Petronella Cybersecurity News

Imagine that your neighbors agreed to look after your home while you were away on vacation.  Now imagine that they noticed a window was unlocked, and instead of locking it for you, they posted on Facebook about seeing it unlocked, leaving your home vulnerable to anyone who may have read the post. Now let’s say […]

In the past, we’ve told you about how manufacturers won’t make safer IOT devices until consumers demand it. We’ve also told you that downloading apps without verifying them might not hurt you now, but is the first crack that will lead to a larger breach in the future. Unfortunately, those facts are now combining into […]

Given the state of Healthcare IT security, if you’re in the healthcare industry you could probably use some good news. We recently posted an article on Blockchain and how it could be Healthcare’s answer to ransomware attacks. Blockchain worked by storing data in thousands of different places and also created unalterable records. That means that […]

When you log into a bank website, you probably don’t spend too much time worrying about the security of your information, right? How would you feel if a bank’s entire online presence had been compromised and was sending you malware? That’s what happened to one Brazilian bank. They didn’t just get hacked or hijacked, they […]

You know an issue is getting big when it’s featured on a primetime network TV show. That’s just what happened on a recent episode of NBC’s Chicago Med, where the hospital faces the fallout of becoming a victim of ransomware. You can watch the full episode for free here on Hulu.  

We often talk about hackers who breach networks and completely shut them down or steal personal information, but if every hack was that damaging most people would have sworn off technology by now. Even though every week we hear about another company that’s had a breach that will cost them millions, there are thousands of […]

It’s no secret that 2016 was a rough year for cybersecurity in the medical field. 21st century Oncology leaked 2.2 million patients’ information. Premier Healthcare lost unencrypted records for 200,00 patients. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical center shelled out $17,000 after a ransomware attack. And just to name a few. But when we look back on 2016, […]

There are a ton of people out there who hear about hacking and assume that since they’re an average person at a small company, they’ll never have to worry about cybercrime. In their mind, as long as they protect their identity online and cancel any lost credit cards they’ll never have to deal with the […]

The good news: cyberattacks on healthcare organizations have dropped. The bad news: cybercriminals have a new target. The information comes from figures released from IBM’s X-Force Thread Intelligence Index, which shows that healthcare cyberattacks peaked in 2015. It’s still a major target, but as larger organizations are increasing their security, attacks have turned to smaller […]

Cerber is one of the more popular variations of ransomware. A new version has been detected, and it has a few new tricks up its sleeve. The latest version of Cerber extracts itself from a hacker-owned Dropbox account. The self-extraction makes it look safe to machine-learning tools, which is one way it avoids detection. It also checks […]

WikiLeaks’ DarkMatter dump brought some interesting revelations to light, most notably was the fact that the CIA has been working with Apple since 2008, a mere year after its release, to hack the iPhone. One such example of this is the malware entitled “NightSkies,” a virus that would allow the hacker to have full control […]

Have you ever gotten a popup window while using Safari on your iPhone or iPad, telling you that you have to pay a fee to regain access to your browser? Leaving aside any judgment on the kinds of websites or online activities you that are usually involved that result in getting it, if you’ve seen […]

There’s a cybersecurity storm hammering your roof, will you find and fix the leaks in your network before they cause major damage? If you’re a homeowner, then you know that leaks are inevitable. No matter what you do your roof is going to have some soft spots due to simple wear and tear. If there’s […]

Hospital datacenters could go the way of rotary phones and VCRs in the very near future, as brick and mortar make way for the cheaper and more convenient cloud. John Halamka, MD, CIO of Count Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center predicts that the centers could become obsolete within the next five years, stating that the […]

iPhone thieves may be able to pick up an iPhone, but thanks to “Find my iPhone,” breaking into them is such a headache.   However, where there is a will, there is a way. A scam was recently discovered: one that involves stealing the victim’s Apple iCloud username and password after the theft of the […]

Google algorithms helped identify the source of a massive credit card breach – for the second time in just nine months, with its big “This site may be hacked” warning. And oddly enough, the source of both breaches?  Restaurants chains. Restaurants use Point of Sale (POS) terminals in their businesses to help track items such […]

You think only “regular” citizens can fall victim to tax phishing scams?  Think again. Last Thursday, George McKenzie, the CEO of VA-based cybersecurity firm Defense Point Security, LLC, informed its employees that all of their W-2 information was compromised after a fellow co-worker was ensnared in a hacker’s phishing “net.”  This data included such personal […]

A perpetrator, whose identity is still unknown (despite being caught on surveillance tapes), nabbed a Secret Service agent’s agency-issued laptop from the agent’s vehicle on Thursday in New York City, as well as an official Secret Service lapel pin.   While the laptop itself did not contain sensitive information, if the thief also happens to […]

A hacker group called the Turkish Crime Family is demanding $75,000 in cyrptocurrency or $100,000 in iTunes gift cards from Apple.  They claim to have access to 300 million iCloud accounts and say they’ll wipe all those accounts clean if Apple doesn’t pony up. A screenshot of a conversation between the hacker group and the […]

One click.  One and a half billion users.  Five hundred million dollars.  Those are roughly the numbers involved in sordid story of Yahoo’s sale to Verizon. As you probably already know, Verizon has been working on buying Yahoo, but a hacking scandal that compromised a mindblowing number of user accounts allowed Verizon to get a […]