Tag Archive for: Cycle

Massive MGM and Caesars Hacks Epitomize a Vicious Ransomware Cycle

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The casino and hotel company MGM Resorts has dealt with widespread system outages and service disruptions at its properties in Las Vegas and elsewhere this week following a cyberattack that the company has been scrambling to contain. Meanwhile, Caesars Entertainment said in a United States regulatory filing on Thursday that it suffered a recent data breach in which many of its loyalty program members’ Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers were stolen, along with other personal data.

The two high-profile incidents have drawn scrutiny this week, with MGM customers reporting sporadic keycard issues in the company’s hotels, slot machines gone dark, ATMs out of order, and other difficulties staying at MGM properties and cashing out winnings. After Bloomberg broke the news on Wednesday about the Caesars breach, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Caesars had paid roughly half of the $30 million its attackers demanded in exchange for a promise that they wouldn’t release stolen customer data. While both are significant, experts emphasize that the fallout from this pair of prominent hacks fits into a broader context of ransomware attacks as a ubiquitous, unrelenting, and inveterate threat.

The recent spate of casino hacks fits into a larger cycle in which certain cyberattacks bring a lot of attention to digital threats and even spur governments to act. Ultimately, ransomware and data extortion attacks settle into the background again, even as they continue to wreak havoc and impact vulnerable populations.

“Attacks against casinos are dramatic and draw attention. We have whole movie and TV franchises about casino heists,” says Lesley Carhart, director of incident response at the industrial-control security firm Dragos. Still, “a lot of life-impacting attacks on critical infrastructure and health care occur far less visibly, and therefore, they aren’t an easy draw for mass media. I do not think this is an issue with cybersecurity or even media in its entirety—it is a human psychology issue. We’ve had that problem for a long time in the industrial-control system cybersecurity space where attacks could really mean life or death, but are not a great…

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Quantum Technology: Gartner’s Hype Cycle and its Implications for National Security Policy

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The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists “for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violations of Bell Inequalities and pioneering quantum information science”. The press release dated October 04, 2022, noted that “the ineffable effects of quantum mechanics are starting to find applications and that the one very factor is how quantum mechanics allow two or more particles to exist in an entangled state and what happens to one of the particles of an entangled pair determines what happens to the other particle, even if they are far apart.

Quantum Technology

Quantum technology is any class of technology new or old that works by using the principles of quantum mechanics. Quantum technology revolutionises the concept of information processing from the earlier mechanical to digital mode a step further. It uses the dynamics of quantum physics or the behaviour of the universe’s smallest particles, the atom and the behaviour of matter at the sub-atomic scale. Quantum phenomenon is not new but was the basis of development of lasers and semi-conductors since the 1950s. Emerging quantum information technologies will lead to development of quantum computers, radars, cryptography and other systems by utilising the principles of quantum physics. At the very basic level, the technologies use the quantum principles of “entanglement” and “superposition” to share information by ways that are not possible in the classic electronic computers.

Superposition

Superposition is a term to describe the ability of any particle to exist across many states at the same time until it is measured so a particle is said to be in a “superposition” of all those possible states. Superposition has an implication on the concept of computing. Today’s computing involves information in bits; either zero or one. Quantum computers would process information in quantum bits or qubits which can be one, zero or a superposition of the two states which is huge number of possible states making computation exponentially faster than the most advanced available traditional computers today. In a coin analogy a bit is like a tossed coin…

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British cycle security manufacturer Squire launches Inigma Diamond BL1 smart D-lock on Kickstarter – Gear

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British cycle security manufacturer Squire has launched its new Inigma Diamond BL1 smart D-lock on Kickstarter.

The digital D-lock has achieved the highest Sold Secure Diamond rating for bike locks, the difference being the advanced digital technology inside combined with uncompromisingly tough, hard-to-break materials.

The strong hardened steel lock body and 12.7mm hardened boron steel shackle make it resistant to attacks of over five minutes using a range of heavy-duty tools.

Inigma Diamond BL1 comes with maximum security AES-256 bit military grade encryption that keeps data secure and safe from hacking. Squire said its Inigma bike lock range was the ‘first ever’ to achieve two BSI Kitemarks, Internet of Things (Residential) and Secure Digital Applications.

Inigma Diamond BL1 works by using Bluetooth technology to communicate with a smartphone via the Inigma app download available on the App Store or Google Play. Weighing just 1.44kg, the Inigma Diamond BL1 is also portable and convenient.

Other benefits include sharing the lock with others, controlling multiple locks from the same phone, and programming the lock to open at set times and dates.

Designed, engineered and assembled in Britain by Squire, Inigma Diamond BL1 is the result of extensive research and development to design the ultimate D-lock that reflects Squire’s premium brand status for ‘toughness guaranteed.’

Now available on Kickstarter via a range of special pre-release ‘early bird’ pledges and discounts, the Inigma Diamond BL1 has an estimated delivery time of October.

Read more: Garmin launches Edge Explore 2 GPS cycling computer and HRM-Pro Plus heart rate strap

The Squire name has been at the forefront of lock-making since 1780 with a history carried down through eight generations. Today, Squire is recognised for making some of the toughest locks in the world, making cycle locks since the 1960s. All carry Squire’s personal 10-year guarantee as standard.

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What Is Incident Response Life Cycle? Everything You Need to Know

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Incident response is a plan for methodically responding to a cybersecurity incident. Measures are taken to rapidly contain, mitigate, and learn from the harm if an event is nefarious.

However, not every cybersecurity incident requires an investigation as they are not always serious. Certain events such as a single login failure by an employee on site does not need an in-depth investigation as it is not a major issue. However, it is important to keep a record of all these instances for future investigations.

Learning about the incident response life cycle and its framework will help you and your organization understand the accessibility of sensitive information, thereby allowing you to prevent breaches and mitigate threats by educating others and identifying vulnerabilities.

The incident response life cycle is a step-by-step process undertaken by a company to detect and respond to a service interruption or security threat. It is imperative to have an incident response plan in place to ensure data protection, avoid a breach of information, and protect the organization from being infiltrated.

Incident Response Plan Steps

It is always necessary to be prepared for a data breach incident as these days it has become a very common phenomenon. Incident response can be stressful when a vital asset is involved and you know that there is a potential danger. Incident response measures help in effective containment and recovery in these intense, high-pressure conditions. Response time is important for damage prevention; so, it is best to formulate certain incident response plan steps.

There are two institutes whose incident response management steps have become industry standards: NIST and SANS.

NIST Incident Response Process

NIST is an acronym for the National Standards and Technology Institute. It is a government agency that functions in various technical domains like cybersecurity. It is popular for its incident reaction measures, the steps of which are:

  1. Preparation: Develop and implement necessary methods to protect critical infrastructure.
  2. Detection and analysis: To keep a regular check on systems, information assets, data, and operations, and manage security risks…

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