[From the desk of Paul Davis – his opinions and no-one else’s]
\nApart from the reporter’s opinions \ud83d\ude09
\nSo onto the news:<\/p>\n
KnowBe4 Phishing Research Shows Men 225% More Prone to Give up the Goods
\nIn an analysis done by KnowBe4 of 201,755 phishing emails sent over the past 30 days, it was found men appear to be more prone to clicking on a phishing email than women.
\nIn further analysis, when tested over a 120 -day period with simulated phishing emails that lead to a data entry landing page and ask for some input of credentials, men were found to provide data and give up credentials over twice as much as females.
\nAccording to a study from Osterman Research, 5 out of 6 of the most serious concerns of security-focused decision makers are directly related to phishing or its aftermath.
\nThe study suggests companies implement a variety of best practices to address the security gaps that have been identified and notes.
\nThe study stated: \u201cIt is important to invest sufficiently in employee training so that the \u201chuman \u201cfirewall\u201d can provide the best possible initial line of defense against increasingly sophisticated phishing and other social engineering attacks.\u201d
\nSmall to Medium businesses are selected by cyber criminals as a primary focus for attacks like ransomware using phishing emails as a ploy to get in and gain access.
\nThese companies often lack an effective backup or more sophisticated technical solutions but can afford to pay a $500-$700 ransom fee.
\nIt is very often these employees that click on emails with malicious attachments.
\nTrend Micro analyzed June-July 2015 time frame with clicks on links of CryptoWall ransomware.
\nA whopping 67% of the links were opened by SMB’s. large enterprise followed with 17%, and third came consumers with just 13%.
\nSjouwerman offered, \u201cSecurity Awareness Training is really needed for every employee in any organization.
\nIt allows you to put in place a more effective human firewall and protect your corporate and financial assets and is now very affordable.\u201d
\nLink: http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=3ad091fcf0&e=20056c7556<\/p>\n
Wifatch Router Virus May Fight Malware
\nWifatch was first described in November in a two-part post on a blog called “Loot Myself: Malware Analysis and Botnet tracking.” It is a “sophisticated piece of code” that connects infected routers to a peer-to-peer network of other infected devices, according to Mario Ballano, a senior security response engineer at Symantec.
\nUnlike other malware, however, Wifatch doesn’t appear to be used for malicious purposes, he said.
\nInstead, the unusual malware apparently works to prevent further infections and sometimes even delivers a message telling device owners to change their Telnet passwords and\/or update their firmware.
\nAnother aspect is that the source code contains a line of text famously used as an e-mail signature by software freedom activist and GNU Project founder Richard Stallman.
\nWhen it first learned of Wifatch, Symantec assumed the malware was just another example of such IoT threats.
\nHowever, “The further we dug into Wifatch’s code the more we had the feeling that there was something unusual about this threat,” Ballano said. “For all intents and purposes, it appeared like the author was trying to secure infected devices instead of using them for malicious activities.”
\nLink: http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage2.com\/track\/click?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=d2dc9f0811&e=20056c7556<\/p>\n
ASEAN, Japan to Boost Fight Against Terrorism, Cybercrime
\nOn October 1, ASEAN and Japan convened the second ASEAN Plus Japan ministerial meeting on transnational crime (AMMTC + Japan) in Kuala Lumpur.
\nTwo issues that were of particular concern were terrorism and cyber crime.<\/p>\n
According to the joint statement issued following this meeting in Kuala Lumpur, the two sides focused on countering terrorism and cyber crime.
\nThe focus on these issues is not surprising considering the rise of the Islamic State threat, which has spooked some ASEAN states, as well as cyber attacks that have exposed the vulnerability of the subregion in recent years.
\nOn the former, the statement reaffirmed the importance of strengthening counterterrorism capacity and cooperation as well as the sharing of experience, knowledge and information including through the ASEAN-Japan Counter Terrorism Dialogue.<\/p>\n
On the latter, the emphasis was on expediting initiatives to enhance counter-cybercrime capacity, including through the ASEAN-Japan Cybercrime Dialogue inaugurated in May last year which they hope will become the foundation of cooperation.
\nThe reference to the threat as \u201cgrave and imminent\u201d gives a sense of how urgent the issue is to the countries of concern.
\nLink: http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage1.com\/track\/click?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=d6482b61a7&e=20056c7556<\/p>\n
Planning in an attack-ridden landscape: Continuity planning
\nAs a best practice, predictive models should be deployed, says Gene Fredriksen, CISO for PSCU, a Saint Petersburg, Fla.-based provider of PCI transaction clearance for more than 800 credit unions.\u201cRather than running around with your pants on fire playing Whack-A-Mole, [you] at least have an idea on what your emphasis should be.\u201d Too often organizations just focus on warding off inbound attacks, Fredriksen says, \u201cgetting only half the picture.\u201d Potential inside threats within your infrastructure must be vigilantly monitored.
\nFor example, an unauthorized connection from a company computer to a command-and-control server in China is a pretty huge red flag that the machine needs to be shut down. \u201cOnce you understand where the bad guys are coming from, you can start to be proactive,\u201d he says.
