Trapped in social networks
A recent survey of 4,831 active social network users, conducted by Kaspersky Lab in 12 countries, reveals that an overwhelming majority (78%) of respondents considered quitting their social networks — but chose to stay. They wanted to leave for a variety of reasons: 39% of users complained they were wasting too much time, the top…
Key causes of network outages and vulnerabilities
A new global study, conducted by Dimensional Research, surveyed 315 network professionals about their experiences with network outages, vulnerabilities and compliance. Among the report’s findings, there is almost universal agreement that human factors lead to network outages, and in many cases these outages are quite frequent.
This malware attack starts with a fake customer-service call
Hotel and restaurant chains, beware. A notorious cybercriminal gang is tricking businesses into installing malware by calling their customer services representatives and convincing them to open malicious email attachments. The culprits in these hacks, which are designed to steal customers’ credit card numbers, appear to be the Carbanak gang, a group that was blamed last…
ImageWare Launches Multi-modal Biometric Authentication for Enterprises
Today’s security consensus is that password-based authentication and access is insecure, and that some form of two- or multi-factor authentication is necessary. The simplest and easiest second factor is an SMS-based soft token, and that is the route already adopted by many organizations. However, NIST’s recently published concern over some implementations of SMS-based 2FA has…
Waterfall BlackBox: Restoring trust in network information
Waterfall Security Solutions announced the launch of the Waterfall BlackBox, developed to maintain the integrity of log repositories in the event of a cyber attack. Based on Waterfall’s patented unidirectional technology, the Waterfall BlackBox creates a physical barrier between networks and logged data, so that stored logs become inaccessible to attackers who are trying to…
Retailers may be gifted FastPOS this holiday season
Chilly weather, falling leaves and pumpkin-spiced everything are signs that the holiday season is just around the corner. Retailers have already taken steps to get ready by hiring and training personnel for these busy times. However, can they say the same for their point-of-sales systems? When a person pays with a debit or credit card,…
Cybercriminals Are Getting Better at Using Advanced Authentication Methods
Cybercriminals are learning how to use newer authentication methods to exploit security weaknesses. As always, it is a cat-and-mouse game with serious consequences. Facial recognition software can be exploited with high-definition photos, many of which can be found on social media accounts. Fraudsters can easily bypass one-time passwords by calling cellphone companies and impersonating the…
Why Unidirectional Security Gateways can replace firewalls in industrial network environments
Unidirectional Gateway solutions come in pairs: the TX appliance contains a laser, and the RX appliance contains an optical receiver. The Gateway pair can transmit information out of an operations network, but is incapable of propagating any virus, DoS attack, human error or any information at all back into the protected network. Waterfall agent software…
Traveling on business? Beware of targeted spying on mobile
Corporate spying is a real threat in the world of cyber war. Employees traveling on behalf of their company could create opportunities for sophisticated adversaries to take sensitive corporate data. This is especially true if they are not careful with their mobile devices. The targeted malware attack It may sound like something out of a…
Security Starts With People: What it Takes to Ensure Simple Yet Strong Authentication on Mobile
Before I was in the identity and access management (IAM) space, I hardly ever thought about strong authentication or the role of IAM as a standalone discipline beyond the occasional time I forgot my username or password. If I have learned one thing, however, it’s that security truly starts with people. Think about some of…