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
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
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness team (US-CERT) operates within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), protecting America by responding to major incidents, analyzing threats, and exchanging critical cyber security information with trusted partners around the world. You may have already signed up for the popular email alert … 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
