Archive for 2017

CCleaner Update Includes Malware

Monday, September 18th, 2017

I hope you haven’t updated CCleaner in the last month or so. I know, I know, we’re always telling you to apply patches and updates as soon as you can, and that’s still solid advice. This is one exception. The problem is that an update for CCleaner that was available from August 15 through September […]

Are Parrots Compromising Your W-2?

Monday, September 18th, 2017

Most people like to think of hackers as vultures that pick money out of people’s pockets when they’re vulnerable. They’re vicious, ugly, and it’s easy to tell that they’re bad. That’s not how hackers work though, because they’re much smarter than that. Instead of simply stealing from people through brute force or picking off the […]

More Equifax Fallout: 200K Credit Cards Stolen

Thursday, September 14th, 2017

As if having the sensitive, personal information stolen from half of America wasn’t bad enough, and the way Equifax handled it, there’s more. Credit card companies have been telling banks and financial institutions that about 200,000 credit cards were also stolen in the process. Credit card companies often report information about fraudulent activity to the […]

No More Kaspersky for US Government

Thursday, September 14th, 2017

Do you like using Kaspersky Antivirus, or any of their other cybersecurity software? If you work for the US government, you can wave bye-bye to it on any of your work computers, thanks for a ban from the Department of Homeland Security. We reported a few weeks ago that American intelligence agencies were afraid there […]

Windows Update Fixes Spyware Vulnerability

Thursday, September 14th, 2017

Microsoft recently released a bunch of patches to shore up security on 81 vulnerabilities, nearly half of which would allow hackers to execute commands on your computer. The patch fixes a wide variety of issues. The biggest one is a zero day exploit that has been actively used already. It allows a hacker to install […]

You’ll Never Look at a Gas Pump the Same Way

Monday, September 11th, 2017

There’s a reason that the average American household owed over $16,000 in credit card debt last year. Most people rely on their debit and credit cards to make purchases because carrying large amounts of cash around isn’t only an easy way to lose it but is also impractical. There’s another reason why people don’t use […]

How Equifax Screwed Up Even More

Friday, September 8th, 2017

By now you are hopefully aware that one of the most disastrous data breaches ever has taken place. Equifax, a major credit bureau, announced recently that they had been they had suffered a data breach just over a month ago. The compromised information includes a lot of sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, addresses, and […]

Healthcare Breaches not a Fad

Wednesday, September 6th, 2017

Since 2016, it has become increasingly obvious that cybercriminals have chosen healthcare providers as their prey of choice.   Since the beginning of 2017, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has reported nearly 200 serious (500+ patients impacted) healthcare breaches, a number that is well on its way to exceeding the 230 breaches reported last […]

Defray is Newest, Sophisticated Ransomware

Wednesday, September 6th, 2017

Defray, which (ironically enough) means providing money to financially leverage a cost or expense, is also the name of a new, highly-targeted ransomware virus, focusing on victimizing such vulnerable industries as healthcare and education across the US and UK. The sophistication of the highly-customized spear-phishing emails, and the higher-than-average ransom of approximately $5000 in bitcoin, […]

Nearly 20K Patients Exposed in Ransomware Attack

Wednesday, September 6th, 2017

Medical Oncology Hematology Consultants, based in Delaware, has begun the task of notifying its nearly 20,000 patients of a cyberattack that has potentially exposed such private information as their names, DOBs, phone numbers and health/treatment data. Though this cyberattack began on June 17, 2017, it was not discovered until July 7, 2017.  Upon learning of […]

6 Million Popular Instagram Accounts Breached

Wednesday, September 6th, 2017

The Instagram data breach is reportedly worse than initially suspected, with not just thousands, but MILLIONS of user accounts being compromised – to the tune of over six million high-profile accounts, including celebrities, athletes, and even politicians. The identity of the hacker (or hackers) is currently unknown, but what is known is that the stolen […]

Social Media’s Growing Threat to Healthcare

Tuesday, September 5th, 2017

It seems like we can’t go a day without hearing about something on social media. Whether it’s a viral video or President Trump venting, we are more and more reliant on social media for news and entertainment every passing day. We connect with family and friends, we have discussions, we post pictures, and Facebook pages […]

Governments Can Access Intel Backdoor

Wednesday, August 30th, 2017

It’s not available to the general public, but Positive Technologies, a Russian cybersecurity firm, has figured out how to exploit a privilege available only to governments that involves shutting down the CPU’s Management Engine master controller. What does all that mean? Well, ME is part of the processor, which means it can’t ever be fully shut […]

106,000 Patient Records Exposed in Data Breach

Wednesday, August 30th, 2017

As the old saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. When it comes to cybersecurity, you might not even be in charge of your weakest link. Radiology Center, a third-party partner of the McLaren Medical Group, was notified that their computer system had been hacked. They discovered that a number […]

Ignore that IRS and FBI Email

Tuesday, August 29th, 2017

The IRS is after you, and they want you to fill out an FBI questionnaire. So says a new phishing scam, anyway. The email reads as follows: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The government agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury. The […]

Zombie Stocks and Cybercrime

Monday, August 28th, 2017

Hong Kong zombie stocks are on the rise, and thanks to hackers they’ve never been more dangerous. Confused? Don’t worry, we will explain. In all stories involving zombies, the threat begins when a virus turns someone who should be dead into a walking carrier of the virus. The carrier spreads the virus when it tries […]

Kremlin Ties to Kaspersky Antivirus?

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017

“There is a connection between Kaspersky and Russian intelligence, and I’m absolutely certain that Russian intelligence would want to use that connection to their advantage.” “I don’t use Kaspersky Lab products… I would not [advise my family to use it].” Those quotes are from former deputy director of the CIA Michael Morell and Trump administration […]

Experience a Hospital Cyberattack

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017

Stolen credit card data can go for up to 15¢. Stolen medical records can net anywhere from $30 to $500, and that’s why you’re going to see more and more cyberattacks on medical facilities. Eerie County Medical Center was recently hit with ransomware. Instead of paying the requested $44,000, they unplugged for six weeks. CBS […]

The Toughest Decision a Non-Profit Will Make

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017

When a company or organization is hit by a ransom ware attack, there are a slew of questions that need to be answered. How did the hackers breach the network? How much data has been lost? What do we do to make sure this never happens again? Of course these questions need to be answered […]

Locky’s Back (Again)

Thursday, August 17th, 2017

Locky is a ransomware that seems to be an intermittent threat. It’s here for a while, infecting computers in a flurry, then it disappears for a while. Then a new iteration pops up later, and it, too, disappears. Well, Locky’s back again, this time in two forms. Locky looked to be a big threat for a […]