Cybersecurity News & Trends – 08-07-20
This week, hackers dominated the headlines. But from financial firms, to voting machines, to entire countries, many are beginning to mount a stronger defense.
SonicWall Spotlight
AT&T Cybersecurity: Do Secure VPNs, Don’t Pay Ransoms — SDxCentral
- The author notes that, per SonicWall’s mid-year update to the 2020 Cyber Threat Report, there was a 20% jump in ransomware globally in the first half of 2020 compared to mid-year 2019, including a staggering 109% spike in the U.S.
3 Tips For Improving Your Cybersecurity Program This School Year — EdTech Magazine
- As schools prepare to reopen, EdTech Magazine offers three ways districts can improve their cybersecurity programs.
Covid-19 pandemic: Russian hackers target UK, US and Canadian research — Pharmaceutical Technology
- Security services in the UK, US and Canada have determined that Russian cyber hacking group APT29 has attempted to illicitly access Covid-19 research. SonicWall CEO Bill Conner discusses how state-sponsored espionage groups are targeting medical data.
Cybersecurity News
Insecure satellite Internet is threatening ship and plane safety — Ars Technica
- At the Black Hat security conference, researcher James Pavur presented findings that show that satellite-based Internet is putting millions at risk despite safeguards implemented by providers.
How the US Can Prevent the Next ‘Cyber 9/11’ — Wired
- In an interview with WIRED, former national intelligence official Sue Gordon discusses Russian election interference and other digital threats to democracy.
U.S. Government Launches Cyber Career Path Tool — Security Week
- The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) this week announced the launch of a free tool designed to help users identify and navigate a potential career path.
U.S. coronavirus fraud losses near $100 million as COVID scams double — Reuters
- U.S. losses from coronavirus-related fraud and identity theft have reached nearly $100 million, while complaints of COVID-19 scams have at least doubled in most states.
Financial Firms’ Cybersecurity Spending Jumps 15%, Survey Finds — Bloomberg
- Big banks and other financial firms are spending 15% more this year to defend computer networks from cyber criminals, and the pandemic and work-from-home arrangements are probably spurring further increases.
Hackers Get Green Light to Test U.S. Voting Systems — The Wall Street Journal
- Election Systems & Software, the top U.S. seller of voting-machine technology, is calling a truce in its feud with computer security researchers over the ways they probe for vulnerabilities of the company’s systems.
Hackers can abuse Microsoft Teams updater to install malware — Bleeping Computer
- Microsoft Teams can still double as a Living off the Land binary (LoLBin) and help attackers retrieve and execute malware from a remote location.
Robots Running the Industrial World Are Open to Cyber Attacks — Bloomberg
- According to a new report titled “Rogue Automation,” some robots have flaws that could make them vulnerable to advanced hackers, who could steal data or alter a robot’s movements remotely.
Interpol Warns of ‘Alarming’ Cybercrime Rate During Pandemic — Security Week
- Global police body Interpol has warned of an “alarming” rate of cybercrime during the coronavirus pandemic.
CISA, DOD, FBI expose new versions of Chinese malware strain named Taidoor — ZDNet
- U.S. government agencies say the Taidoor remote access trojan (RAT) has been used as far back as 2008.
Exclusive: China-backed hackers ‘targeted COVID-19 vaccine firm Moderna’ — Reuters
- Chinese government-linked hackers targeted biotech company Moderna Inc., a U.S.-based coronavirus vaccine research developer, this year in a bid to steal data, according to a U.S. security official.
Hackers Are Targeting the Remote Workers Who Keep Your Lights On — Bloomberg
- With many of the people who help keep the grid running now working from home, cyberattacks targeting the power sector have surged.
Hackers Broke Into Real News Sites to Plant Fake Stories — Wired
- A disinformation operation broke into the content management systems of Eastern European media outlets in a campaign to spread misinformation about NATO.
In Case You Missed It
- What’s the Malware Capital of the US? — Amber Wolff
- Protect Against SYLKin Attack with SonicWall Cloud App Security — Vishnu Chandra Pandey
- SonicWall SMA Added to the Department of Defense Approved Products List — Wayne Engelke
- SonicWall’s Tiffany Haselhorst Joins 2020 CRN 100 Rising Female Stars List — Lindsey Lockhart
- New Cyber Threat Intelligence Finds Malicious Office Files Spiking, Ransomware Up during COVID-19 Pandemic — Geoff Blaine
- ‘3 & Free’ Promotion: The Easiest Way to Upgrade Your SonicWall Firewall for Free — Robert (Bob) VanKirk
