Content by Scott Ferguson

22 State Attorneys General Seek Election Security Help

Scott Ferguson  •  June 19, 2019

A group of 22 state attorneys general, mainly from Democratic-leaning states, are demanding Congress offer local officials more support - including grants and equipment standards - to improve election infrastructure security in the run-up to the 2020 presidential contest.

Facebook's Libra Cryptocurrency Prompts Privacy Backlash

Scott Ferguson  •  June 19, 2019

With Facebook now officially preparing to launch its own cryptocurrency, Libra, in 2020, the social media giant is facing a privacy and security backlash both in the U.S. and Europe. Lawmakers and regulators are raising concerns about the offering based on the company's poor history of protecting user data.

GAO: After Equifax Breach, KBA No Longer Effective

Scott Ferguson  •  June 17, 2019

Some federal agencies inappropriately continue to rely on knowledge-based authentication to prevent fraud and abuse even though this method is no longer trustworthy because so much personal information that's been breached is readily available to fraudsters, a new U.S. Government Accountability Office report notes.

DHS Is Latest to Warn of BlueKeep Vulnerability

Scott Ferguson  •  June 17, 2019

Yet another warning has been issued about the BlueKeep vulnerability in older versions of Microsoft Windows. The latest comes from the Department of Homeland Security, which tested a remote code execution exploit.

Xenotime Group Sets Sights on Electrical Power Plants

Scott Ferguson  •  June 17, 2019

Xenotime, the group suspected of launching the Trisis malware attack in Saudi Arabia during 2017, has over the past few months shifted its focus beyond the oil and gas industry to target electrical plants and utilities, security firm Dragos reports.

How Organizations Can Reduce Their Data Risk Footprint

Scott Ferguson  •  June 14, 2019

Data in non-production environments represents a significant percentage of total enterprise data volume. Non-production environments also carry more risk than production environments because there are more direct users, says Ilker Taskaya of Delphix, who discusses how organizations can reduce that risk.

Assange Extradition Hearing Won't Occur Until February

Scott Ferguson  •  June 14, 2019

A British judge has determined that an extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange won't be held until next February. The U.S. is asking for the extradition so Assange can face espionage charges.

Google Researcher Details Windows Cryptographic Library Bug

Scott Ferguson  •  June 12, 2019

A Google security researcher has disclosed what he calls an unpatched bug in the main cryptographic library used in newer versions of the Windows operating system that he claims could affect an entire fleet of Windows-based devices.

FIN8 Group Returns, Targeting POS Devices With Malware

Scott Ferguson  •  June 12, 2019

After a two-year absence, the FIN8 hacking group has returned with a new campaign targeting POS machines in the hotel industry with malware in an effort to steal credit card information and other data, according to new research.

UK Man Sentenced for 2015 TalkTalk Hack

Scott Ferguson  •  June 11, 2019

The fallout from the 2015 TalkTalk hack continues as a 22-year-old U.K. man was sentenced to jail Monday for his role in the attack and other cybercrimes, including an attack against his former school.

Unsecured Database Leaves 8.4 TB of Email Metadata Exposed

Scott Ferguson  •  June 10, 2019

A security researcher found an unsecured database belonging to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China that contained 8.4 TB of email metadata. While it's not clear if anyone accessed the data, an attacker could have seen all email being sent or received by a specific person.

Microsoft Warns of Large Spam Campaign Hitting Europe

Scott Ferguson  •  June 10, 2019

Microsoft is warnings about a large-scale spamming campaign hitting several countries in Europe, with the attackers using an old Office exploit to send emails to victims that contain malware in RTF attachments.

GoldBrute Botnet Brute-Force Attacking 1.5M RDP Servers

Scott Ferguson  •  June 7, 2019

A new botnet called GoldBrute is actively scanning the internet and using brute-force methods to attack 1.5 million Windows machines that have exposed Remote Desktop Protocol connections, according to research from Morphus Labs. The goal of group controlling the botnet is not clear.

Feds Charge Four in New Darkode Case

Scott Ferguson  •  June 7, 2019

Federal prosecutors brought racketeering and other charges against four people, including one U.S. citizen, related to Darkode, a notorious online forum that specialized in buying and selling of malware and other hacking tools. Law enforcement closed the site nearly four years ago.

Baltimore Ransomware Attack Costing City $18 Million

Scott Ferguson  •  June 7, 2019

A month after Baltimore's IT network was hit with the RobbinHood ransomware variant, officials believe the May 7 attack will cost $18 million, which includes recovering and restoring computer systems as well as lost municipal revenue.