Tag Archive for: Voice

Ransomware Moves from ‘Economic Nuisance’ to National Security Threat | Voice of America

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WASHINGTON – The recent cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline, the operator of the largest petroleum pipeline in the U.S., shows how internet criminals are increasingly targeting companies and organizations for ransom in what officials and experts term a growing national security threat.

These hackers penetrate victims’ computer systems with a form of malware that encrypts the files, then they demand payments to release the data. In 2013, a ransomware attack typically targeted a person’s desktop or laptop, with users paying $100 to $150 in ransom to regain access to their files, according to Michael Daniel, president and CEO of Cyber Threat Alliance.

“It was a fairly minimal affair,” said Daniel, who served as cybersecurity coordinator on the National Security Council under U.S. President Barack Obama, at the RSA Cybersecurity Conference this week.

In recent years, ransomware has become a big criminal enterprise. Last year, victim organizations in North America and Europe paid an average of more than $312,000 in ransom, up from $115,000 in 2019, according to a recent report by the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks. The highest ransom paid doubled to $10 million last year while the highest ransom demand grew to $30 million, according to Palo Alto Networks.

“Those are some very significant amounts of money,” Daniel said. “And it’s not just individuals being targeted but things like school systems.”

Last year, some of the largest school districts in the U.S., including Clark County Public Schools in Nevada, Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and Baltimore County Public Schools in Maryland, suffered ransomware attacks.

The attacks have continued to surge this year, as cybercriminals who once specialized in other types of online fraud have gotten into the lucrative criminal activity. According to a May 12 report by Check Point Research, ransomware attacks increased by 102% this year compared with the beginning of 2020, with health care and utilities the most common target sectors.

Last week, the southern U.S. city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, fell victim to a ransomware attack that rendered the city’s websites inaccessible after officials refused to pay a…

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Security experts voice alarm over Boris Johnson’s number being online

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Fears were raised today that Boris Johnson is at risk of hacking by Russia or China after the revelation that his mobile number has been freely available online for 15 years.

Former UK national security adviser Lord Ricketts is among those warning of the threat from ‘hostile states’ after the PM’s personal number was highlighted by a popular gossip site.

Downing Street refused to say whether Mr Johnson will now be changing the number. There were claims earlier this month that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case had advised him to switch following concerns over the ease with which lobbyists and others from the business world were able to contact him.

Former UK national security adviser Lord Ricketts said Mr Johnson needs to be more ‘digitally secure’ – saying there was an ‘increased risk’ of potential action by hostile states or criminal gangs if a phone number is widely available.

The number, which the PM hasn't changed in the 15 years since, is available on the internet

The number, which the PM hasn’t changed in the 15 years since, is available on the internet

‘I know that modern systems like WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted – nonetheless, I think one would be worried if a hostile state who had sophisticated capabilities, had the mobile phone number itself,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

‘That must increase the risk that they’re able to eavesdrop on some at least of the communications that are going on, and possibly other non-state actors as well, like sophisticated criminal gangs.

‘So, there is no way of knowing whether that’s true, but there must at least be an increased risk if the number is widely available.’

Home Office minister Victoria Atkins tried to play down the issue, criticising the media for highlighting the number’s availability.

‘The Prime Minister, more than anyone, knows his responsibilities when it comes to national security,’ she told Times Radio Breakfast.

‘I’m slightly surprised that a national broadcaster felt it appropriate to advertise the fact that that mobile phone is on the internet, if indeed it is.’

Popular gossip newsletter Popbitch gave its readers clues on how to find the Prime Minister’s number, pointing them to a press release from his time as MP for Henley in 2006. 

The number, which the PM hasn’t changed in the 15 years since, is…

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Cyber security and breaking biometrics – BBC Click

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CISO lends voice to MSPs & small businesses on ransomware task force

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Datto headquarters (image courtesy of Datto).

Ransomware attacks against billion-dollar corporations tend to garner the most provocative news headlines, but meanwhile plenty of small- and medium-sized businesses have silently suffered from this cyber scourge.

Ransomware gangs are infiltrating small businesses in two ways: one, by individually assaulting them via phishing and exploit attacks; and two, by first compromising a managed services provider (MSP) and then leveraging that breach to infect their various small-business clients all at once.

As infosec representatives across multiple industries collectively put their heads together and debate how to tackle the ransomware crisis, it’s important that both MSPs and SMBs have a seat at the table. After all, incident prevention and response recommendations for larger enterprises may not be suitable for mom and pop operations that use their modest tech budgets to outsource IT security.

Ryan Weeks, chief information security officer at Datto, does not work at a small enterprise or an MSP, but he does understand their pain. The company provides cloud-based software and technology solutions for managed service providers (MSPs), many of whom typically cater to SMBs, fulfilling their IT and infosec needs.

This week, Datto was accepted as founding member of the Institute for Security and Technology’s (IST) newly minted Ransomware Task Force, which soft-launched this past December. While first and foremost Weeks hopes to combat ransomware across all sectors, he also knows it will be his responsibility to represent MSPs and their small-business clients, communicating their needs and struggles in the ever-evolving battle against cybercriminals.

SC Media spoke to Weeks Tuesday to better understand the unique perspectives and experience that he lends to the new task force.

Ryan Weeks, CISO at Datto

Tell me what you and Datto as a whole bring to the table as one of the founding members of the task force.

What we do every day is help MSPs and small- and medium-sized businesses recover from ransomware and other types of business-impacting events.

It hasn’t felt to me like as a community, as a…

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