A Colonial Pipeline facility outside Birmingham, Alabama (Photo: Flickr)

Colonial Pipeline Confirms Ransomware Causing Disruptions

Scott Ferguson • May 8, 2021

Colonial Pipeline, which oversees more than 5,500 miles of pipeline that supplies fuel throughout the U.S. East Coast, confirmed Saturday that a ransomware attack has disrupted its services, and the company has taken some of its IT systems offline as a precaution.

Cryptocurrency Fraud

Experian API Flaw Raises Questions

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Critical Infrastructure Security

US and UK Issue Joint Alert on Russian Cyber Activity

Doug Olenick • May 8, 2021

U.S. and U.K. cyber, law enforcement and intelligence agencies issued a joint advisory Friday offering detailed information on how to defend against the activities of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, in the wake of the 2020 SolarWinds attacks.

Critical Infrastructure Security

US Physics Laboratory Exposed Documents, Credentials

Jeremy Kirk • May 7, 2021

The Fermilab physics laboratory in the U.S. has tidied up its systems after security researchers found weaknesses exposing documents, proprietary applications, personal information, project details and credentials.

Endpoint Security

How Patched Android Chip Flaw Could Have Enabled Spying

Prajeet Nair • May 7, 2021

A severe vulnerability in a system on certain Qualcomm chips, which has been patched, potentially could have enabled attackers to remotely control Android smartphones, access users' text messages and listen in on conversations, according to a new report from Check Point Software Technologies.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

CISA Alert Describes FiveHands Ransomware Threat

Doug Olenick • May 7, 2021

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has issued an alert providing more details on the threat posed by FiveHands ransomware attacks and offering risk mitigation tips.

Cryptocurrency Fraud

ISMG Editors Discuss Cryptocurrency Regulations and More

Anna Delaney • May 7, 2021

Four editors at Information Security Media Group discuss timely cybersecurity issues, including a call for cryptocurrency regulation and the impact of hospital ransomware attacks.

DDoS Protection

DNS Flaw Can Be Exploited for DDoS Attacks

Akshaya Asokan • May 7, 2021

Security researchers have uncovered a flaw dubbed TsuNAME in DNS resolver software that attackers could used to carry out distributed denial-of-service attacks against authoritative DNS servers. Google and Cisco have resolved the issue in their DNS servers.

Application Security

Can Evidence Collected by Cellebrite's Tools Be Trusted?

Anna Delaney • May 7, 2021

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report features an analysis of whether courts can trust evidence collected by Cellebrite's mobile device forensic tools. Also featured: Report shows attackers' dwell times plummeting; a call for partnership with law enforcement.

Cloud Security

Mitigating the Risks of Malicious OAuth Apps

Prajeet Nair • May 6, 2021

Attackers are increasingly using malicious OAuth 2.0 applications to siphon data and access sensitive information from cloud platforms, and mitigating the risks is proving challenging, according to the security firm Proofpoint.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

DHS Secretary: Small Businesses Hard-Hit by Ransomware

Doug Olenick • May 6, 2021

About 50% to 70% of all ransomware attacks in the U.S. are targeting small and medium-sized businesses, costing the victims an estimated total of $350 million in the last year, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Governance & Risk Management

3 Bills Focus on Enhancing Electrical Grid Cybersecurity

Scott Ferguson • May 5, 2021

Lawmakers in the Senate and House have introduced legislation designed to improve and enhance the nation's electrical grid and respond to concerns that the country's power system is prone to cyberthreats.

Governance & Risk Management

PHP Composer Flaw That Could Affect Millions of Sites Patched

Prajeet Nair • May 5, 2021

A patch has been issued for a serious vulnerability that affects PHP Composer - a tool used to manage and install software dependencies in the PHP ecosystem. Security researchers at SonarSource say the flaw could put millions of websites at risk.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

IT Modernization Grants Will Prioritize Cybersecurity

Scott Ferguson • May 4, 2021

The Biden administration will prioritize cybersecurity in its $1 billion IT modernization grant program for federal agencies, which will be overseen by the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget.