Tag Archive for: warned

Companies warned to step up cyber security to become ‘insurable’

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Businesses are at risk of finding that they are unable to secure cyber insurance cover as the volume of cyber attacks reaches new levels.

Companies are increasingly being required to put in place higher levels of cyber protection for their systems before they will be considered for cyber insurance.

According to insurers, the cost of cyber risks insurance has rocketed as demand for cover outstrips supply.

Their comments came as the World Economic Forum (WEF) published its Global risk report 2023, which identifies widespread cyber attacks and cyber insecurity as one of the top 10 risks facing governments and organisations over the next 10 years.

Carolina Klint, risk management leader for continental Europe for insurance broker Marsh, and one of the contributors to the report said that insurance companies were now coming out and saying that “cyber risk is systemic and uninsurable”.

That means, in future, companies may not be able to find cover for risks such as ransomware, malware or hacking attacks.

“It’s up to the insurance industry and to the capital markets whether or not they find the risk palatable,” she said in an interview with Computer Weekly, “but that is the direction it is moving in.”

In recent days, cyber attacks have disrupted the international delivery services of the Royal Mail and infected IT systems at the Guardian newspaper with ransomware.

The Global risks report rates cyber warfare and economic conflict as more serious threats to stability than the risks of military confrontation.

“There is a real risk that cyber attacks may be targeted at critical infrastructure, health care and public institutions,” said Klint. “And that would have dramatic ramifications in terms of stability.”

Risk of Russia stepping up cyber attacks

Russia’s cyber attacks against the Ukraine could, depending on how the war goes, lead to more generalised attacks against inadequately protected IT systems in the West.

“I do think with Russia’s attacks, depending on the level of frustration and the success or failure of the war, we might be looking at broader spray attacks, which are going to be less targeted, which means that more companies or…

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FBI warned Twitter during ‘weekly’ meetings of Hunter Biden ‘hack-and-leak operation’ before censoring NY Post

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The FBI warned Twitter during “weekly” meetings before the 2020 election to expect “hack-and-leak operations’’ by “state actors” involving Hunter Biden, and “likely” in October, according to a sworn declaration by Twitter’s former head of site integrity, Yoel Roth. 

The warnings were so specific that Twitter immediately censored The Post’s scoop about Hunter Biden’s laptop on Oct. 14, 2020, citing its “hacked materials” policy, a move described on Saturday as “election interference” by Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk. 

The extraordinary revelation for the first time lays bare how the FBI was involved in pre-bunking the story of the laptop, which had been in the bureau’s possession for almost a year. 

“I was told in these meetings that the intelligence community expected that individuals associated with political campaigns would be subject to hacking attacks and that material obtained through those hacking attacks would likely be disseminated over social media platforms, including Twitter,” said Roth in a Dec. 21, 2020 declaration to the Federal Election Commission. 

REP. BUCK URGES CONGRESS TO BREAK UP ‘DANGEROUS’ TECH MONOPOLIES: TWITTER ‘HURT’ GOP DURING ELECTIONS

“I also learned in these meetings that there were rumors that a hack-and-leak operation would involve Hunter Biden.” 

Roth’s signed declaration formed part of Twitter’s defense against a complaint by the Tea Party Patriots Foundation that its censorship of The Post was an “in­ kind” campaign contribution to then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign. 

Feds’ social gatherings 

The FBI also warned Facebook to be on “high alert” for a “dump” of “Russian propaganda” before the 2020 election, in terms specific enough that it “fit the pattern” of The Post’s story, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told podcast host Joe Rogan in August. 

Facebook also censored The Post ahead of Twitter’s throttling the story in October, pending “fact checks” that never appear to have been done. 

Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of site integrity, said in a Dec. 21, 2020 declaration to the Federal Election Commission that the company was told hacked materials would likely be…

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Oklahoma parents are warned about ransomware attack in Norman

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The FBI issued advice for Norman Public Schools parents after new details emerged about a ransomware attack on the district. Norman schools put out a letter Thursday detailing a ransomware attack last month. The district said someone gained access to their systems and could have seen sensitive information. “Most likely, the cause is some type of a phishing email that contains either a malicious link or an attachment from an untrusted source that unfortunately people fall victim to all the time,” said Kayla McCleery with FBI OKC.The FBI said these cases are good reminders to stay safe online — specifically when kids are involved. “Just having those conversations with them and educating them on the risks,” said McCleery, “And also the importance of being vigilant and monitoring their activity online.”Norman schools said they were unaware of anyone’s information being misused after the attack, but whoever launched it could have seen students’ social security numbers. Since the attack, the district has limited the use of some technology. Teachers now have to find new ways to do things they once would have done with technology, Norman parents said. The district is reviewing its policies and procedures, adding safeguards, giving staff a dedicated call center for questions and offering a year of identity theft protection.

NORMAN, Okla. —

The FBI issued advice for Norman Public Schools parents after new details emerged about a ransomware attack on the district.

Norman schools put out a letter Thursday detailing a ransomware attack last month. The district said someone gained access to their systems and could have seen sensitive information.

“Most likely, the cause is some type of a phishing email that contains either a malicious link or an attachment from an untrusted source that unfortunately people fall victim to all the time,” said Kayla McCleery with FBI OKC.

The FBI said these cases are good reminders to stay safe online — specifically when kids are involved.

“Just having those conversations with them and educating them on the risks,” said McCleery, “And also the importance of being vigilant and monitoring their activity online.”

Norman schools…

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Android owners warned of hidden risk when downloading apps on holiday – The US Sun

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ANDROID owners have been warned the apps they download on holiday may not be as secure as at home – even if they look and feel exactly the same.

Most apps are available globally and appear completely identical no matter where in the world you choose to download them.

Apps aren't necessarily the same throughout

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Apps aren’t necessarily the same throughoutCredit: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett

But experts have revealed that beneath the surface things could be functioning quite differently – and not necessarily for the better.

User privacy and security can vary considerably when using the same app from country to country, according to the University of Michigan.

A team investigated more than 5,600 popular apps and uncovered hundreds with hidden changes depending on country.

127 of them had so-called “geodifferences” in permissions requested.

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49 of these made requests which are deemed “dangerous”.

And more than 100 had very different privacy policies based on country.

Apps in Bahrain, Tunisia and Canada requested the most additional dangerous permissions, experts claim.

“While our study corroborates reports of takedowns due to government requests, we also found many differences introduced by app developers,” said study co-author Renuka Kumar.

“We found instances of apps with settings and disclosures that expose users to higher or lower security and privacy risks depending on the country in which they’re downloaded.”

The research also lifted the lid on the huge number of geoblocked apps – apps which can only be downloaded in certain countries.

They found 3,672 apps in total were blocked in at least one of the 26 countries included in the study.

Iran and Tunisia apparently had the highest blocking rates, with popular apps like Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, Flipboard and Google Books banned.

VPN apps were often blocked in Turkey and Russia too.

“Blocking by developers was significantly higher than takedowns requested by governments in all our countries and app categories,” Kumar wrote on The Conversation.

“App stores allow developers to target their apps to users based on a wide array of factors, including their country and their device’s specific features.”

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