(ISC)² Blog

Infosecurity Europe 2023 Preview – Our Pick of the Keynote Sessions

In the first of two previews of Infosecurity Europe 2023, we look at our top picks for unmissable keynote sessions across the three days of the conference, held at ExCel in London from June 20-22. By John E. Dunn As the pivotal cybersecurity conference in the region, every Infosecurity Europe conference is oriented to topical themes. This year is no exception, with the speaker lineup covering everything from the on-going anxiety of cyberwar, how zero trust can be made to work once it leaves the drawing board, and the never-ending puzzle of assessing supply chain risk. The following is our... Read more →

Latest Cyberthreats and Advisories - May 19, 2023

WordPress’s Elementor is vulnerable (again), the U.S. Department of Transportation is breached, 5.8 million medical records are posted online after PharMerica incident. Here are the latest threats and advisories for the week of May 19, 2023. By John Weiler Threat Advisories and Alerts Australian and U.S. Governments Release Advisory on BianLian Ransomware Group The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has released a joint cybersecurity advisory with the U.S. outlining typical threat vectors and signs of ongoing attacks by the BianLian ransomware group. It is a relatively new group that uses trusted Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) credentials to gain network access... Read more →

Cybersecurity Industry News Review - May 9, 2023

Former Uber CSO avoids jail time over breach coverup. Cyber insurers lose over act of war exclusion. CISA warns over suspect communications suppliers as Cisco tells customers to ditch vulnerable kit. By Joe Fay Ex-Uber CSO Joe Sullivan Gets Fine, Probation but No Jail Time For Data Breach Coverup Uber’s former chief security officer Joe Sullivan has been spared jail for his role in covering up a 2016 data breach at the ride sharing giant. Sullivan was instead hit with a $50,000 fine, three years’ probation, and a 200-hour community service order, despite prosecutors pushing for a 15 month prison... Read more →

Cybersecurity Industry News Review - May 2, 2023

By Joe Fay U.S. cybersecurity officials point finger at “lying, cheating, stealing” China, while another cybersecurity leader speaks out about “boring” training. E.U. hits fast forward on new legislation. Trend Micro unveils Rapture ransomware while Microsoft unveils rusty Windows. NSA Cybersecurity Director Points Finger AI, Russia and China At RSA U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) cybersecurity director Rob Joyce highlighted the threat from AI, Russia and China in a presentation at RSA last week. Joyce said that Russian-based actors were actively attacking Ukraine, through disruption of both civil society and the war effort, as well as intelligence gathering. Attacks on... Read more →

RSA Conference Day One: Disruption Key to Keeping Bad Actors At Bay

Day One of the RSA Conference opened with keynotes diagnosing a security identity crisis, while offering AI, platforms, and big dose of disruption as the cure for what ails the cybersecurity world. By Joe Fay The 2023 RSA Conference kicked off in San Francisco this week, with human delegates being confronted with speaker after speaker declaring that AI is taking over much of their jobs. Opening the conference, RSA CEO Rohit Ghai said that over the years, the core purpose of security platforms has evolved, but “in the AI era, it is security first, followed by convenience and compliance.” “AI... Read more →

Cybersecurity Industry News Review - April 25, 2023

Europe’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) agency under DDoS attack. Eavesdropping police in the U.K. spared massive fine. Numbers emerge after NCR ransomware attack. Hackers hit gold in secondhand routers. By Joe Fay “Pro-Russian” Hackers Dive Bomb European Air Traffic Control Agency Europe’s air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol, has been fighting off a cyberattack by pro-Russian hackers since April 19. The attack appears to have been a DDoS targeting the agency’s website. Pro-Russian group Killnet claimed to have launched a “100 hour” marathon against Eurocontrol. The agency declined to detail the nature of the attack but said its safety operations had... Read more →

