A recent Ponemon Institute study finds that small and mid-sized businesses continue to be targeted by cybercriminals, and are struggling to direct an appropriate amount of resources to combat the attacks....more
10/17/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Hackers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
The Federal Bureau of Investigations Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently issued a public service announcement warning private companies about the increasing numbers of ransomware attacks affecting private industry....more
10/14/2019
/ Business Interruption ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Information Technology ,
Internet ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Platforms ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Consistent with our experience, security firm McAfee has confirmed in a report that ransomware attacks have doubled in 2019. Medical providers have been hit hard this year, and one provider, Wood Ranch Medical, located in...more
10/4/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Ransomware
I have been hanging out a lot with Chief Information Officers (CIO) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) these days at speaking engagements and conferences, as October – National Cybersecurity month – is always...more
10/4/2019
/ Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Hackers ,
Malware ,
Phishing Scams ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Spam
Many cities in the United States utilize a self-pay portal for residents to pay bills online, known as Click2Gov. Click2Gov was compromised in 2017 and 2018, when hackers were able to access over 300,000 payment cards and...more
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Security has announced an investigation into data analytics company Novaestrat after news broke this week that the company left an Elasticsearch server open...more
9/23/2019
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Ecuador ,
Hackers ,
Passwords ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular
The pace and number of cyber-attacks against municipalities and school systems is staggering and likes of which we have never seen. Municipalities and school systems are obvious targets for cyber criminals as it is well known...more
9/13/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Training ,
Hackers ,
Municipalities ,
Public Schools ,
Ransomware ,
School Districts
Security research firm Gigamon has reported that the nasty cybercriminal group FIN8 may have reappeared in June after a two-year silence. FIN8 is known for implementing malware on point of sale systems to steal credit card...more
7/29/2019
/ Credit Cards ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Drones ,
Email ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Iran ,
Malware ,
Microsoft ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
UPS
GandCrab Ransomware Backers Working on New Ransomware REvil -
We previously reported that the criminals behind the GandCrab Ransomware were retiring, and that a patch was discovered and companies are urged to implement the...more
7/22/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
AT&T ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Digital Wallets ,
DNA ,
Drones ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Hackers ,
Identity Fraud ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Premera Blue Cross ,
Ransomware
We previously reported that the criminals behind the GandCrab Ransomware were retiring, and that a patch was discovered and companies are urged to implement the patch....more
The U.S. government continues to be wary of cryptocurrency, and presently, no cryptocurrency exchange is protected by the FDIC. When you put your money in a bank, if the bank becomes insolvent, but is FDIC insured, customers...more
This week, I was honored to again have the opportunity to participate as a speaker at the Internal Revenue Service’s Nationwide Tax Forum 2019 in Washington, D.C. Through a generous grant provided by the American Coalition...more
7/12/2019
/ Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Management ,
Data Protection ,
Data Theft ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Identity Theft ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Preparers
Hackers are targeting U.S. government networks, according to U.S. Cyber Command, which says there is a vulnerability of CVE-2017-1174, which is a two year old flaw in Microsoft Outlook that is being used by attackers to...more
7/12/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Malware ,
Microsoft ,
Network Security ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Risk Management ,
Security Standards ,
US-CERT ,
Vulnerability Assessments
The Internet Society’s Online Trust Alliance just released its 2018 Cyber Incident & Breach Trends Report, which says “2018–Some Better, Some Worse, All Bad.”
That’s our experience, too. Below are our highlights from the...more
7/11/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Distributed Denial of Service ,
Employee Training ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Malware ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain
The tension with Iran has generally increased, it has been reported that the U.S. has launched a cyber-attack against Iran, and in retaliation, the risk of Iranian-backed wiper malware attacks against U.S. businesses and...more
7/3/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Iran ,
Malware ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Security researchers have warned municipalities repeatedly about how they are being targeted with ransomware, that they are at high risk, and the need to make data security a high priority....more
6/28/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Municipalities ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
The attackers behind the vicious ransomware known as GandCrab have made their money (loosely estimated at over $2 billion) and are retiring. Most of us work for a living and then retire, but these guys steal money to retire....more
6/21/2019
/ Anthem Insurance ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Debit Cards ,
Dominos ,
Driverless Cars ,
Exploitation ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
NFL ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Super Bowl
We all have been trained to look at website addresses with a critical eye to make sure they have “https,” as those websites are supposed to be secure. The “s” at the end signifies to us that it is secure. The lock at the...more
The United States Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) admitted last week that personal information that it collected from travelers crossing the U.S. borders was exposed in a “malicious cyber-attack” against one of its vendors....more
Summer vacation is almost here for school-age children, which means that kids will have more free time to roam the Internet. Unfortunately, according to the FBI, this means that the threat of online predators is high and the...more
Although many thought that WannaCry was in the rear view mirror, a recent report by Artemis, based on client experience, found that health care organizations and manufacturing companies are still being hit with the ransomware...more
5/31/2019
/ Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Malware ,
Manufacturers ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Ransomware ,
Robocalling ,
Telemarketing
According to a recent FBI Flash, Ryuk ransomware has hit more than 100 U.S. companies since August 2018, with a “disproportionate impact on logistics companies, technology companies, and small municipalities.”...more
5/20/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Malware ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management
I try to keep my spam filter on the most restrictive setting, which has dramatically decreased the amount of spam I receive in my email box every day. But every once in a while, I receive an email that makes my gut twitch and...more
New malicious malware dubbed “Gustuff” targets big banks, fintech companies and cryptocurrency apps, according to the security firm Group IB....more
Last week was National Consumer Protection Week. In celebration of that, this post is devoted to protection from tax identity theft.
...more
3/11/2019
/ Cyber Crimes ,
Identity Theft ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Payroll Records ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Social Security Numbers ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Returns ,
Taxation ,
W-2