Content by Scott Ferguson

Pitney Bowes Battles Second Ransomware Attack

Scott Ferguson  •  May 11, 2020

After suffering a ransomware attack last October that left several systems inaccessible, mailing equipment manufacturer Pitney Bowes reports that it recently blocked another ransomware attack before any data was encrypted and says there's "no evidence of further unauthorized access to our IT systems."

Zoom's New York Settlement Spells Out Security Moves

Scott Ferguson  •  May 8, 2020

Zoom has reached a settlement with the New York state attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its videoconferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

GoDaddy Confirms Breach Affecting 28,000 Accounts: Report

Scott Ferguson  •  May 7, 2020

Web hosting giant GoDaddy confirms that a data breach has affected about 28,000 of its customers' web hosting accounts, according to a news report. The company has reset passwords and usernames for some customers as a precaution, although it says no data appears to have been altered.

CISA Urges Federal Agencies to Use Approved DNS Service

Scott Ferguson  •  May 1, 2020

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is reminding government agencies to continue using an approved DNS resolution service at a time when a large portion of the federal workforce has been shifted to home offices because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Telework Is Changing Cloud Security

Scott Ferguson  •  April 28, 2020

Because the COVID-19 pandemic had led to more employees working from home, cloud services have become indispensable, but the pressure is on organizations to ensure security, says Jim Reavis, CEO of the Cloud Security Alliance.

Latest Phishing Campaigns Spoof Federal Reserve, SBA

Scott Ferguson , Apurva Venkat  •  April 27, 2020

Some fraudsters have pivoted from using the COVID-19 pandemic as a phishing lure to creating messages and malicious domains designed to capitalize on various U.S. economic stimulus programs.

SBA May Have Exposed Data on 8,000 Loan Applicants

Scott Ferguson  •  April 22, 2020

The U.S. Small Business Administration says a flaw in an online application portal may have exposed the personal data - including Social Security numbers - of approximately 8,000 loan applicants seeking help coping with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to news reports.

US Offers $5 Million Reward for N. Korea Hacker Information

Scott Ferguson , Apurva Venkat  •  April 16, 2020

The State Department is offering a $5 million reward for information about North Korean-sponsored hacking campaigns, according to an advisory released this week by several U.S. agencies about the ongoing threat these campaigns pose to financial institutions and others.

New York State Investigates Network Hack

Scott Ferguson  •  April 14, 2020

In January, hackers reportedly compromised portions of the New York state government's computer network by taking advantage of an unpatched vulnerability in Citrix enterprise software. Although state officials say no data was compromised, the attack reportedly disabled some state agency information systems.

NIST Specialist Offers Telework Security Insights

Scott Ferguson  •  April 6, 2020

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing large portions of the workforce to shift to telework, CISOs need to rethink corporate policies on the use of video conferencing platforms and other communications tools, says NIST's Jeff Greene, who offers risk mitigation advice.

Marriott Suffers Another Massive Data Breach

Scott Ferguson  •  March 31, 2020

Hotel giant Marriott, which in 2018 disclosed that it had suffered one of the worst data breaches in history, is now warning that it suffered a new breach earlier this year that exposed personal details - although not payment card information - for 5.2 million customers.

Phishing Campaigns Leverage Latest COVID-19 Themes

Scott Ferguson , Apurva Venkat  •  March 31, 2020

With the U.S. and other nations adopting economic stimulus packages as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, fraudsters are now using the promise of government checks as phishing lures to spread banking Trojans, according to a pair of new security research reports.

FBI Shutters Alleged Russian Cybercriminal Forum

Scott Ferguson  •  March 25, 2020

The FBI this week seized the domain of Deer.io, which federal authorities describe as a clearinghouse for stolen data and cybercriminal services operating from Russia. The alleged administrator of the now-shuttered site has been arrested and charged.

Hackers Targeted World Health Organization

Scott Ferguson , Apurva Venkat  •  March 24, 2020

A hacking group targeted the World Health Organization earlier this month with an apparently unsuccessful spear-phishing campaign designed to harvest credentials as the United Nations organization was grappling with the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Should Location Data Be Used in Battle Against COVID-19?

Ishita Chigilli Palli , Scott Ferguson  •  March 20, 2020

The Trump administration is reportedly in talks with tech companies, including Facebook and Google, to explore whether it's possible to use real-time location data from smartphones to support efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. But some privacy advocates are raising concerns about such tracking efforts.