May, 2020

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U.S. Secret Service: “Massive Fraud” Against State Unemployment Insurance Programs

Krebs on Security

A well-organized Nigerian crime ring is exploiting the COVID-19 crisis by committing large-scale fraud against multiple state unemployment insurance programs, with potential losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a new alert issued by the U.S. Secret Service. A memo seen by KrebsOnSecurity that the Secret Service circulated to field offices around the United States on Thursday says the ring has been filing unemployment claims in different states using Social Security numbers

Insurance 363
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The Unattributable "db8151dd" Data Breach

Troy Hunt

I was reticent to write this blog post because it leaves a lot of questions unanswered, questions that we should be able to answer. It's about a data breach with almost 90GB of personal information in it across tens of millions of records - including mine. Here's what I know: Back in Feb, Dehashed reached out to me with a massive trove of data that had been left exposed on a major cloud provider via a publicly accessible Elasticsearch instance.

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10 Behaviors That Will Reduce Your Risk Online

Daniel Miessler

I wrote an article recently on how to secure your home network in three different tiers of protection. In that piece I wanted to link to some safe internet practices—which some used to call Safe Hex—but I couldn’t find anything newer than nine years old. These are the diet and exercise of the computer safety world. So, I decided to update the advice myself.

Risk 345
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MY TAKE: COVID-19 cements the leadership role CISOs must take to secure company networks

The Last Watchdog

Chief Information Security Officers were already on the hot seat well before the COVID-19 global pandemic hit, and they are even more so today. Related: Why U.S. cybersecurity policy needs to match societal values CISOs must preserve and protect their companies in a fast-changing business environment at a time when their organizations are under heavy bombardment.

CISO 309
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How to Avoid Pitfalls In Automation: Keep Humans In the Loop

Speaker: Erroll Amacker

Automation is transforming finance but without strong financial oversight it can introduce more risk than reward. From missed discrepancies to strained vendor relationships, accounts payable automation needs a human touch to deliver lasting value. This session is your playbook to get automation right. We’ll explore how to balance speed with control, boost decision-making through human-machine collaboration, and unlock ROI with fewer errors, stronger fraud prevention, and smoother operations.

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Cybercriminals Are Exploiting the Covid-19 Pandemic

Adam Levin

Cybercriminals are actively targeting Covid-19 hotspots with malware and phishing campaigns, according to a new report from Bitdefender. The report, “ Coronavirus-themed Threat Reports Haven’t Flattened the Curve ,” shows a direct correlation between confirmed Covid-19 cases and malware attacks exploiting the crisis. These findings confirm a similar report that showed a 30000% increase in Covid-19-themed attacks from January to March.

Scams 296
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Me on COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps

Schneier on Security

I was quoted in BuzzFeed: "My problem with contact tracing apps is that they have absolutely no value," Bruce Schneier, a privacy expert and fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, told BuzzFeed News. "I'm not even talking about the privacy concerns, I mean the efficacy. Does anybody think this will do something useful?

Media 280

LifeWorks

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Weekly Update 193

Troy Hunt

First time back in a restaurant! Wandering down my local dining area during the week, I was rather excited to see a cafe that wasn't just open, but actually had spare seating. Being limited to only 10 patrons at present, demand is well in excess of supply and all you have to do is leave some contact info in case someone else in the restaurant tests positive at a later date.

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A 3-Tiered Approach to Securing Your Home Network

Daniel Miessler

A lot of people are thinking about the security of their home network right now, and as one of the project leaders on the OWASP Internet of Things Security Project , I wanted to provide three levels of security you can do at home. The most important thing to realize about this list is that it’s top-heavy. The first one is far more important than the second, and the first three are far more important than the second three.

Passwords 255
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GUEST ESSAY: What everyone should know about the pros and cons of online fingerprinting

The Last Watchdog

When it was first introduced, device fingerprinting – or online fingerprinting in general – was meant to create a safer, more responsible internet. The idea was that by fingerprinting devices used to connect to the internet we could achieve better accountability. Related: Why Satya Nadella calls for regulation of facial recognition systems The concept itself is still very much relevant today.

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Zero trust security: A cheat sheet

Tech Republic Security

Zero trust means rethinking the safety of every bit of tech on a network. Learn five steps to building a zero trust environment.

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Why Giant Content Libraries Do Nothing for Your Employees’ Cyber Resilience

Many cybersecurity awareness platforms offer massive content libraries, yet they fail to enhance employees’ cyber resilience. Without structured, engaging, and personalized training, employees struggle to retain and apply key cybersecurity principles. Phished.io explains why organizations should focus on interactive, scenario-based learning rather than overwhelming employees with excessive content.

