Microsoft Warns Users: Beware of Damaging BlueKeep Attacks

Akshaya Asokan • November 11, 2019

Now that security researchers have located the first exploits that take advantage of the BlueKeep vulnerability in Windows, Microsoft is warning users to apply patches the company issued for this flaw before more dangerous exploits merge.

Endpoint Security

Ransomware: Average Ransom Payout Increases to $41,000

Latest

Breach Notification

Election Interference Notification Protocols Unveiled

Scott Ferguson • November 11, 2019

The White House has developed protocols for notifying the public of nation-state hacking or other interference during the 2020 presidential election cycle. But the full framework has not yet been released.

Governance

Democrats Pose Phone Data Privacy Questions to FCC

Apurva Venkat • November 11, 2019

Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission demanding that it do more to enforce the Communications Act following a report about wireless carriers giving phone data to third parties.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Take Two: Why Organizations Are Reviewing GDPR Efforts

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 11, 2019

The EU's General Data Protection Regulation rewrote the rules of the data privacy and breach notification game when it went into full effect last year. Now, however, numerous organizations are revisiting and refining their GDPR compliance efforts around preparation and remediation, says PwC's Polly Ralph.

Governance

Insider Threat: Greater Risk Mitigation Required

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 11, 2019

Too many organizations are still failing to prioritize mitigating the risk posed by insiders, whether they're malicious actors or model employees who make mistakes that unintentionally lead to a data breach, says Veriato's Chris Gilkes.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Privacy Nirvana: Some Assembly Still Required

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 11, 2019

Data privacy discussions must focus not just on collecting, storing and securing data, but also the impetus for doing so - and whether it is being done in an ethical manner, says consultant Thom Lagford, a former CISO, who addresses GDPR compliance issues.

Governance

Data Breach Defense: Email and File Lockdown

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 11, 2019

Preventing data breaches requires safeguarding information, and for many organizations that means having strong controls in place to protect email as well as files, says Zivver's Olivier Paling.

Governance

'Digital Climate Change': An Inconvenient Truth

Mathew J. Schwartz • November 11, 2019

Too many organizations continue to use digital assets and infrastructure even when they can see that they have information security problems and deficiencies that they're failing to fix, says cybersecurity expert John Walker.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Despite Instagram Changes, Minors Are Still at Risk

Jeremy Kirk • November 11, 2019

In June, I wrote an in-depth story about how millions of Instagram users worldwide under 18 years old were exposing their email addresses, phone numbers or both. Instagram has finally made a change to address the issue - but it doesn't go far enough.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Following Massive Breach, Capital One Replacing CISO: Report

Apurva Venkat • November 8, 2019

Nearly four months after Capital One revealed a massive data breach, Michael Johnson, the bank's CISO, is being moved into an outside advisory role, and the company is scouting for a new security leader, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Endpoint Security

DOJ: Company Sold Gear With Security Flaws to US Military

Akshaya Asokan • November 8, 2019

Federal prosecutors have charged a Long Island company, along with seven of its employees, with selling vulnerability-laden Chinese technology to the U.S. military and other agencies for a decade and passing the gear off as American made.

Governance

Bill Would Create a Federal Digital Privacy Agency

Suparna Goswami • November 8, 2019

Two Democratic members of the U.S. House have proposed a national privacy law that calls for the formation of a new federal agency to enforce the privacy rights that it defines.

Encryption & Key Management

Sen. Wyden Pushes FCC on 5G Security

Apurva Venkat • November 8, 2019

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden is pushing the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that wireless carriers build new security measures, such as encryption and authentication, into 5G networks as they're rolled out over the next several years.