Tag Archive for: Crisis

Ransomware incidents now make up majority of British government’s crisis management COBRA meetings

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Ransomware incidents in the United Kingdom are now so impactful that the majority of the British government’s recent crisis management COBRA meetings have been convened in response to them rather than other emergencies.

The need to regularly hold cross-departmental COBRA meetings reveals how little progress Westminster has made to address the risks ransomware poses to the country, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the government’s response, speaking to The Record on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to openly discuss the matter.

They noted that despite the repeated warnings of the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) chief executive Lindy Cameron describing ransomware as the most acute threat facing the country, there did not appear to be a proportionate level of ministerial interest. Successive Home Secretaries have instead prioritized the issue of small boat crossings of migrants in the English Channel.

The gatherings — officially known as a meeting of the Civil Contingencies Committee, which takes place in the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR) — have historically been convened in response to terror attacks, but are now increasingly focused on cybersecurity incidents affecting critical services.

According to the NCSC’s annual review, the U.K. was impacted by 18 ransomware incidents this year which “required a nationally coordinated response” including attacks affecting the South Staffordshire Water utilities company and the National Health Service software supplier Advanced. The increased focus on these incidents at COBRA meetings has not previously been reported.

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel MP welcoming G7 Interior Ministers in 2021. Image: U.K. Government

Ransomware ‘sprints’

The surge in COBRA meetings follows a cross-Whitehall “sprint” — a project management term — on ransomware which concluded last December. Its intention was to come up with recommendations to deal with the issue that would be signed off on in advance of the G7 meeting of interior ministers at the end of 2021. However a year on from the conclusion of that “sprint” the government has still delivered no actionable…

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Jihadi groups’ strategic objectives amid political crisis in the Middle East Region

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 The Middle East and the geopolitical and economic importance of this region

The Middle East, which is a geopolitical region of about 17 countries and eight islands, which the these countries included such as: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. In addition, if the independence of North Cyprus gets international recognition, then North Cyprus will be the 18th country in the Middle East, and even now in some writings and research reports, North Cyprus is called the Middle East country. However, North Cyprus is still recognized by the United Nations as a part of the island of Cyprus. The largest country in the Middle East in terms of area is Saudi Arabia, and the most populous countries in the Middle East are Egypt, Iran and Turkey.

The eight islands of the Middle East are Arabia, Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Egypt, Iran, Levant, Mesopotamia, and the Socotra Islands. Geopolitical and economic importance of the Middle East: The Middle East is a bridge between the three major continents because the Middle East is a connecting tissue between Europe, Africa and Asia. The Middle East has gained geopolitical importance by having some of the world’s most important trade routes, important canals such as the Suez Canal, the Turkish Straits, the Straits of Hormuz and the Straits of Gibraltar, and military strategic checkpoints.

The vast oil resources of the Middle East, strategic trade routes, Middle Eastern territory, and ideas have given strategic importance to the geography of the Middle East. Oil and petroleum are the most widely available resources in the Middle East and the economies of many Asian, European and Western countries rely on the oil reserves of the Middle East. The Middle East produces almost 31 percent of the world’s oil because five of the ten countries that produce the most oil in the world are located in the Middle East, and besides oil, the Middle East produces 41 percent of the world’s natural gas.

In addition to having vast and inexhaustible natural oil reserves, sea trade routes and canals play an important role in…

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Okta’s Fearful Cyber Response Worse Than Hackers’ Peek—How 3 Tempting Tech Crisis Shortcuts Cost More

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Regardless of precautions and incident plans, cyberattacks terrify C-suites. The recent identity-security firm Okta breach spotlights a common leadership response mistake — sacrificing customer trust for overestimated legal risk.

In January 2022, hacker group LAPSUS$ infiltrated an Okta contractor’s computer. Relying on its vendor’s initial forensics, Okta opted not to disclose the brief attack. The breach was eventually made public in March via a series of hacker posts.

Okta’s attempts to minimize that bad news soon escalated into a public relations nightmare, stock downgrades, senior leader apologies and a class-action lawsuit.

This cyber crisis spiral exemplifies why companies must proactively prioritize ‘what must go right’ customer trust imperatives over ‘what could go wrong’ legal fears.

Far reach

The Okta case is neither complex nor surprising. Increasing reliance on service providers to address staffing needs and talent gaps also brings cybersecurity risk.

In Okta’s case, however, three key leadership shortcuts widened and worsened the breach toll:

  • First, Okta did not oversee contractor devices used to access company systems and customer accounts. That limits cyber incident and exposure visibility.
  • Next, when the hack occurred, Okta’s executives and IT security team hastily relied on the vendor-commissioned forensic investigation.
  • Third, to downplay the alleged hackers’ postings, Okta CEO Todd McKinnon tersely tweeted that the “matter was investigated and contained by the [vendor]. Based on our investigation to date, there is no evidence of ongoing malicious activity beyond the activity detected in January.” That vague Twitter response only invited questions and second-guessing.

Pressed to clarify the attack’s scope, David Bradbury, Okta chief security officer (CSO), added later that day that “after a thorough analysis, we have concluded that a small percentage of customers — approximately 2.5% have potentially been impacted and whose data may have been viewed or acted upon.”

That “small percentage” equated to over 260 customers. Upon that estimate, investment firm Raymond James downgraded Okta stock,…

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Mobile Anti Malware Market demand and future scope with Russia-Ukraine Crisis Impact Analysis –Symantec, Sophos, Mcafee, Avast Software, AVG Technologies, Malwarebytes, Bitdefender, Lookout, Kaspersky Lab

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The report investigates the current status of the Mobile Anti Malware Market and analyses the future trends of the Mobile Anti Malware market. The report explores the market opportunities available in the Mobile Anti Malware market. The report assesses the Mobile Anti Malware market sourced from the currently available data. The report provides in-depth information of the Mobile Anti Malware market that helps market players understand and analyse the Mobile Anti Malware industry in terms of key products and services, value-added products, emerging markets, and industries. The report provides basic analysis of the Mobile Anti Malware market. The report determines the current production and future demand for the products and services, and assists the market players in planning for investment. The report analyses the major exporting and importing producers, overview of the industry, preliminary and secondary assessment of its future potential. The report summarizes the knowledge gaps and recommendations.

Key Players in the Mobile Anti Malware market:

Symantec, Sophos, Mcafee, Avast Software, AVG Technologies, Malwarebytes, Bitdefender, Lookout, Kaspersky Lab

Request a sample report : https://www.mraccuracyreports.com/report-sample/350476

The report studies the Mobile Anti Malware market using cross-sectional multiple regression analysis. The report provides estimates for future market demand. The report also uses secondary analysis to examines the Mobile Anti Malware market. The report provides detailed analysis Mobile Anti Malware market value chain. The report analyses the factors affecting the Mobile Anti Malware market. The report lists the data and trends that studies various components of the Mobile Anti Malware market. The report reviews the current Mobile Anti Malware market production and price patterns. The report reviews the production, imports, and profitability segments.

Mobile Anti Malware Market Types:

Android OS, Apple OS, Window OS, Blackberry OS, Other.

Mobile Anti Malware Market Applications:

BFSI, Public/ Government, Healthcare, Retail, Media and Entertainment, Utilities, Telecom and IT, Others

Access full Report Description, TOC, Table of…

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