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AI and Cybersecurity

Schneier on Security

Ben Buchanan has written " A National Security Research Agenda for Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence." It's really good -- well worth reading.

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Ukraine Nabs Suspect in 773M Password ?Megabreach?

Krebs on Security

In January 2019, dozens of media outlets raised the alarm about a new “megabreach” involving the release of some 773 million stolen usernames and passwords that was breathlessly labeled “the largest collection of stolen data in history.” A subsequent review by KrebsOnSecurity quickly determined the data was years old and merely a compilation of credentials pilfered from mostly public data breaches.

Passwords 363
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Weekly Update 189

Troy Hunt

Last week, I got the vid out a day late and by early afternoon today it looked like I was heading the same way. So, for the first time I ended up just live streaming it direct to YouTube. I actually quite liked the interaction, although I picked the quietest time in the day with most of the world asleep and obviously the audio quality wasn't the same as sitting in my office but still, not a bad end result I reckon.

Wireless 237
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Indecent Exposure: 7TB of Adult Streaming User Data Unsecured on Server

Adam Levin

Users on an adult streaming platform may have experienced the wrong kind of exposure when over seven terabytes of data was found on an unprotected database online. The damage done could include the dissemination of amateur pornographic user images. . CAM4, a video streaming service primarily for adult amateur webcam content, reportedly left more than 11 million user records online on an unprotected Elasticsearch server.

Phishing 197
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Zero Trust Mandate: The Realities, Requirements and Roadmap

The DHS compliance audit clock is ticking on Zero Trust. Government agencies can no longer ignore or delay their Zero Trust initiatives. During this virtual panel discussion—featuring Kelly Fuller Gordon, Founder and CEO of RisX, Chris Wild, Zero Trust subject matter expert at Zermount, Inc., and Principal of Cybersecurity Practice at Eliassen Group, Trey Gannon—you’ll gain a detailed understanding of the Federal Zero Trust mandate, its requirements, milestones, and deadlines.

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NEW TECH: Silverfort helps companies carry out smarter human and machine authentications

The Last Watchdog

Doing authentication well is vital for any company in the throes of digital transformation. Digital commerce would fly apart if businesses could not reliably affirm the identities of all humans and all machines, that is, computing instances, that are constantly connecting to each other across the Internet. Related: Locking down ‘machine identities’ At the moment, companies are being confronted with a two-pronged friction challenge, when it comes to authentication.

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Social engineering: A cheat sheet for business professionals

Tech Republic Security

People, like computers, can be hacked using a process called social engineering, and there's a good chance a cybersecurity attack on your organization could start with this technique.

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Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and France SIGINT Alliance

Schneier on Security

This paper describes a SIGINT and code-breaking alliance between Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and France called Maximator: Abstract: This article is first to report on the secret European five-partner sigint alliance Maximator that started in the late 1970s. It discloses the name Maximator and provides documentary evidence. The five members of this European alliance are Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and France.

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Europe’s Largest Private Hospital Operator Fresenius Hit by Ransomware

Krebs on Security

Fresenius , Europe’s largest private hospital operator and a major provider of dialysis products and services that are in such high demand thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been hit in a ransomware cyber attack on its technology systems. The company said the incident has limited some of its operations, but that patient care continues. Based in Germany, the Fresenius Group includes four independent businesses: Fresenius Medical Care , a leading provider of care to those suffering from ki

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Prevent Data Breaches With Zero-Trust Enterprise Password Management

Keeper Security is transforming cybersecurity for people and organizations around the world. Keeper’s affordable and easy-to-use solutions are built on a foundation of zero-trust and zero-knowledge security to protect every user on every device. Our next-generation privileged access management solution deploys in minutes and seamlessly integrates with any tech stack to prevent breaches, reduce help desk costs and ensure compliance.

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Weekly Update 191

Troy Hunt

I think I'm going to stick with the live weekly update model for the foreseeable future. It makes life so much easier when it comes to editing, rendering and uploading and it means I always have something out on time. So, that's that, other news this week is mostly just bits and pieces here and there and some banter with the audience and that's just fine, it's nice having a quieter week sometimes ??

