September 2016 IT Security Numbers

The September 2016 Threat Report from McAfee Labs had some sobering statistics. Ransomware continues to grow, which is no big surprise given how easy it is for people with limited programming experience to partake in it.  Instances of ransomware have increased more than 125% from last year, up to around seven million. Not to be outdone, […]

The Secret Service has issued a new warning to the banking industry about a new type of skimming device that has started showing up at ATMs. Being called “periscope skimming,” it involves a connecting a probe directly into an ATM’s circuit board in order to steal bank card data. The thieves behind the technology were […]

Have you wanted to get in on the ransomware craze?  Infect a few computers, hold their files for ransom and make a few hundred bucks real quick?  Well now you can, and you can customize it to your heart’s desire. The Philadelphia Headquarter, a version of the Stampado strain of ransomware, was developed by a malware […]

What do Tibetan monks, sophisticated hackers and famous rock stars all have in common? The ability to harvest soundwaves into power. Case in point: Israeli Video Researchers from the Negev Cyber Security Research Center at Ben-Gurion University discovered a MacGyver-esque way to syphon data from a PC to a mobile device using nothing but the […]

If Hilary Clinton’s email troubles weren’t bad enough, it appears that two archive of her emails, one on a laptop and the other on a thumb drive, were lost in the mail. According to the FBI’s report, meant as a reference for writing a future book, the archives were created in 2013, before she turned […]

It was already know that Dropbox was hacked back in 2012, but what was never reported was just how many accounts were compromised.  We now that number now: 68,680,741. Leakbase, a notification service for data breaches, found a five gigabyte file with the login information for the over 68 million Dropbox accounts.  The information included email […]

A newly discovered piece off malware that was created by the NSO Group, a sketchy company that builds hacking tools for governments, intelligence agencies, and militaries, has the ability to basically turn any iPhone into a surveillance device without the user ever knowing they’ve been infected. Being called Pegasus, it was discovered after targeting a […]

Last week we reported on the newly found exploit in Cisco System firewalls that was part of the data dump of stolen files from the NSA’s Equation Group. Well, it turns out the vulnerability affects more Cisco models than was previously thought. Dubbed ExtraBacon, the exploit has code that keeps it from working on newer versions […]

Apparently the Russians really want Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States. The FBI, in tandem with other US security agencies, are investigating a number of security breaches that appear to be targeting the DNC, as well as certain news organizations, such as The New York Times. Email services for The […]

In 2015, a startling statistic emerged when examining data security. Of all the compromised data as a result of data breaches, over 75% were due to stolen credentials. This should underline the importance of businesses securing privileged credential, particularly when using Microsoft Active Directory Services. Microsoft has released a set of guidelines for Credential Theft […]

Thanks to a data dump stolen from what most believe to be a shadowy arm of the NSA, Cisco is developing a patch for a serious zero-day vulnerability that would allow an attacker to control of its firewalls. While the code appears to be several years old, it still appears to be functional. This new […]

On numerous occasions we have warned about the threat of the Locky strain of ransomware, particularly in the healthcare industry. Now researchers at say FireEye that so far this month there have been some massive email campaigns spreading the malware. It would appear that based on the findings, the healthcare industry is once again the […]

Thanks to a data dump stolen from what most believe to be a shadowy arm of the NSA, Cisco is developing a patch for a serious zero-day vulnerability that would allow an attacker to control of its firewalls. While the code appears to be several years old, it still appears to be functional. This new […]

A press release announcing a book published by Craig Petronella, “How HIPAA Can Crush Your Medical Practice… Why Most Medical Practices Don’t Have A Clue About Cybersecurity or HIPAA And What To Do About It” having hit three Amazon Best Seller lists was published on 369 digital new outlets, including: 114 Premium News Sites ( TV […]

Yesterday we told you about a group of hackers calling themselves The Shadow Brokers auctioning off files they stole from a clandestine branch of the NSA called the Equation Group. The Equation Group was identified as part of the NSA thanks to files released by Edward Snowden, and now he’s speaking out about the hack. […]

A new data breach targeting 20 US hotels operated by HEI Hotels & Resorts for Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt and Intercontinental has been uncovered. The customer financial data associated with tens of thousands of transactions has been compromised thanks to point-of-sale (PoS) malware. Discovered in June, the malware was found on PoS systems used at restaurants, […]

According to a group of hackers going by the name The Shadow Brokers, they’ve being able to infiltrate and steal files from the Equation Group. If you don’t know what that is, it’s probably because the Equation Group is generally believed to be a branch of the National Security Agency. While not specifically saying the […]

Researchers from the security firm Lookout have discovered another Android vulnerability that may affect 80% of Android devices. The flaw would allow hackers to terminate connections, or if those connections aren’t encrypted, they could inject malware into the victim’s communications. The vulnerability originated in version 3.6 of the Linux OS kernel back in 2012 and […]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has set a convenient online service called My SocialSecurity for retirees and others on social security to check their earnings history, benefits, change their address, or how they receive benefits. It even supports two-factor authentication. Unfortunately, scammers have also found two new ways to take advantage of the service and […]

Picture this: You want to check something from your doctor, so you log into your medical portal to see your health information; only, instead of seeing your information, you see the data from another person. Of course you are going to wonder, “Does that mean someone can see mine as well?” This exact scenario has […]