Tag Archive for: article

Understanding cybersecurity management for FinTech: cybersecurity threats in FinTech (Article 3)

/in


With a plethora of digital wallet methods, financial cyber risks such as fraudulent transactions, extortion, denial of service attacks, and credit card fraud have become frequent. These cyber-attacks are capable enough to cause systemic risk to the financial sector. Some of the most prominent cyber-attacks that the financial sector has witnessed so far have impacted critical economic infrastructures. These attacks have the potential to deliberately destroy hardware, and to compromise sensitive business data to adversely impact services.

Cybersecurity threats impact almost all the components in the FinTech ecosystem. They may pose potential exposure to various financial institutions that use technology, FinTech startups, and financial customers in the FinTech ecosystem. Technology developers also need to be aware of potential cybersecurity threats that can exercise vulnerabilities and flaws in the technology that they are developing.

This article uncovers various cybersecurity threats in FinTech and provides deep insights into categories and actors causing those threats. It also introduces the threat modelling approaches used by financial institutions to mitigate the countermeasures of these threats. The content in this article is based on the extensive research work behind our book titled “Understanding Cybersecurity Management for FinTech” published by Springer this year.

Cyber threats

FinTech has witnessed various types of cyber threats, including malware, data breach, denial of service, cyber fraud, and phishing. Data breach and distributed denial of service (DDoS) are the two most common cyber-attacks that have been recorded on a regular basis in the timeline of cyber risks and threats on FinTech across the globe. Figure 1 below highlights the reported cyber-attacks and threats that incurred major monetary losses to financial institutions and banks between 2007 and 2019. It is evident that cyber threats pose severe risks to FinTech over the years.

Figure 1: Timeline of cyber threats on FinTech across the globe

Cyber-attacks have targeted financial institutions and banks all over the world. Some recent cyber threat attempts include: hijacking famous Twitter…

Source…

Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Directorate on boarded into the ISR and Cyber Effects Operations staff > U.S. Air Force > Article Display

/in


ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —  

Headquarters Air Force staff officially transferred the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) Superiority Directorate from strategy, integration and requirements directorate to the intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and cyber effects operations directorate Oct. 1.

In conjunction with the directorate move, the EMS Superiority Directorate also absorbed the Air Force Spectrum Management Office (AFSMO) as its fourth division. This move consolidates Electromagnetic Spectrum Operation functions under a single staff – focused on Information Warfare integration efforts across the conflict continuum and is the latest milestone within the Air Force – streamlining oversight, policy and guidance to foster greater collaboration of efforts across various competitive and increasingly dynamic domains.

“It is vital that we leverage, defend and compete across the entire electromagnetic spectrum in order to deliver effects in and through the information environment now and into the future,” said Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien, deputy chief of staff for ISR and cyber effects operations (A2/6).

Since its inception in 2019, current EMS Superiority Director, Brig. Gen. Tad Clark and his team have been working to ensure the Department of the Air Force is able to “maintain the advantage in the electromagnetic spectrum to stay one step ahead of the strategic competition and maintain freedom of action.”

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. highlighted their work during the Fall 2021 Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference stating, “I am glad to see the directorate developing the next generation of Airmen and making the changes needed to ensure dominance.”

The Department of Defense published an Electromagnetic Spectrum Strategy (EMSS) in 2020 providing direction and highlighting the importance of EMS superiority in future warfare. Subsequently, the Air Force published its own Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy in Apr. 2021.

Following the establishment of the EMSS and the development of the electromagnetic spectrum implementation strategy, Air Combat Command stood up the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing in June of 2021 to implement EMS…

Source…

JBSA First Sergeant Diamond Sharp Awards > Air Education and Training Command > Article Display

/in


JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Diamond Sharp Award is sponsored by the Joint Base San Antonio First Sergeants Council and recognizes outstanding Airmen who continually exceed the standard to meet the Air Force mission.



Rank/Name: Tech. Sgt. Jeramy J. Anderson

Unit: 833rd Cyber Operations Squadron

Duty title: Cyber Warfare Operator

Tech. Sgt. Jeramy J. Anderson is an exemplary content developer. He has exceeded expectations for developing instructional content for the host operator’s Persistent Cyber Training Environment. Anderson was tasked with developing two instructional modules and instead created seven. In developing some of these modules, he tackled the squadron initiative to develop a malware analyst role. The seven modules he created provide 17 1/2 hours of training, specifically targeting more than 10 lessons learned from on mission. Anderson has gone above and beyond his assigned work and is an invaluable asset to the 833rd COS and the Air Force.



Rank/Name: Tech. Sgt. Tommy H. Duncan III

Unit: 319th Training Squadron

Duty title: NCOIC, Training Operations

Tech. Sgt. Tommy H. Duncan III was hand-selected to conduct a review of the 341st Training Squadron’s STARS Program, identifying eight discrepancies and providing remedy actions. He also coordinated and prepared four senior NCOs to brief the 37th Training Wing command chief during his immersion tour, highlighting the 319 TRS’s unique mission and flight operation. Duncan directed four BEAST culmination events for 2,400 Airmen across four squadrons. In addition, when a Wingman’s child experienced a medical emergency, Duncan sprang into action, providing childcare, support and peace of mind.



Rank/Name: Staff Sgt. James M. Long

Unit: 502nd Security Forces Squadron

Duty Title: Investigator

Through much dedication and research, Staff Sgt. James M. Long was able to resolve a network disconnection between our unit and the Air Force computer network. His efforts gave our unit members access to the Security Forces Management & Resource Network website, Finance Portal, and additional tools on the SharePoint, which also led to the unit being compliant with new regulations. This…

Source…

Understanding Android Malware Families: ransomware and scareware (Article 3)

/in


Ransomware is malicious software used by individuals to encrypt documents on computers or digital devices. 

How they work

Perpetrators demand a ransom from the owner of a device to access the victim’s documents; once in, criminals install ransomware on their mobile phone or computer. When the owner clicks on a malicious link in an email, text message or website, their document is automatically locked (otherwise known as a crypto locker).

In case you missed it:

Understanding Android Malware Families – the foundations (Article 1)

Understanding Android Malware Families – the trojan: an impersonator in the background (Article 2)

On the other hand, scareware is malicious software that criminals convince users to purchase or download. Bad actors coax victims into believing that they may harm their device if they don’t download or buy malicious software. Scareware is often initiated through pop-up advertising and takes advantage of attackers’ social engineering tactics to coax users into installing fake anti-virus software. 

Here, we’ve analyzed and provided results for several ransomware and scareware families. 

The malicious behaviour of ransomware and scareware families

Common ransomware activities include sending text messages, enabling GPS, browsing the Internet and clicking on compromised pop-up advertisements. Additionally, ransomware families can set a four-digit PIN to lock the smartphone, save images, documents, and videos in both the compromised device’s external and internal storage. In the worst scenario, they can disable the SIM card on the victim’s device. 

Ransomware vs Scareware
Ransomware vs Scareware

All the ransomware families collect sensitive data from mobile phones and interact with hardware settings to fetch which Android operating system version is installed on a device. All, except Fusob and Jisut browse the Internet to download malicious files on compromised devices. Additionally, Congur and SmsSpy family communicate via a command-and-control server.

Looking into scareware families, Avpass is the only family that interacts with anti-virus solutions installed on a device. All the scareware families browse the Internet to display pop-up advertisements and…

Source…