Tag Archive for: digital

Moveit Hack a Lesson as Digital Threats Increase

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Art by Karlotta Freier

A recent data breach known as the Moveit hack has affected more than 2,000 organizations and at least 60 million people, according to the latest tracking by KonBriefing. That list will likely keep growing.

Among those hit were millions of retirement plan participants, in large part due to a breach at Pension Benefit Information, a data vendor working with numerous large recordkeepers and state-run pension systems.

In short: The hackers got access to participant data via some of the largest and most respected institutions in the industry. Lawsuits are coming, targeting not just PBI, but the firms who used it as a vendor.

What, then, is a plan fiduciary to do?

Experts have a number of suggestions that, while they may not be able to stop future breaches, will help a fiduciary be covered should they occur. Suggestions often start with following the Department of Labor’s April 2021 guidance on cybersecurity for the retirement industry, but they also include baking in a regular system of assessment when procuring and working with vendors, participating in mock data breach exercise, and being ready for audits, should they occur.

Information for Sale

In many cybersecurity cases in recent years, hackers used a method known as ransomware, in which they locked up a company’s data and demanded a ransom to release it. More recently, hackers are going straight after personal data, such as the participant information available held with Moveit, a file transfer software company owned by Progress Software Corp. Hackers then sell that information on the “dark web” in batches to criminals, says Marc Bleicher, chief technology officer at Surefire Cyber.

Bleicher says the data tends to have a “shelf life” of about three months as companies start notifying participants of the breach and providing identity theft solutions. A person’s Social Security number, he says, can “fetch $2 to $5” per account, and other personal identifiable information such as financial accounts or passport numbers can be as high as $1,000 per account.

“I would assume that any transactions for [the Moveit data] would have gone pretty quickly,” Bleicher…

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How Are Digital Security Stocks Doing This Year?

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Our theme of Cyber Security Stocks has gained about 43% this year, performing slightly ahead of the broader Nasdaq-100, which remains up by around 40% over the same period. While the broader tech indices have benefited from enthusiasm surrounding generative artificial intelligence, cybersecurity stocks have also done well, as investors see tailwinds following a tough 2022, which saw the theme decline by about 39%.

Interestingly, OktaOKTA
, a key cybersecurity player, has had a Sharpe Ratio of 0.6 since early 2017, in line with the 0.6 for the S&P 500 Index over the same period. This compares with the Sharpe of 1.3 for the Trefis Reinforced Value portfolio. Sharpe is a measure of return per unit of risk, and high-performance portfolios can provide the best of both worlds.

As the world becomes more reliant on interconnected computer systems, cyber attacks can disrupt economic activity, sabotage critical infrastructure, and compromise countries’ security. This is making digital security a more important investment priority for governments and businesses. There have been a series of high-profile cyber attacks on businesses in recent quarters, including a notable attack on pay TV major Dish Networks. Russia could potentially carry out more cyber attacks on Western targets as its military offensive in Ukraine faces challenges. Moreover, ransomware attacks have also risen over the past year. This should translate into a stable demand for cyber security. Research firm GartnerIT
 predicted that enterprise information security spending will approach about $186 billion in 2023 and will grow to $278 billion by 2027. This translates into an 11% compound annual growth rate.

Cybersecurity players are also seeing increasing interest as acquisition targets. Larger tech companies, private equity funds, and defense majors have been acquiring players in this sector, given their somewhat attractive valuations, which are down from…

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Hardware Security Modules Market to grow by USD 982.86 million between 2021 – 2026 | Growth Driven by Rising use of Internet banking and digital payments

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NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The Hardware Security Modules Market report has been added to Technavio’s offering. With ISO 9001:2015 certification, Technavio has proudly partnered with more than 100 Fortune 500 companies for over 16 years. The potential growth difference for the hardware security modules market between 2021 and 2026 is USD 982.86  million. The rising use of Internet banking and digital payments drives the hardware security modules market. Consumers use smartphones to make online transactions at any time. Digital wallets are becoming the most popular mode of payment due to various features. The features include easy registration and login, robust merchant and consumer payment processing capability, and a user-friendly dashboard. Factors such as the growing need for faster checkouts at retail outlets, the high adoption of EMV cards, effective information management among retailers, and the increased focus on secure payments contribute to the growth of the global hardware security market. Hence, such factors drive the growth of the hardware security modules market during the forecast period. Get deeper insights into the market size, current market scenario, future growth opportunities, major growth driving factors, the latest trends, and much more. Buy the full report here

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Hardware Security Modules Market
Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Hardware Security Modules Market
  • Market Challenge – The high preliminary acquisition cost challenges the growth of the hardware security modules market. Generally, hardware security modules developed with older generations of expertise pose significant barriers to adoption. High prices for hardware security modules are led by features such as secure cryptographic processing, a tamper-proof environment for key protection and management, and certification requirements to meet compliance standards. In addition, features such as secure cryptographic processing, a tamper-proof environment for key protection and management, and certification requirements lead to high prices for hardware security modules. This is required as organizations need to meet the quality standards. As the cost…

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Israel’s digital quality of life plummets to 17th place globally, no longer world lea

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The collapse in internet affordability in Israel has seen it not only lose its spot as a leader in digital quality of life, but fall a whopping 16 places to settle as 17th globally, according to Surfshark’s 5th annual Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL). The index is scored by taking into account five core pillars – Internet Quality, E-Security, E-Government, Internet Affordability, and E-Infrastruure.

The fall in ranking can be misleading as four of the five pillars either kept or improved their ranking from last year – it is Israel’s collapse in Internet Affordability (from 1st to 21st) that most affected the country’s overall score. Its worst performing pillar, E-Security (32nd), which measures how well a country is prepared to counter cybercrime and the quality of a country’s data protection laws, remained the same. Its Electronic Govenment ranking jumped from 33rd to 18th, its Electronic Infrastrure score rose from 28th to 21st, and its overall Internet Quality jumped from 21st to 17th.

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Israel’s collapse can be credited to its plummet in Internet affordability compared to other countries.

(Credit: Shutterstock )


Globally, fixed internet and mobile internet are 11% and 26% more affordable than 2022, and Israel’s unallginment with global rates is likely the cause for its drop in this pillar – contributing to its overall collapse.

“In many nations, ‘digital quality of life’ has merged into the broader concept of overall ‘quality of life’. There’s no other way to look at it now that so many daily activities, including work, education, and leisure, are done online,” said Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, Surfshark’s spokeswoman. “That’s why it’s crucial to pinpoint the areas in which a nation’s digital quality of life thrives and where attention is needed, which is the precise purpose of the DQL Index.”


In 2023, Israel remains above Turkey (55th) and Saudi Arabia (45th) in Digital Quality of Life, and its Internet Quality remains 34% higher than the global average. Compared to other countries in this pillar, Israel is prepared to fight against cybercrime relatively well, and the country has good data protection laws compared to other nations…

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