London's 10 Downing Street is the headquarters and residence of Britain's prime minister. (Photo: Sergeant Tom Robinson RLC/MOD via OGL v1.0)

Huawei Question Must Be Answered by New UK Prime Minister

Mathew J. Schwartz • July 19, 2019

A powerful parliamentary committee has called on Britain's new prime minister - be it Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt - to make a decision "as a matter of priority" about the extent to which telecommunications gear built by Huawei should be used in the nation's 5G network.

3rd Party Risk Management

DDoS Attacker Austin 'DerpTrolling' Thompson Gets Sentenced

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Endpoint Security

Researchers Trick Cylance Into Giving Malware a Pass

Jeremy Kirk • July 19, 2019

An Australian cybersecurity company says it tricked BlackBerry's Cylance Protect anti-virus product into believing that some of the most pernicious types of malware, including WannaCry and the SamSam ransomware, were benign programs.

Application Security

Tesla Vulnerability: A Bounty Hunter's Tale

Nick Holland • July 19, 2019

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report describes the accidental discovery of a Tesla software vulnerability. Also featured: an analysis of the latest ransomware trends and insights from former federal advisers Richard Clarke and Robert Knake on cyber resilience.

Phishing Scheme Targets Amex Cardholders

Akshaya Asokan • July 18, 2019

Researchers have uncovered a new type of phishing campaign that is targeting American Express card users. In these incidents, attackers are sending a hyperlink as part of a phony account update to access the victim's credentials and other account details, according to researchers at the security firm Cofense.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Patient Record Snooping Incident Leads to GDPR Fine

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • July 18, 2019

Authorities in the Netherlands recently levied a $516,000 fine under the General Data Protection Regulation against a hospital in the Hague in connection with a data breach involving "dozens" of staffers who snooped on the electronic medical records of a celebrity.

Governance

Despite BlueKeep Warnings, Many Organizations Fail to Patch

Jeffrey Burt • July 18, 2019

Weeks after Microsoft issued a patch for the BlueKeep vulnerability, which threatens devices running older versions of Windows, many organizations worldwide have yet to install patches despite alerts from the software giant, government agencies and cybersecurity companies, according to researchers at BitSight.

Cybercrime

Bulgarian Authorities Arrest Suspect in Massive Data Breach

Akshaya Asokan • July 17, 2019

Bulgaria's national cybercrime unit has arrested a 20-year-old local man for his alleged role in breaching the country's tax servers and exposing the financial details and other personal data of nearly 5 million citizens, according to news media reports.

Cybercrime as-a-service

Suspected Rubella Toolkit Mastermind Arrested

Scott Ferguson • July 17, 2019

A 20-year-old Dutch man suspected of creating the Rubella Macro Builder toolkit and distributing it on underground forums has been arrested by the Dutch National Police, which received assistance from McAfee. Rubella and other toolkits enable attackers to distribute malware through weaponized Office documents.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Ransomware: As GandCrab Retires, Sodinokibi Rises

Mathew J. Schwartz • July 17, 2019

With the GandCrab ransomware-as-service gang promising to retire - and free decryptors now aiding victims - rival Sodinokibi has already stepped into the void, security experts warn. Driven also by attackers wielding Ryuk, Dharma and Phobos, ransom payments by victims have been surging.

Active Defense & Deception

How Deception Technology Is Evolving

Nick Holland • July 17, 2019

Deception technology is becoming more sophisticated, enabling organizations to battle against emerging threats, says Alissa Knight, senior analyst at Aite Group, a research and advisory company.

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

Senators Scrutinize Facebook's Cryptocurrency Plans

Scott Ferguson • July 16, 2019

At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, lawmakers grilled a Facebook executive about the company's plans to launch a cryptocurrency. One Democratic senator said Facebook "does not respect the power of the technologies they are playing with - like a toddler who has gotten his hands on a book of matches."

Application Security

Security Flaw Exposed Valid Airline Boarding Passes

Mathew J. Schwartz • July 16, 2019

A vulnerability in global airline check-in software used by 500 airlines could have been exploited to download other individuals' valid boarding passes, potentially giving them access to restricted airport spaces, warns security expert David Stubley. The flaw in Amadeus travel software has now been fixed.

Will Cyberattacks Lead to Prolonged Conflicts?

Nick Holland • July 16, 2019

There's good news and bad news about the current state of cybersecurity, according to Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake, two former federal advisers who have written a new book. Learn about their concerns that cyberattacks could escalate into prolonged conflicts.