UK’s Mobile Emergency Alert Test Started Early for Some, Never for Others

The first public test of the U.K. Mobile Emergency Alert System took place on Sunday, encountering issues including complaints from various stakeholder groups, an early start and widespread reports of people not getting the alert at all. By Joe Fay The U.K. government ran its first country-wide mobile phone emergency alert test on Sunday, surprising large numbers of U.K. mobile users with early alerts but leaving customers of one major operator in the dark entirely. The system, very similar to what is used in the U.S., is designed to warn residents of “danger to life nearby”, such as severe flooding,... Read more →

CYBERUK Day 2: AI Developments Could Democratize Advanced Cyber-Capabilities, Says Security Minister

Nation state attacks, the rapid evolution of cybersecurity attacks and the technology behind them pose a sustained risk to the U.K. and its allies unless new defensive capabilities are brought to the fore. By John E. Dunn The U.K. must rapidly develop cybersecurity capabilities if it is to hold back cybercriminals energized by nation state programs, new business models in ransomware, and the rapid evolution of artificial general intelligence (AGI), minister of state for security Tom Tugendhat, MP told the CYBERUK conference in Belfast. Opening the second day of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) annual industry conference, Tugendhat painted... Read more →

Western Security Agencies Offer Software Devs Guidance on Security ‘by Design’

CISA, NSA, NCSC, the rest of the Five Eyes nations, Germany and Holland look to spark an ‘international conversation’ in unprecedented collaboration to improve proactive security-centric development. By Joe Fay The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and a raft of other national security agencies have issued a “guide” to help software and technology vendors build products that are “secure by design”. The NCSC said the aim of the document - Shifting the Balance of Cybersecurity Risk: Principles and Approaches for Security-by-Design and Default – was to encourage developers to embed secure-by-design and... Read more →

SEC Cybersecurity Proposals Survey Exposes Need for Board-Level Cyber Skills

Respondents highlight the need for appointing and developing more board-level cybersecurity expertise, while some are concerned that disclosure regulations unintentionally risk helping criminals alongside improving investor transparency. By Joe Fay U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposals to boost cybersecurity reporting requirements for publicly traded firms have not resonated with (ISC)² members in a survey, with over half unaware of the proposals and a fifth suggesting they could benefit threat actors inadvertently through providing investors with enhanced disclosure. In 2022, the SEC proposed new rules on cybersecurity that impact publicly traded companies, with standards for disclosures around cyber security risk... Read more →

Cybersecurity Industry News Review - March 28, 2023

By Joe Fay The U.K. writes a cybersecurity prescription for the NHS and for social care, data protection hardware is becoming a big security gap, security specialist MITRE partners up to tackle supply chain security threats, while the E.U. turns its cyber attention to transport. UK Prescribes Dose of Cyber Security for Health Service The U.K. government has sketched out a strategy to protect the National Health Service from cyberattacks. The plan, which also covers social care services, has five key pillars, including identifying areas where disruption could produce the most harm to patients, building unified responses, and embedding security... Read more →

Cybersecurity Industry News Review – March 21, 2023

KillNet is bad for your health, TikTok facing further bans, ransomware impacts cancer test results, Russia allegedly increasing its cyberwarfare efforts. By Joe Fay Microsoft Demonstrates How KillNet Is Bad for Our Healthcare Sector Microsoft has highlighted a rise in DDoS attacks on healthcare organizations, mapping a three-fold increase in attacks over three months. It said it tracked 10 to 20 attacks per day on healthcare organizations on Azure in November but was seeing 40 to 60 per day in February. The attack mix changed over this time, it added, with over half of attacks now being UDP floods, with... Read more →

SVB Collapse: A Stark Warning for Technology and Cybersecurity Startups!

By Dave Cartwright, CISSP A week is a long time in most business sectors. In the intertwined world of banking and startups, it feels like an eternity as both sides deal with the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB); the financial crisis impacting a myriad of startups suffering cashflow loss and disruption, with other banks now seemingly in poor shape after experiencing runs. For the technology and cybersecurity startups, not just those in California, that used SVB as their banker or lender (or both), its failure could delay or derail at least part of the next wave... Read more →

