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Cybercrime

Judge Approves Final $115 Million Anthem Settlement

Jeremy Kirk  •  August 20, 2018

A federal judge in California has given final approval to a $115 million settlement involving health insurer Anthem over its 2015 data breach. The settlement is the largest ever reached in a data-breach related class action suit, but most victims will see no money.

Encryption & Key Management

Crypto Wars Continue, as Feds Seek Messenger Backdoor

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 20, 2018

It's déjà vu "FBI vs. Apple" all over again, as Reuters reports that the Justice Department is seeking to compel Facebook to build a backdoor into its Messenger app to help the FBI monitor an MS-13 suspect's voice communications.

Cybercrime

Australian Teenager Pleads Guilty to Hacking Apple

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 17, 2018

An Australian teenager was such a fan of Apple that he hacked into the technology giant's mainframe, according to media reports. The teen has pleaded guilty to stealing 90 GB of sensitive information. But Apple says no customers' personally identifiable information was exposed.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-state attacks

Trump Pulls Gloves Off on Offensive Cyber Actions

Jeremy Kirk  •  August 17, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential order on Wednesday that revokes a set of Obama-era guidelines for offensive cyber operations, The Wall Street Journal reports. The policy change may satisfy critics who contend the U.S. should be able to move faster, but it raises risks of escalating cyber conflict.

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Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Planning for the Shifting Threat Landscape

Varun Haran  •  August 17, 2018

The best way to take a holistic approach to the current threat landscape is to define security issues as business problems and then put the problem before the solution - not the other way around, contends RSA CTO Zulfikar Ramzan.

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Anti-Malware

Fighting Sandbox-Evading Malware

Varun Haran  •  August 17, 2018

Malware detection needs to shift to detecting anomalous behavior, rather than depending on signature-based detection technologies to deal with such threats as sandbox-evading malware, says Verizon's Ashish Thapar.

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Governance

Growing IT-OT Integration: Addressing the Risks It Brings

Varun Haran  •  August 17, 2018

While IT and OT integration has brought about new levels of operational efficiency, it has also introduced serious cyber risks that conventional IT security approaches might fail to address, says IBM Security's Paul Garvey.

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Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development

What Does 'Threat Analytics' Really Mean?

Varun Haran  •  August 17, 2018

Threat analytics involves understanding where threats to key data assets exist and planning your mitigation strategy around that, says Skybox's Gerry Sillars.

Finance

Widespread Phishing Campaign Targets Financial Institutions

Nick Holland  •  August 17, 2018

A phishing attack on Wednesday fueled by the Necurs botnet targeted at least 2,700 banking institutions of various sizes in the U.S. and around the world, explains Aaron Higbee of Cofense, which detected the attack.

Data Breach

The Industrial Internet of Things: Emerging Risks

Nick Holland  •  August 17, 2018

Leading the latest edition of the ISMG Security Report: Chris Morales of the cybersecurity firm Vectra discusses how the industrial internet of things is changing the nature of industrial espionage and disruption.

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Cloud Computing

Why Automation Is Essential to Cloud Security

Varun Haran  •  August 16, 2018

Because of the lack of specialists with the skills needed to run security operations in the cloud, intelligent automation is essential, says Microsoft's Diana Kelley.

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Technology

OT Security and the Threat of Disruption

Varun Haran  •  August 16, 2018

Disruption to operational technology can cause business downtime as well as serious public safety issues, so a nuanced approach to cybersecurity is essential, says Obbe Knoop of Nozomi Networks.