Latest

Cybercrime as-a-service

How Dharma Ransomware-as-a-Service Model Works

Prajeet Nair  •  August 14, 2020

A new study from Sophos describes how the Dharma ransomware-as-a-service model offers low-skilled hackers the ability to profit from attacks on unprotected small businesses.

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Identity & Access Management

MassMutual Taps Into the Power of Data Science

Tom Field  •  August 14, 2020

Ariel Weintraub joined MassMutual last fall to focus on putting data science to work to help improve the insurance company's security operations and identity and access management programs. What are the early use cases and lessons learned?

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Analysis: Did Barclays Go Too Far in Monitoring Employees?

Anna Delaney  •  August 14, 2020

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes why Barclays is being investigated for allegedly spying on its employees. Also featured: How the pandemic is affecting CISOs; an FBI assessment of nation-state threats to U.S. election.

Governance & Risk Management

Is CREST Penetration Certification Test Being Gamed?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 14, 2020

Who watches the penetration-testing testers? Questions are circulating over how some organizations train their employees for the CREST pen-testing certification after some leaked internal documents appeared to contain material from past tests.

Anti-Phishing, DMARC

SANS Institute Sees Its Breach as Teachable Moment

Chinmay Rautmare  •  August 13, 2020

The SANS Institute, which is known for its cybersecurity training courses, is now planning to turn its own data breach into a teachable moment for its membership.

Application Security

More Microsoft Zero-Day Flaws Being Exploited

Prajeet Nair  •  August 12, 2020

Two critical, zero-day vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer and multiple versions of the Windows operating system are being exploited in the wild, Microsoft and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warn, urging prompt patching.

Cybercrime

Maze Reportedly Posts Exfiltrated Canon USA Data

Doug Olenick  •  August 12, 2020

The Maze ransomware group has posted on its darknet website some data it claims it stole during a recent attack against Canon USA, according to the security firm Emsisoft.

Governance & Risk Management

Unsecured Database Exposed on Web - Then Deleted

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  August 12, 2020

While the exposure of insecure databases on the internet is relatively common, a recent incident featured an unusual twist - the data was mysteriously deleted.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Beware: AgentTesla Infostealer Now More Powerful

Akshaya Asokan  •  August 12, 2020

The operators behind the AgentTesla remote access Trojan have upgraded the infostealer with additional capabilities, including the ability to steal credentials from VPNs, web browsers, FTP files and email clients, Sentinel Labs reports. The low-cost malware is used in BEC scams and other campaigns.

Endpoint Security

The Risks Posed by Wireless Automotive Dongles

Jeremy Kirk  •  August 12, 2020

New research has uncovered widespread vulnerabilities in wireless dongles that plug into a vehicle's OBD-II port. The inexpensive IoT devices have put new power into the hands of consumers to monitor their vehicles or check fault codes, but they could also open up new vectors for attacks.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

BEC Scam Costs Trading Firm Virtu Financial $6.9 Million

Doug Olenick  •  August 11, 2020

High-speed trading firm Virtu Financial says it lost $6.9 million in a business email compromise scam in May. The company is now suing its insurer for failure to cover the loss.

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Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Using DNS Data for Cybercrime Intelligence

Jeremy Kirk  •  August 11, 2020

The Domain Name System, which is at the heart of the internet, is a rich source of data that can help organizations defend themselves against cybercrime. DNS pioneer Paul Vixie says monitoring DNS traffic is crucial, and it's advisable to run your own recursive resolver.