Latest Cyberthreats and Advisories - March 17, 2023

Cybercriminals pounce on SVB collapse, privacy concerns around ChatGPT and the FBI warns of a rise in crypto scams. Here are the latest threats and advisories for the week of March 17, 2023. By John Weiler Threat Advisories and Alerts FBI Warning: Cryptocurrency Investment Schemes on the Rise The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning internet users of an increase in cryptocurrency investment scam schemes, which defrauded victims of over $2 billion in 2022. Cybercriminals (usually located overseas) use social media platforms, dating apps, professional networking apps and other online means to connect with targets. The criminals then... Read more →

Cybersecurity Industry News Review – March 14, 2023

The U.K. Online Safety Bill triggers a security rebuke from WhatsApp, the Czech Republic concerned about TikTok, an international law enforcement effort shuts down the NetWire RAT infrastructure, while a study suggests workforce malaise towards reporting security incidents. By Joe Fay WhatsApp Would Leave U.K. Rather Than Break Encryption WhatsApp would pull its end-to-end encrypted messaging service in the U.K., rather than submit to any requirement to weaken its privacy stance to comply with the U.K. government’s Online Safety Bill. WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart said that 98 per cent of its users were outside the U.K., and ALL users wanted... Read more →

Cybersecurity Industry News Review: February 28, 2023

By Joe Fay Australia to scrap cybersecurity rules as part of a new regime, ransoms bankroll further ransomware attacks, Dole and PyPi attacked, while the European Commission calls time on TikTok. Australia to Overhaul Cybersecurity Rules The Australian government is overhauling its approach to cybersecurity and will create a new agency to coordinate responses to cyberattacks and manage investment. The plans follow publication of a discussion paper on cybersecurity following recent high-profile attacks, including one that affected telco Optus. The minister for home affairs, Clare O’Neil, described the current regime as “bloody useless.” AT&T Selling a Cybersecurity Business, Trend Micro... Read more →

Analysis: White House Cybersecurity Policy Maker - Secure Open Source Software Even If It Benefits ‘Adversaries’ We Should Do It Anyway

By Joe Fay Resiliency is the endgame of the U.S. approach to internet and software security. The U.S. has a vested interest in creating a secure and resilient internet and software ecosystem, even if it means its “adversaries” also benefit, a White House cybersecurity leader told the State of Open Conference in London late last week. During a panel session on international security policy, Sal Kimmich, director of open source at EscherCloudAI, AI DevSecOps, said researchers uncovering vulnerabilities could face pressure from nation states, and there needs to be a way of protecting them. Microsoft director of open source strategy,... Read more →

Analysis: Could NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 be the beginning of international best practice?

By John E. Dunn It’s been nearly seven years since the 1.1 revision of NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework. What might be coming in version 2.0? Since its release in 2014, NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) has grown into the one of the world’s most influential cybersecurity references for best practice and planning. In January, the world finally caught sight of the draft CSF Concept Paper that will form the basis of the next version 2.0 overhaul due for release around mid-2023. From this draft, it is clear that the CSF is developing fast, taking on new and much wider ambitions since the... Read more →

Latest Cyberthreats and Advisories - January 6, 2023

The LockBit ransomware gang apologizes, Google settles privacy lawsuits and cybercriminals impersonate brands and the U.K. government. Here are the latest threats and advisories for the week of January 6, 2023. Threat Advisories and Alerts Cybercriminals Impersonate Brands with Search Ads And Fake Sites The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning that cybercriminals are directing internet browsers to malicious sites via search ads. How does the scam work? Bad actors build a fake website that impersonates a legitimate brand and then advertises it to appear at the top of search results. Once browsers click the ad,... Read more →

Policy Brief – U.S. Cyber Threat Intelligence, Part 2: Summary, Recommendations & Challenges

By Aaron Weathersby, CISSP. Aaron is the Chief Information Officer for Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and holds a Doctor of Science in Cyber Security from Marymount University. He is an Information Technology professional with over 18 years of experience focused on cybersecurity issues. Executive Summary: This policy brief was created to summarize the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Improving Cyber Security through the lens of Cyber Threat Intelligence. This brief is geared towards those public and private entities required to implement the mandated elements within the EO. The brief details critical findings, recommendations, and challenges with... Read more →