\nPoor asset management is usually at the core of most IT security incidences, points out Ron Gula, CEO & CTO of Tenable Network Security, a Columbia, Md.-based provider of continuous network monitoring to identify vulnerabilities.
\nA byproduct of the recent deluge of breaches is that some organizations are \u201cunfortunately doubling down on maybe ineffective practices \u2013 just buying security defensive products,\u201d Gula (left) says.
\nThey’re stuck in a \u201cvulnerability treadmill,\u201d doing some sort of periodic security audit, getting a big report of vulnerabilities.
\nAnd, when assessing vulnerabilities, just don’t rely on technology, Coleman points out. \u201cOrganizations have to get their staff really dedicated to actively hunt for anomalies for things that aren’t right,\u201d he says. \u201cHumans need to question information flows, asking such questions as: Who is the organization talking to in the public internet.
\nShould this transaction happen.
\nDoes this really make sense?\u201d
\nLink: http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage1.com\/track\/click?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=ea304a0a05&e=20056c7556<\/p>\n
Are These Four Security Technologies on the Verge of Becoming Obsolete?
\nOne recent survey showed that more than half of all enterprises admit to using security technology that was at least three years old, while 11 percent say they\u2019re using technology that\u2019s 10 or more years old.
\nWith outdated security technology, companies are much less capable of handling today\u2019s security challenges, let alone what\u2019s to come tomorrow.
\nHere are just a few examples of technologies that are either outdated already or may soon become obsolete:
\n– BIOMETRIC SCANNING
\n– PASSWORD SYSTEMS
\n– ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE
\n– FIREWALLS
\nHackers change up their tactics with incredible frequency, and companies need to be on top of that by adopting better security technology.
\nThere\u2019s no reason to hold onto a ten year old server when converged infrastructure is a reality, and there\u2019s no reason to think passwords are the best way to keep cyber attackers out when better measures are available.
\nLink: http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=cfd67b8df7&e=20056c7556<\/p>\n
Experian T-Mobile hack shows encryption no ‘panacea’ for security, warns Tor co-founder
\nThe theft of 15 million sets of T-Mobile customer data following a breach at credit agency Experian demonstrates that encrypting data isn’t a “panacea” for keeping information secure from hackers, David Goldschlag, co-creator of the Tor secure browser, has warned.
\nBut while Experian is thought to have encrypted some data, Goldschlag told VentureBeat that the incident shows how encrypting data isn’t a cure-all, as hackers can get around it.
\n“It is likely that the hackers were able to decrypt the encrypted information too.
\nSo storing information in an encrypted form may not be the panacea that people expect,” he warned.
\n“This morning they saw listings go up for ‘FULLZ’ data that matches the same types of information that just came out of the Experian hack,” the company said in a statement.
\n“FULLZ” is a term used within the hacker community to describe a full package of an individual’s personal information, including name, date of birth, account numbers and other data.
\nLink: http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=6d820bf4c6&e=20056c7556<\/p>\n
44% of Companies Believe They Can Keep Attackers Off the Network
\nDespite report after report and one high-profile incident after another, executives and IT professionals are still na\u00efve about security: 55% believe they can detect an attacker on the network within minutes, hours or a few days.
\nEven more shocking, 44% believe they can keep attackers off a network entirely.
\nWherefore this magical thinking.
\nCyberArk\u2019s 9th Annual Global Advanced Threat Landscape Survey found that one of the problems is that execs place blame where it doesn\u2019t belong: 48% blame poor employee security habits for breaches, while 29% believe that only the most sophisticated attackers could break through.
\nAnd indeed, a full 61% believe that privileged account takeover is the most difficult stage of an attack to stop\u2014up from 44% last year.
\nThe concern is now three times more common than those who thought stopping the advancement of malware installed on a network was the most challenging stage (21%) and almost five times more than the 12% that cited the reconnaissance phase by the attackers being the most difficult to mitigate.
\nLink: http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=71feb48a09&e=20056c7556<\/p>\n
============================================================
\nFeedback, questions? Our mailing address is: ** dailynews@paulgdavis.com (mailto:dailynews@paulgdavis.com)<\/p>\n
If you know someone else who would be interested in this Newsalert, please forwarded this email.
\nIf you want to be added to the distribution list, please click this: ** Subscribe to this list (http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage2.com\/subscribe?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=e09452545a)<\/p>\n
** Unsubscribe from this list (http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage.com\/unsubscribe?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=e09452545a&e=20056c7556&c=d7c31e140b)<\/p>\n
** Update subscription preferences (http:\/\/paulgdavis.us3.list-manage.com\/profile?u=45bf3caf699abf9904ddc00e3&id=e09452545a&e=20056c7556)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[From the desk of Paul Davis – his opinions and no-one else’s] Apart from the reporter’s opinions \ud83d\ude09 So onto the news: KnowBe4 Phishing Research Shows Men 225% More Prone to Give up the Goods In an analysis done by KnowBe4 of 201,755 phishing emails sent over the past 30…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3644,"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157\/revisions\/3644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cybersecurityinstitute.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}