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Senate passes cybersecurity bill amid fears of Russian cyberattacks

March 2, 2022/in Internet Security

The Senate unanimously passed cybersecurity legislation on Tuesday that would require companies in critical sectors to alert the government of potential hacks or ransomware.

The Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act, a package of three bills sponsored by Sen. Gary PetersGary Peters House passes bill to reform Postal Service operations The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden aims at ISIS terrorists, defends NY police Biden sends DNC dollars to House, Senate committees MORE (D-Mich.), comes as U.S. officials urge the private sector to gear up for possible Russian cyberattacks in retaliation for U.S. sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

“Cyber warfare is truly one of the dark arts specialized by Putin and his authoritarian regime. And this bill will help protect us from Putin’s attempted cyberattacks against our country,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck Schumer Five viral moments from Biden’s State of the Union Schumer goes viral for start-and-stop ovation at State of the Union Democrats press top pharmaceutical representative on price increases MORE (D-NY) following the passage of the legislation.

One of the bills would require companies to report substantial cyberattacks within 72 hours and ransomware payments within 24 hours to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Another bill in the package would update federal cyber laws to improve coordination between federal agencies. It would also require agencies to share cyber incidents with CISA.

Last week, CISA officials urged federal agencies and the private sector to remain vigilant against Russian cyberattacks, especially following the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies.

“Every organization—large and small—must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber activity,” CISA officials said in an updated guidance.

In a statement on the bill’s passage, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark WarnerMark Robert Warner Russia widely expected to escalate violence in Ukraine Congress races clock on Ukraine aid amid invasion Live coverage: Russian military convoy stretching 40 miles outside Kyiv MORE (D-Va.) said “at a time when we are facing significant threats of…

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HSB Cyber Survey Finds Electric Vehicles Drive Data Security Fears

March 2, 2022/in Computer Security

HARTFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mar 2, 2022–

Small business owners are adding electric vehicles to their service fleets, a survey released today by HSB reports, but they worry about cyber security when connecting them to public charging stations.

The HSB poll conducted by Zogby Analytics found 15 percent of small and medium-size businesses had leased or purchased electric vehicles (EVs) for commercial use.

Three-quarters (76 percent) of those business owners and managers were concerned EV charging stations could be a target for hackers, ransomware, and other cyber-attacks.

“The technology is advancing swiftly and there is a growing need to focus on the cyber security of electric vehicles,” said Timothy Zeilman, vice president for HSB, part of Munich Re. “With the rush to make the switch to electric cars and trucks, owners and the EV industry should step up their efforts to protect vehicles and charging infrastructure from cyber-attacks.”

EV Chargers Could Add to Cyber Risks

The plug-in electric chargers communicate with vehicles through an internet connection and security experts warn the systems could be hacked.

These potential threats add to the concerns of small business owners, who were already worried about the cyber security of their commercial vehicles.

The HSB survey found almost half (46 percent) were somewhat or very concerned about the cyber exposures and safety of internet connected and automated vehicles.

Commercial Vehicles Vulnerable to Attacks

When asked about their own experience, 13 percent of the business owners and managers said that at some point, a computer virus, hacking incident, or other cyber-attack had damaged or otherwise affected their commercial vehicles.

Overall, 44 percent of those responding to the poll said they fear that malware, or another cyber-attack will damage or destroy their vehicles’ data, software, or operating systems.

Most of them (56 percent) are somewhat or very concerned their vehicles could be immobilized or made inoperable, their safety compromised (54 percent), and that a hacker could communicate and confront them over their audio system (43 percent).

Survey Methodology

Zogby Analytics surveyed 504 decision makers at small and…

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Global security expert fears the new year may be no safer than 2021

January 4, 2022/in Internet Security

Global security expert fears the new year may be no safer than 2021

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A hacking slugfest between Iran and its foes sparks fears of a wider cyberwar

December 24, 2021/in Computer Security

A man fills his car with petrol at a gas station in the Iranian capital Tehran, October 27, 2021. — Gas stations across Iran were hit by a cyberattack in October that disabled thousands of pumps and upset motorists. (Atta Kenare / AFP/Getty Images)

For four days in early December, Iran’s top university ground to a halt. Web-conferencing software for COVID-constrained classes didn’t work. Faculty and students couldn’t access their records.

It was the latest round of attack in the low-level but escalating cyberhostilities between Iran and its adversaries, especially Israel, which have exchanged tit-for-tat hacks in a long-running shadow campaign of mutual destabilization. But the hit on the University of Tehran and other incidents like it represent a shift, experts say, from the regular targeting of military and nuclear sites toward a full-fledged cyberwar on civilian infrastructure.

“That’s an important distinction about cyberconflicts — they generally affect civilians and get the private sector,” said John Hultquist, vice president of intelligence analysis at the U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant.

“They’re not about military objectives. … The government is often not the audience for a lot of these incidents.”

The expansion of the Middle East cyberbattlefield comes as Iran improves defense of its controversial nuclear program, said Maysam Behravesh, a research associate at the Netherlands-based Clingendael institute who was an intelligence analyst and foreign policy advisor for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security from 2008 to 2010.

“Given that Iran’s nuclear facilities have spread all over the country and attacking the program has become much more complicated, Israel has adopted a new approach — conducting massive cyberattacks on sensitive civilian targets like dams, gasoline stations and power plants to foment nationwide riots with the objective of toppling the regime or keeping the rulers busy with day-to-day, endless riots,” Behravesh said.

Besides the University of Tehran attack earlier this month, Iran’s second-largest airline, Mahan Airlines, got hacked in November, its website made inaccessible. A large-scale hack in October disabled pumps at 4,300 gas stations across the country.

In August, a hacker group called Edalat-e…

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Global security expert fears the new year may be no safer than 2021