New Biden administration cybersecurity standards for U.S. maritime ports mark a crucial step toward addressing long-ignored vulnerabilities in IT and OT systems across the critical infrastructure sector, experts told Information Security Media Group. An executive order released Wednesday institutes mandatory requirements to report cyber incidents that could endanger “any vessel, harbor, port or waterfront facility.”…

As the market for cybersecurity insurance evolves and matures, insurance giant Lloyd’s of London is preparing to exclude most nation-state attacks from its coverage policies. In the wake of such changes, organizations are reassessing their cyber insurance strategies. While the Lloyd’s announcement does not explicitly exclude all nation-state or nation-inspired cyberattacks, it does solidify some…

The Australian government says it will centralize its approach to securing federal agencies by appointing a coordinator to head the new National Office for Cyber Security within the Department of Home Affairs. The appointment comes after the country down under experienced back-to-back major data breaches. Medibank, Australia’s largest private health insurer, saw Russia-based ransomware hackers…

Cyber attacks surge, ransomware leading the way

The Online Trust Alliance (OTA) found that cyber incidents targeting businesses nearly doubled from 82,000 in 2016 to 159,700 in 2017. Since the majority of cyber incidents are never reported, OTA believes the actual number in 2017 could easily exceed 350,000. “Surprising no one, 2017 marked another ‘worst year ever’ in data breaches and cyber incidents around the world,”…