In a recent letter to insurers, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) acknowledged the key role cyber insurance plays in managing and reducing cyber risk – while also warning insurers that they could be writing policies that have the “perverse effect of increasing cyber risk.” If a cyber insurance policy does not
Digital Transformation – Regulator Issues $80 Million Penalty for Not Doing It Right
Digital transformation refers to the process of leveraging technology, people and processes to innovate or stay competitive. The main driver of this process is often data. For a vivid illustration see Data Never Sleeps, an infographic released by Domo, a leading business analytics company.
While executing digital transformation the right way can lead to
Working from Home? Here are 12 Steps to Reduce Data Privacy and Security Risk
Businesses are instituting widespread remote work policies and procedures to facilitate social distancing and “flatten the curve.” Enterprises simultaneously need to be mindful of increased data privacy and security risks. The risks can range from pandemic-related phishing emails to increased pressure on network architecture to well-intentioned employee shortcuts. Hackers will try to take advantage of
Soon, All Ransomware Attacks May Be Data Breaches
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
Utah Considers a Cybersecurity Safe Harbor as Ransomware Runs Riot
Last year the FTC mandated what an organization’s written cybersecurity program should include to avoid being deemed “unfair and deceptive” to consumers,[1] and this year California consumers whose personal information is compromised may file lawsuits against organizations that failed to implement “reasonable security.”[2]
But several states provide legal safe harbors to organizations with written cybersecurity programs. Now, Utah is considering joining them. Under House Bill 158, referred to as the Cybersecurity Affirmative Defense Act (the “Proposed Act”),[3] if at the time of a data breach a covered entity has created, maintained, and complied with a written cybersecurity program it has an affirmative defense to a civil tort claim.
Continue Reading Utah Considers a Cybersecurity Safe Harbor as Ransomware Runs Riot
Trickbot and Emotet Financial Malware Now Attacking the Healthcare Industry
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
Cyber Risk Update for Construction Companies
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
Achieving Industry Standards
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 “culture of change” that better protects consumers – were part of separate meetings with each of the five FTC commissioners last month. On the heels of these meetings, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) proposed federal legislation that would give the FTC new powers and incarceration for executives who fail to meet industry standards.
With the FTC already requiring at least one CEO to verify that a company is meeting industry standards for privacy, the question of what industry standards apply is more important than ever. Since 2010 the FTC has resolved about 50 cases involving alleged cybersecurity incidents and privacy violations (mostly the latter). In 12 of these the FTC named directors and officers and their organizations. In four of these the FTC negotiated settlements requiring organizations to establish and implement written cybersecurity and privacy programs. As noted previously, the FTC has been on a tear”[1] and recently mandated that Equifax implement a comprehensive cybersecurity program that included, “at a minimum,” 26 requirements.
Which brings us back to Chairman Simons’ questions and what constitutes “industry standards.” Some laws and commonly used contract terms define industry standards as “the usual and customary practices in the delivery of products or services within a particular business sector.”[2] Industry standards can also refer to a standard adopted by a Standards Setting Organization. Establishing such standards takes time as they must be tested to ensure broad application. Enter NIST – the National Institute of Standards and Technologies.[3]
In February 2013, an executive order was issued requiring government and private sector organizations to collaborate on how “to maintain a cyber environment that encourages efficiency, innovation, and economic prosperity while promoting safety, security, business confidentiality, privacy, and civil liberties.”[4] A year later the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (“CSF”) was published and last year on April 16 it was updated. The Organization of American States and Amazon Web Services recently described it as:
[U]ndoubtedly a tool for cybersecurity risk management, which enables technological innovation while adjusting to all types of organizations (regardless of category or size) … [and is] a simple-approach to strategy to cybersecurity governance, to make it possible to easily transfer technical notions to the business objectives and needs.[5]
The CSF can be found here: https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework.
HHS Issues Practical New Cybersecurity Guidance for Healthcare Businesses of all Sizes
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 Council has identified as the “most impactful threats . . . within the industry” and serves as a renewed call to action for implementation of appropriate cybersecurity practices. This document is critical reading for healthcare business managers faced with ever-increasing cybersecurity risks and the attending risks to patient safety and operational continuity, business reputation, financial stability, and regulatory compliance.
Continue Reading HHS Issues Practical New Cybersecurity Guidance for Healthcare Businesses of all Sizes
New tool released that may allow bad actors with almost any skill set to bypass many implementations of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
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
When was the last time you looked at RDP access?
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