In a ‘cyber incident’ last October, thousands of images of skin lesions and moles were compromised. / 123RF
2022 saw a barrage of ransomware attacks against healthcare providers, and many of their patients remain in frustrated suspense as we enter 2023.
Anne* – a previous melanoma sufferer – has had her moles mapped
The debate on ransomware attacks dropping continues, beware of long-hidden backdoors and lots of patches released.
Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Wednesday, January 11th, 2023. I’m Howard Solomon, contributing reporter on cybersecurity for ITWorldCanada.com.
Another entry in the debate on whether ransomware attacks are going up or down has been issued. Last week researchers at Emsisoft said the truth in the U.S. is hard to figure out because so many attacks aren’t publicly reported. This week researchers at Delinea released a report saying a survey it paid for suggests ransomware last year was down significantly over 2021. Of the 300 American IT decision-makers surveyed, 25 per said they were victims of ransomware in 2022. By comparison, 64 per cent of respondents said their firm was hit in 2021. Respondents also said budgets for ransomware defence dropped last year, although that could be because IT leaders are folding defences against ransomware with defences against all types of cyber attacks. More worrisome, the number of companies with incident response plans dropped to 71 per cent last year from 94 per cent in 2022. There’s a link to the full report in the text version of this podcast.
Threat actors are known for installing back doors on victims’ IT infrastructure to enable their attacks. That’s why scouring an entire IT environment is vital after a successful breach of security controls to make sure back doors aren’t left around. The latest example comes in a report from researchers at U.K.-based S-RM Intelligence. It looked into an attack by the Lorenz ransomware gang. The gang exploited a vulnerability in an organization using Mitel’s VoIP phone system. However, it was able to do that by using a backdoor that had been installed five months before the ransomware was launched. One theory is an initial access broker compromised the victim’s IT infrastructure and installed the backdoor, then notified the Lorenz group. Whatever the explanation, it’s another example of why continuously searching for backdoors as well as patching vulnerabilities is essential.
Ransom demands linked to denial of service attacks aren’t talked about a lot. However,…
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. ( KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider announced today the general availability of its virtual OpenSpace Channelizer and Combiner for satellite ground operations. The products are used to split and combine digitized RF signals for more effective downlink and uplink, especially to support the advanced capabilities of next generation software-defined satellites and LEO constellations. For example, to support increasing customer demand or to address potential cases of interference, a high bandwidth signal from a software-defined satellite can be split into smaller signals and routed across the ground dynamically for service delivery or for RF analysis.
The OpenSpace Channelizer and Combiner are completely virtualized running on general purpose compute, replacing the racks of proprietary RF analog devices such as splitters and dividers that constitute today’s ground systems. Analog hardware components are not capable of keeping up with the faster demands growing in the space layer, such as high throughput spot beams, multi-orbit constellations and programmable payloads. For example, it can take days, weeks and sometimes months to make configuration changes to hardware, often requiring technicians to fly to remote locations to re-cable and install hardware in teleports. As software, however, the OpenSpace Channelizer and Combiner enable configuration and reconfiguration in just seconds in order to adapt to changing mission conditions such as interference or to support changing customer service levels.
The OpenSpace Channelizer and Combiner go beyond simple virtualization. They are orchestrated together with any standards-based digitizer and with other OpenSpace Platform ground functions to support automation and the quick provisioning of new services across the ground segment, including needed uplink/downlink functions. Virtual elements can be spun up for new missions on the fly and when no longer needed, spun down so the resources can be used for other operations.
The OpenSpace Channelizer and Combiner support a variety of satellite use cases for applications in two-way…
WASHINGTON — On Sept. 21, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. approved Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi’s request for an expedited major disaster declaration. That declaration now authorizes FEMA to provide individual assistance to survivors in 63 municipalities and public assistance and hazard mitigation in all 78 Puerto Rico municipalities.
Five additional municipalities were added to the declaration on Sept. 23, allowing eligible survivors in Arecibo, Barceloneta, Cabo Rojo, Loíza and Manatí to apply for federal assistance. We have teams on the ground conducting damage assessments and using data obtained from satellites to expedite our review. More municipalities may be approved for Individual Assistance as assessments are completed and adjudicated.
Survivors who live in the 63 declared municipalities can apply for federal assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or by using the FEMA App. Survivors using a relay service, such as a video relay service, captioned telephone service or others, can give the FEMA operator the number for that service. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams are in affected municipalities, conducting outreach and working to help survivors apply for assistance.
FEMA approved Critical Needs Assistance for disaster survivors who have immediate or critical needs because they are displaced from their primary dwelling. Immediate or critical needs are life-saving and life-sustaining items. This assistance is a one-time payment of $700 per household. Since declaration was approved, more than 168,000 survivors applied and FEMA has awarded $40 million as we continue to process applications.
FEMA is committed to making assistance available to all eligible applicants. The agency expanded the type of documentation needed to prove homeownership and occupancy, making it easier to apply for assistance. These include motor vehicle registrations, documentation from schools, federal or state benefit providers, social service organizations or court documents. Survivors with heirship properties, mobile homes or travel trailers who do not have the traditional documentation of ownership verification may also self-certify ownership.