The visitor's center at Microsoft's headquarters campus in Redmond, Washington. (Photo: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images, via Microsoft)

Microsoft Uncovers Fresh Russian Attack Infrastructure

Mathew J. Schwartz • August 21, 2018

With the U.S. midterm elections approaching fast, Microsoft says it's seized six domain names tied to "Fancy Bear," a hacking team widely believed to be part of Russia's military intelligence agency, amplifying concerns that Moscow's election interference efforts continue.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-state attacks

China Hacking Underground Shows Rising Prowess

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Endpoint Security

Google Hit With Lawsuit Over Location Tracking

Mathew J. Schwartz • August 21, 2018

A lawsuit accuses Google of "the surreptitious location tracking of millions of mobile phone users." The legal action was sparked by a report demonstrating that some Google apps tracked and time-stamped users' locations even if a user deactivated the "location history" setting.

Endpoint Security

Convergence of OT and IoT: The Security Challenges

Varun Haran • August 21, 2018

Upcoming enterprise IoT ecosystems and conventional OT networks share similar security challenges, and as the two converge, organizations need to re-evaluate core security processes, says Richard Bussiere of Tenable Network Security.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development

Analysis: Updates to STIX, TAXII Standards

Varun Haran • August 16, 2018

The STIX and TAXII standards for threat intel interchange have undergone a major upgrade to v2.0. LookingGlass CTO Allan Thomson, who's been closely involved in its development, describes the role of these enhanced standards.

ATM Fraud

FBI Warns Of Pending Large Scale ATM Cashout Strike

Jeremy Kirk • August 14, 2018

The FBI warns that cybercriminals are planning a large-scale operation aimed at emptying ATMs, a type of attack that has caused swift and costly losses for financial institutions. The attack may utilize data from a breach of an unknown card issuer, the FBI says.

Endpoint Security

Tracking Cybersecurity Threats in Manufacturing

Nick Holland • August 13, 2018

With the rise of the industrial internet of things comes a far broader attack surface in the manufacturing sector. Chris Morales of Vectra outlines findings of a new report on cyberattack trends in the manufacturing sector.

Compliance

HIPAA Security Rule Turns 20: It's Time for a Facelift

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • August 10, 2018

As the HIPAA security rule turns 20, it's time for regulators to make updates reflecting the changing cyberthreat landscape and technological evolution that's happened over the past two decades, says security expert Tom Walsh.