Photo: Korean Central News Agency

US Sanctions 3 North Korean Hacking Groups

Jeremy Kirk • September 16, 2019

As part of the U.S. government's continuing efforts to highlight the North Korean government's cyberattacks, the U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned three alleged North Korean hacking groups that have been blamed for the WannaCry ransomware, online bank heists and destructive malware attacks.

Biometrics

Can Cybersecurity Help India Build a $5 Trillion Economy?

Latest

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Ransomware Gangs Practice Customer Relationship Management

Mathew J. Schwartz • September 13, 2019

Ransomware-wielding attackers treat infecting endpoints as a business and put customer relationship management principles to work, says Bill Siegel, CEO of ransomware incident response firm Coveware. He notes criminals "go after the low-hanging fruit because it's cheap and the conversion rate is high."

Governance

Tips on Countering Insider Threat Risks

Jeremy Kirk • September 13, 2019

Insider threats are difficult to counter. What happens when an employee goes rogue, and how do you catch them? Charles Carmakal of Mandiant, who says his firm is dealing with more insider threat investigations, shares tips for better defenses.

Account Takeover

Analysis: The Impact of Business Email Compromise Attacks

Nick Holland • September 13, 2019

This week's ISMG Security Report analyzes the cost of business email compromise attacks and the recent arrest of dozens of suspects. Also featured: updates on the easy availability of low-cost hacking tools and the latest payment card fraud trends.

Cybercrime

Attacks Targeting IoT Devices and Windows SMB Surge

Mathew J. Schwartz • September 12, 2019

Two years after WannaCry wreaked havoc via flaws in SMB_v1 and three years after Mirai infected internet of things devices en masse via default credentials, attackers are increasingly targeting the same flaws, security experts warn.

Cybercrime

Iranian Hacking Group Continues Targeting Universities

Scott Ferguson • September 12, 2019

"Cobalt Dickens," a threat group with suspected ties to Iran, is continuing its attempts to steal intellectual property from schools and universities, according to an analysis by SecureWorks. The group's work continues even though several alleged members have been indicted by the Justice Department.

Governance

Microsoft Patches 2 Windows Flaws Already Being Exploited

Scott Ferguson • September 11, 2019

As part of its September Patch Tuesday security update, Microsoft issued software fixes for two vulnerabilities in several versions of Windows that it says are being exploited by attackers in the wild. Security experts are urging IT teams to quickly patch these flaws.

Account Takeover

Business Email Compromise Crackdown: 281 Suspects Busted

Jeremy Kirk • September 11, 2019

A global law enforcement operation has resulted in the arrest of 281 suspects allegedly involved in business email compromise scams. The announcement comes on the same day as the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center says that losses from BEC scams have hit $26 billion and are continuing to rise.

Governance

Email Servers: Exim Flaw Leaves Millions at Risk of Hacking

Jeremy Kirk • September 10, 2019

Email server alert: Linux and Unix administrators should immediately patch a remotely exploitable flaw in Exim, one of the world's most-used message transfer agents, security experts warn. Attackers could abuse the flaw to deliver ransomware, spy on or spoof emails and possibly also take down cloud services.

Governance

Software Bugs: Gotta Catch 'Em All?

Mathew J. Schwartz • September 9, 2019

Every week seems to bring a fresh installment of "patch or perish." But security experts warn that patch management, or the larger question of vulnerability management, must be part of a much bigger-picture approach to managing risk. And the challenge continues to get more complex.

Governance

Weaponized BlueKeep Exploit Released

Akshaya Asokan • September 9, 2019

A new weaponized proof-of-concept exploit for the BlueKeep vulnerability in Windows has been released by researchers at Rapid7 and Metasploit in an effort to help create a sense of urgency to patch the flaw.

Cybercrime

Apple Accuses Google of 'Stoking Fear' With iOS Bug Report

Jeremy Kirk • September 9, 2019

Apple is criticizing recent Google research that describes an expansive iPhone hacking campaign, accusing Google of "stoking fear" among users of its products. Google says it stands by its blog post, which focused on technical findings.

Cybercrime

Wikipedia Investigates DDoS Attack

Apurva Venkat • September 9, 2019

Online encyclopedia Wikipedia is investigating a DDoS attack that temporarily blocked access to several of its European and Middle Eastern sites over the weekend.