A “novel” virus is one that has not been previously identified, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[1] In 2000, like the COVID-19 virus that was officially named on February 11, 2020, the ILOVEYOU virus became a global pandemic for data systems. Within days, millions of computers were infected as the virus compromised … Continue Reading
As this recent article illustrates, many ransomware operators are now collecting information from victims before encrypting their data, and then threatening to release what they’ve collected – or actually releasing some of it – to increase the chance they’ll get paid. There have been many cases already where at least a portion of data has … Continue Reading
According to Crowdstrike’s most recent Global Threat Report, in 2019 they observed that malware-free attacks – attacks where malicious files are not written to disk – outpaced malware attacks by 51% to 49%. In Malware-free attacks, the attackers leverage Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) that are less likely to be detected by traditional anti-malware solutions. … Continue Reading
In a recent Cybercrime Tactics and Techniques Report focusing on the health care industry, cybersecurity company Malwarebytes discovered a significant 82% spike in Trojan malware attacks on health care organizations in Q3 2019. Emotet and TrickBot, two especially sophisticated and dangerous forms of malware, were mostly responsible for this surge. Used primarily as ’banking Trojans” … Continue Reading
Scammers are always seeking new ways to target victims for Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, where they leverage email to try to convince you to give them credentials, send them confidential information like W2s, send them money by changing things like direct deposit instructions, or give any other data that can help them profit from … Continue Reading
For Cybersecurity and Privacy, “What Are the Industry Standards? Are We Meeting Them?” These are questions the FTC Chairman, Joseph Simons, strongly suggested a CEO must ask before a data breach occurs to avoid the prospect of personal liability. These questions and statements by other commissioners emphasizing the FTC’s role – to bring about a … Continue Reading
In late January, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthcare & Public Health Sector Coordinating Council issued a new cybersecurity guidance document for healthcare businesses of all sizes. The guidance document, entitled “Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients,” available at https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/405d/Pages/hic-practices.aspx, provides concrete and practical guidance for addressing what the … Continue Reading
Until recently, hackers have had limited success stealing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) PIN and token information. Unfortunately, a tool has been released that will now make it much easier for practically any bad actor to bypass many implementations of 2FA: https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-tool-automates-phishing-attacks-that-bypass-2fa/ This does not mean we should stop using Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). We should still use … Continue Reading
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced in a press release this week that Anthem, Inc. (Anthem), one of the nation’s largest health benefit companies, has agreed to pay $16 million and take substantial corrective action to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. This settlement … Continue Reading
A presentation at Black Hat recently revealed that the creators of the “SamSam” ransomware have netted over $6M to date, attacking mostly medium-to-large public and private sector organizations. And they’re showing no signs of slowing down. In the most recent SamSam attacks, the attackers concentrated their efforts on brute-force hacking of weak passwords on devices accessible … Continue Reading
Health care providers and suppliers should be wary of the “Orangeworm” threat, an implementation of malware out in the wild that’s gathering information off of compromised medical equipment, especially old systems where file shares and Windows XP are still in use: https://www.zdnet.com/article/mysterious-cyber-worm-targets-medical-systems-found-on-x-ray-machines-and-mri-scanners/ While this group seems to be limiting their actions to reconnaissance and compromising … Continue Reading
Some notable stats showed up in the recently-released 2017 Veracode State of Software Security report: while “nearly a third (29 percent) of survey respondents indicated that they are actively pursuing digital transformation projects [and] … a further 29 percent stated that they are either planning for or considering digital transformation projects for the future,” there … Continue Reading
Back in August, the Associated Press ran this article profiling how a North Carolina manufacturer has been attacked twice by cyber criminals looking to install malware and cripple the “just-in-time” nature of their operations so that they’d be willing to pay a ransom to return to production. While this manufacturer avoided paying the ransom so far, … Continue Reading
WPA2 is the “secure” implementation option used by the vast majority of enterprise WiFi systems – other protocols have their own security issues, which is why everyone moved to WPA2. Unfortunately, researches have found a way to break that security. The good news is, for most attacks the attacker has to be on the same access … Continue Reading
As you work to finalize your cyber insurance riders or supplemental policies, it’s important to pay attention to the language around what is specifically covered. To ensure you’re receiving the coverage desired, the first step is to understand the difference between hacking and phishing, and how this is being applied to your policy, and to … Continue Reading
