APT3 hackers linked to Chinese intelligence
The APT3 hacker group, which has been attacking government and defense industry targets since 2010, has been linked to the Chinese Ministry of State Security, according to a report by Recorded Future. Other attackers have been linked to the Chinese military, but this is the first time a group has been connected to Chinese intelligence,…
Certain HP laptops are found recording users’ keystrokes
Over two dozen HP laptop models have been secretly recording users’ keystrokes, possibly by mistake, according to a Swiss security firm. The keylogger is found within the PCs’ audio driver software and has existed since at least Dec. 2015, the security firm Modzero said in a Thursday blog post. The audio driver was designed to…
World Password Day: Make the Internet a more secure place
Identity theft is one of the world’s fastest growing crimes, but adding strong authentication to your password can prevent it. Today is World Password Day, and here are some of the comments Help Net Security received from the infosec community. This year’s World Password Day is particularly pertinent as it marks almost a year to…
Industry reactions to the Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report
Nearly 2,000 breaches were analyzed in this year’s Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report and more than 300 were espionage-related. Here are some of the comments Help Net Security received on the report. Today’s report highlights that businesses must rethink their protection strategies to guard against cyber attacks. The fact that 88% of breaches identified…
An untold cost of ransomware: It will change how you operate
Ransomware is unfortunately an IT reality. With the complexity and frequency of attacks, there is a good chance you or someone you know has been impacted. Many victims attacked are tempted to just pay the ransom and be done with it; a strategy that is more widely-used than you might think. Even the FBI has…
Security and the human factor: Creating a positive user experience
Despite the myriad of security solutions deployed, breaches are still happening. Even with the most robust security solutions it seems that we’re failing with the fundamentals, with ever more sophisticated hacks infiltrating and bringing down networks or resulting in compromised data. For all the security solutions we can create, it’s people who are the first…
Life’s a Breach: Dissecting a Year of Devastating Data Breaches
Several major data breaches thrust cybersecurity into the global spotlight in 2016. In the Asia-Pacific region, for example, cybercriminals stole 100 GB of government data from the Indian state of Kerala and made off with 300 GB of voter data in the Philippines. These are just two examples of high-profile data breaches that hit in…
Mastodon: different social network, additional risks
Mastodon is a social network that’s a few months old and it’s been mentioned on news sites quite a lot recently, leading users to sign up to an instance and check it out. I have noticed that some of the new people seem to be treating it like any other social network and not realizing…
Can Cyber Situational Awareness Prevent the Next Black Swan Cyber Event?
In modern parlance, the phrase “black swan,” as espoused by the famous intellectual personality Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his famous book “The Black Swan: The Impact of The Highly Improbable,” refers to an event that comes as a surprise, leaves a major impact and, in the absence of cyber situational awareness, can be rationalized only…
23% of security pros are blind to encrypted traffic threats
According to a Venafi survey conducted at RSA Conference 2017, 23 percent of respondents have no idea how much of their encrypted traffic is decrypted and inspected. “Encryption offers the perfect cover for cyber criminals,” said Kevin Bocek, chief security strategist for Venafi. “It’s alarming that almost one out of four security professionals doesn’t know…