 2016 with Businesses the Worst Affected
Kaspersky Lab has released new figures showing software exploit attacks increased by almost a quarter in 2016. In total, more than 702 million attempted software exploit attacks were performed; a rise of 24.54% year on … Read more
New Locky Ransomware Attacks Use Techniques Similar to Dridex Malware Campaigns
Locky is back. The latest Locky ransomware attacks leverage an infection technique used in Dridex malware campaigns. It has been all quiet on the western front, with Locky ransomware attacks dropping off to a tiny … Read more
Healthcare Organizations May Suffer HIPAA Fines due to Phishing Attacks
In the United States, the healthcare sector is being focused on, by hackers and scammers, with phishing attacks on healthcare organizations one of the most simple and most experienced methods of gaining access to email … Read more
Intercontinental Hotels Group Data Breach Affected 1,184 Hotels
The Intercontinental Hotels Group data breach previously announced in February as affecting 12 hotels in the chain has proven to have been far more extensive than was first thought. Last week the group announced that … Read more
87% of Companies Have Experienced a Cyberattack in the Past Year
Last week, the Bitglass Threats Below the Surface Report was released. The report highlights the extent to which organizations are being attacked by cybercriminals. Far from cyberattacks being a relatively rare occurrence, they are now … Read more
Continued Use of Unsupported Operating Systems Places Organizations at High Risk of Attack
Do you have any machines running on unsupported operating systems? Is all of your software up to date with all of the latest patches applied? If you are not patching promptly or are still running … Read more
Mac Malware Infections Increased by 700% in 2016
Windows-based systems are far more likely to be infected by viruses and malware; however, Mac users are far from immune to malware infections. A new report from McAfee suggests Mac malware infections increased substantially in … Read more
Philadelphia Ransomware Used in Target Attacks on U.S Healthcare Organizations
A new variant of Stampedo ransomware – called Philadelphia ransomware – is being used in targeted attacks on the healthcare sector in the United States. The ransomware variant is being spread using spear phishing emails. … Read more