Tag Archive for: expand

Estonia’s BotGuard OÜ secures €12 million in Series A funding to expand global cybersecurity reach

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BotGuard OÜ, a cybersecurity software company based in Tallinn, has secured €12 million in Series A funding led by MMC Ventures, with participation from Tera Ventures, Expeditions Fund, and angel investors including Stefan Lindeberg. The company specializes in helping web hosting providers manage and protect their infrastructure from malicious threats. With this funding, BotGuard OÜ plans to further develop its technology, recruit tech development talent, and expand its sales and marketing teams as it continues to scale globally.

BotGuard is a cybersecurity company founded in 2019, with a global presence and clients across more than 30 countries. The company specializes in developing user-friendly online tools designed to protect businesses from contemporary web threats. Embracing a remote-first culture, BotGuard boasts an international team comprising over 15 nationalities, collaborating on agile projects to enhance internet security for businesses and individuals worldwide. The company has secured funding through various rounds, with notable investors including Tera Ventures and Expeditions Fund.

Nik Rozenberg, CEO and co-founder at Botguard OÜ, says, “Every business should have effective web traffic management, yet there are no affordable solutions focused on the SME segment due to complicated and expensive onboarding processes. Malicious bot traffic can be extremely harmful for businesses – particularly for the likes of e-commerce retailers that depend on their website to operate – and organisations require tools that keep pace with the rapidly-evolving threat landscape. Even neutral web traffic – like some crawler bots – can drive up management costs. We are democratising web security by offering web hosting providers a flexible, easy-to-use, and cost-effective solution that still offers the highest level of control over web traffic. We are excited for this next stage of our growth journey as we continue to innovate and expand into new territories.”

Mina Samaan, Partner at MMC Ventures, states, “Born from the pain of living through this problem, Nik and Denis have built an impressive business, and the incredible traction BotGuard…

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Cybercriminals expand targeting of Iranian bank customers with known mobile malware

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Researchers have uncovered more than 200 fake mobile apps that mimic major Iranian banks to steal information from their customers.

The campaign was first discovered in July of this year, but since then, the cybercriminals have expanded their capabilities, according to U.S.-based cybersecurity firm Zimperium.

Initially, the threat actor behind the campaign created 40 credential-harvesting apps imitating four major Iranian banks, including Bank Mellat, Bank Saderat, Resalat Bank and Central Bank of Iran.

These apps mimicked legitimate versions found on the popular Iranian marketplace Cafe Bazaar and were distributed through several phishing websites. The first campaign lasted from December 2022 until May 2023.

In the ongoing campaign detected by Zimperium, the hackers created malicious apps that now imitate 12 Iranian banks. Once installed, these apps also scan victims’ phones to find cryptocurrency wallet apps — an indication that they could be targeted in the future, researchers said.

The earlier versions of fake apps could steal banking login credentials and credit card information, intercept SMS traffic to steal one-time passwords used for authentication, and hide app icons to prevent uninstallation.

In a new campaign, the hackers added more capabilities to their malware to make it easier to harvest credentials and steal data. The hackers also narrowed their focus to Xiaomi and Samsung devices to execute some of the malware features, according to the report.

Other evidence suggests that the attackers are now likely working on a malware variant that targets iOS devices, the researchers said.

In addition to malicious apps, the same threat actor is linked to phishing attacks targeting customers of the same banks. “The phishing campaigns used are sophisticated, trying to mimic original sites in the closest detail,” researchers said. The data stolen by the phishing sites is sent to Telegram channels controlled by hackers.

It is not yet clear which threat actor is behind this campaign and how many users were affected by it.

Last week, researchers at Microsoft uncovered a similar information-stealing campaign targeting customers of Indian banks with mobile malware. The…

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Silent cyber coverage here to stay? New Jersey Appellate Court rejects insurers’ attempt to expand scope of the war exclusions to cyber claims

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The War and Hostile Action Exclusions have been standard exclusions in property and general liability policies for decades. With the rise of cyber claims, insurers have turned to these exclusions to deny coverage where the bad actor may have governmental roots. In a win for policyholders, the New Jersey Appellate Division rejected the insurers’ attempt to deny coverage and held that the hostile/warlike action exclusion did not apply to non-military, cyber-attack claims. See Merck & Co. v. ACE American Insurance Co.1 This ruling affirms the traditional scope of these exclusions and establishes that coverage under a commercial property policy for property damage caused by cyber-related incidents, colloquially known as “silent cyber” coverage, persists.

Merck & Co. v. ACE American Insurance Co.

On June 27, 2017, New Jersey pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co. (“Merck”), suffered a cyber-attack that left thousands of Merck’s computers damaged and encrypted by the malware known as NotPetya. The malware caused large-scale disruption to Merck’s business, resulting in $699,475,000 in losses. Although the exact origin of the malware was unknown, it was believed to have originated from the Russian Federation.

Merck tendered the claim to its all-risk property insurance carriers. The insurers reserved their right to deny coverage pursuant to hostile/warlike action exclusions and then subsequently denied coverage. Specifically, these exclusions exclude coverage for “loss or damage caused by hostile or warlike action” which was caused by “any government or sovereign power . . . or by military, naval or air forces . . . or by an agent of such government . . . .”2 The insurers argued that the word “hostile” should be broadly read to mean any antagonistic, unfriendly, or adverse action by a government or sovereign power, including the Russian Federation. Rejecting the insurers’ argument, the trial court held that the hostile/warlike action exclusions were inapplicable to the NotPetya related claims. The insurers appealed.

The New Jersey Court of Appeals Narrowly Construed the Hostile/Warlike Action Exclusion

On appeal, the Court looked to the plain and ordinary…

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SAP and Google Cloud Expand Partnership on Data and AI Solutions

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SAP and Google Cloud have announced an expanded partnership aimed at harnessing the power of data and generative artificial intelligence (AI) for enterprises.

The collaboration will combine their open data cloud, using the SAP Datasphere solution with Google Cloud’s Vertex AI to introduce new generative AI-powered industry solutions, starting with the automotive sector, and enhance sustainability performance, the companies said in a Tuesday (Aug. 29) press release.

By integrating generative AI capabilities into SAP software and Google Cloud’s open data cloud, customers will have access to solutions that leverage information from SAP Datasphere and other data sources, according to the release. This integration improves business insights, analysis, and decision-making processes.

In the automotive industry, SAP and Google Cloud will launch solutions that use Google Cloud’s generative AI models through Vertex AI, combined with data from Catena-X, the release said. This open data ecosystem, supported by SAP software, enables secure data exchange throughout automotive value chains.

The solutions will optimize collaboration between automotive companies, manufacturers, suppliers and end customers, per the release. For example, generative AI can facilitate effective data sharing, enabling the identification and mitigation of potential vehicle problems before they lead to recalls. It can also enhance safety by providing insights into hazardous road and traffic conditions and improve product quality by predicting defects more accurately.

The partnership between SAP and Google Cloud will also help accelerate sustainability programs, according to the press release. By using Vertex AI in conjunction with SAP Datasphere, businesses can combine critical business data, the SAP Sustainability Control Tower solution, and third-party environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data sets.

This integration empowers companies to generate bespoke sustainability reports, automate AI-powered sustainability alerts across the supply chain, and make more informed decisions through analyses of environmental impact and financial benefits, the report said.

This news comes…

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