Content by Scott Ferguson

CISA Will Manage .Gov Domain in Effort to Enhance Security

Scott Ferguson  •  March 10, 2021

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will take over the day-to-day management of the official .gov top-level domain in April, adding a greater emphasis on security for the domains used for government websites.

Bill Would Allow Americans to Sue Foreign Hackers

Scott Ferguson  •  March 9, 2021

Legislation introduced in the House would allow U.S. citizens to file lawsuits against foreign governments - and employees and agents of those countries - to hold them liable if a cybersecurity incident causes damages. But one legal expert says such a law could do more harm than good.

John McAfee Charged With Cryptocurrency Fraud

Scott Ferguson  •  March 8, 2021

Cybersecurity entrepreneur John McAfee, who already faces tax evasion charges, has now been indicted for allegedly using his vast social media following to run cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes as well as promote virtual currencies to investors without revealing his stake in them, federal prosecutors say.

Hackers Exploit Exchange Flaws to Target Local Governments

Scott Ferguson  •  March 5, 2021

Hackers have targeted units of local government by attempting to exploit unpatched vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange email servers, according to a new report by the security firm FireEye. Meanwhile, CISA has updated its alert.

Researchers Disclose More Malware Used in SolarWinds Attack

Scott Ferguson  •  March 4, 2021

Researchers with Microsoft and FireEye are disclosing additional malware used by the hacking group that targeted SolarWinds last December. These second-stage malware variants appear to have been deployed after organizations downloaded the "Sunburst" backdoor hidden in a software update.

Lesson From SolarWinds Attack: It's Time to Beef Up IAM

Scott Ferguson  •  March 4, 2021

The SolarWinds supply chain attack should prompt federal agencies and others to rethink how they approach security issues - especially identity and access management, according to a breakdown of the attack presented this week by NIST and CISA.

GAO Report Highlights Need for Centralized Cyber Leadership

Scott Ferguson  •  March 3, 2021

A lack of centralized leadership, especially at the White House level, is hindering the federal government's ability to address numerous cybersecurity issues, including the SolarWinds supply chain attack that affected federal agencies and others, according to a new GAO report.

AI Supremacy: Russia, China Could Edge Out US, Experts Warn

Scott Ferguson  •  March 2, 2021

The U.S. is in danger of falling behind China and Russia in developing artificial intelligence technologies and countering cybersecurity threats that could develop as AI use becomes more widespread, according to a newly released report from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

Why This Facebook Privacy Settlement Is Unusual

Scott Ferguson  •  March 1, 2021

Ending six years of litigation, a federal judge has signed off on a $650 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Facebook for violating Illinois' groundbreaking privacy law that restricts collecting biometrics data. Here's why this case is so unusual.

House SolarWinds Hearing Focuses on Updating Cyber Laws

Scott Ferguson  •  February 26, 2021

A pair of U.S. House committees held their first public hearings into the SolarWinds attack, with lawmakers and witnesses offering support for expanding federal cybersecurity laws to address the security failures. This includes a larger role for CISA to conduct threat hunting.

Executive Order Focuses on Supply Chain Risk Management

Scott Ferguson  •  February 25, 2021

In light of the global shortage of semiconductors, President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday requiring a federal review of supply chain risks for these chips. Also to be reviewed: supply chain risks for information and communications technology and the pharmaceutical industry.

Senate SolarWinds Hearing: 4 Key Issues Raised

Scott Ferguson  •  February 24, 2021

The Senate Intelligence Committee's hearing about the supply chain attack that affected SolarWinds and dozens of other companies and federal agencies answered some questions about what went wrong but also raised four key issues.

US Marine Corps Looks to Expand Insider Threat Program

Scott Ferguson  •  February 23, 2021

The U.S. Marine Corps looks to expand its insider threat program and seeks proposals to include activity monitoring technology on its enterprise and classified networks. The goal is to give the Marines greater ability to monitor network traffic and stop insiders from exposing data.

Chinese Hacking Group 'Cloned' NSA Exploit Tool

Scott Ferguson  •  February 22, 2021

A Chinese hacking group reportedly "cloned" and deployed a zero-day exploit developed by the NSA's Equation Group before Microsoft patched the Windows flaw being exploited, according to Check Point Research. The analysis shows how some U.S. cyber weapons have been turned against their developers.

IRS Warns of Fresh Fraud Tactics as Tax Season Starts

Scott Ferguson  •  February 19, 2021

As tax season begins, the Internal Revenue Service is warning that it's seeing signs of fraudsters spoofing the agency's domains and incorporating its logos and language into phishing campaigns.