VPN 236
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Ghost Blogging Platform Hacked To Mine Cryptocurrency

Adam Levin

Hackers successfully breached the servers of a popular blogging platform and used them to mine cryptocurrency. Ghost, a Singapore-based blogging platform with 2,000,000 installations and 750,000 active users, announced that hackers had breached their systems. . “The mining attempt… quickly overloaded most of our systems which alerted us to the issue immediately,” the company announced May 3, adding that “[t]here is no direct evidence that private customer data, passwords or oth

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MY TAKE: Technologists, privacy advocates point to flaws in the Apple-Google COVID-19 tracing app

The Last Watchdog

If the devastating health and economic ramifications weren’t enough, individual privacy is also in the throes of being profoundly and permanently disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The tech giants are partnering on a tool for public good, but critics worry it will ultimately get used for predatory surveillance Related: Europe levies big fines for data privacy missteps If the devastating health and economic ramifications weren’t enough, individual privacy is also in the throes of being profou

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Phishing attack impersonates Amazon Web Services to steal user credentials

Tech Republic Security

The emails spoof an automated notification from AWS to try to capture Amazon account credentials, according to Abnormal Security.

Phishing 218
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Optimizing The Modern Developer Experience with Coder

Many software teams have migrated their testing and production workloads to the cloud, yet development environments often remain tied to outdated local setups, limiting efficiency and growth. This is where Coder comes in. In our 101 Coder webinar, you’ll explore how cloud-based development environments can unlock new levels of productivity. Discover how to transition from local setups to a secure, cloud-powered ecosystem with ease.

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On Marcus Hutchins

Schneier on Security

Long and nuanced story about Marcus Hutchins, the British hacker who wrote most of the Kronos malware and also stopped WannaCry in real time. Well worth reading.

Malware 276
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This Service Helps Malware Authors Fix Flaws in their Code

Krebs on Security

Almost daily now there is news about flaws in commercial software that lead to computers getting hacked and seeded with malware. But the reality is most malicious software also has its share of security holes that open the door for security researchers or ne’er-do-wells to liberate or else seize control over already-hacked systems. Here’s a look at one long-lived malware vulnerability testing service that is used and run by some of the Dark Web’s top cybercriminals.

Malware 360
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Weekly Update 190

Troy Hunt

I went with the "just record it live" approach again this week and honestly, it's working out much better for me. It's easier to publish (no manual retrieval of audio and video from devices, no editing in Premier, no waiting for upload) and doing it in my office gets almost the same audio and video quality as the "old" way anyway. Plus, I get to interact with people whilst recording so all in all, I'm pretty happy with this approach.

VPN 207
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Do Password Managers Make You More or Less Secure?

Adam Levin

It’s World Password Day, and much like every other day of the year, the state of password security is terrible. . Despite repeated warnings from security experts and IT departments, “123456” is still the most common password for the last seven years, narrowly edging out “password.”. The problem isn’t limited to easily guessed passwords: a recent study of remote workers found that 42 percent of employees physically write passwords down, 34 percent digitally capture them on their smartphones, and

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The Importance of User Roles and Permissions in Cybersecurity Software

How many people would you trust with your house keys? Chances are, you have a handful of trusted friends and family members who have an emergency copy, but you definitely wouldn’t hand those out too freely. You have stuff that’s worth protecting—and the more people that have access to your belongings, the higher the odds that something will go missing.

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How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance

WIRED Threat Level

Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here's how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.

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Majority of COVID phishing attacks coming from US IP addresses, report finds

Tech Republic Security

An anti-phishing firm discovered that most of the malicious coronavirus emails were coming from the United States.

Phishing 218
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Attack Against PC Thunderbolt Port

Schneier on Security

The attack requires physical access to the computer, but it's pretty devastating : On Thunderbolt-enabled Windows or Linux PCs manufactured before 2019, his technique can bypass the login screen of a sleeping or locked computer -- and even its hard disk encryption -- to gain full access to the computer's data. And while his attack in many cases requires opening a target laptop's case with a screwdriver, it leaves no trace of intrusion and can be pulled off in just a few minutes.

Firmware 271
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Riding the State Unemployment Fraud ‘Wave’

Krebs on Security

When a reliable method of scamming money out of people, companies or governments becomes widely known, underground forums and chat networks tend to light up with activity as more fraudsters pile on to claim their share. And that’s exactly what appears to be going on right now as multiple U.S. states struggle to combat a tsunami of phony Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims.

Insurance 356
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Next-Level Fraud Prevention: Strategies for Today’s Threat Landscape

Speaker: Sierre Lindgren

Fraud is a battle that every organization must face – it’s no longer a question of “if” but “when.” Every organization is a potential target for fraud, and the finance department is often the bullseye. From cleverly disguised emails to fraudulent payment requests, the tactics of cybercriminals are advancing rapidly. Drawing insights from real-world cases and industry expertise, we’ll explore the vulnerabilities in your processes and how to fortify them effectively.