Information Security Archives - Page 3 of 3

Jul72018 by genxwordadminNo Comments

Cryptojacking: Cyberattackers’ New Favorite Money-Making Tool

Cryptojacking: Cyberattackers’ New Favorite Money-Making Tool Cryptojacking cyberattack is now the new favorite money-making tool by cybercriminals and computers of organizations lagging behind in cybersecurity are at risk of this type of cyberattack. A recent report from McAfee Labsshowed that in the 1stquarter of 2018, cryptocurrency mining malware grew to more than 2.9 million or 629% from nearly 400,000 in the 4thquarter of 2017. What is Cryptojacking? Cryptojacking is the act of illicitly installing a cryptomining software on the victim’s computer. A cryptocurrency mining software, on its own, isn’t illegal. This software harnesses the power of a computer as a means to release a new digital coin and as a means to verify transactions. In principle, owners of the computers used for cryptocurrency mining have to be compensated. In cryptojacking,…

Jun262018 by genxwordadminNo Comments

How to Stop Cyberattackers from Turning Your Organization’s Computers Into Botnet

Information Security, Security

How to Stop Cyberattackers from Turning Your Organization's Computers Into Botnet Security researchers at Deep Instinct have recently discovered a new malicious software (malware) campaign that turns Windows-based computers into a botnet. Researchers dubbed this sophisticated, never-before-seen in the wild botnet as “Mylobot”, named after one of the researcher's dog. What is a Botnet? A botnet is a group of computers that are infected by a malware and controlled by an attacker using command and control servers without the computer owners' knowledge. When computers are turned as part of a botnet, an attacker takes full control of the computers, using them according to his whim. An attacker can download additional malware from the command and control servers, turning the controlled computers as botnet army for distributed denial of service (DDoS)…

Jun192018 by genxwordadminNo Comments

Race to Patch Known Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities

Information Security, Security

Race to Patch Known Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities More than a month since Microsoft rolled out its April 30, 2018 update on Windows 10, the company said nearly 250 million or one-third of the nearly 700 million computers using Windows 10 have applied this update. This Microsoft data shows that nearly 450 million or two-thirds of machines using Windows 10 as their operating system (OS) haven’t applied the April 2018 patch. Prevalence of Delayed Patching A patch is a piece of code that’s inserted (or patched) into an existing software program. It’s meant to improve performance, usability or to fix known cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It’s a known fact that many organizations don’t patch immediately. Researchers at Renditionrevealed that more than a month after Microsoft released its March 2017 update, over 148,000 machines hadn’t…

May272018 by genxwordadminNo Comments

How to Protect Your Organization’s Computers Against Meltdown and Spectre

Information Security, Security

Protecting Your Organization’s Computers Against Meltdown and Spectre Whenever a new cybersecurity vulnerability is publicly revealed, a new version often springs to life based on the original cybersecurity vulnerability. This is true in the case of the “Meltdown” and “Spectre”, cybersecurity vulnerabilities that were publicly disclosed by researchers at Google Project Zero (GPZ) last January. Meltdown, also known as Variant 3, is a cybersecurity vulnerability that “melts” the security boundaries typically established by the hardware, affecting desktops, laptops and cloud computers. Spectre, collective term for Variant 1 and Variant 2, is a cybersecurity vulnerability that allows a cyberattacker to force a CPU to reveal its data. Modern-day CPUs such as Intel, AMD, and ARM are vulnerable to varying degrees to the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of both Meltdown and Spectre. Ecosystem partners…

Apr32018 by genxwordadminNo Comments

WannaCry Still a Threat to Businesses

Information Security, Security

WannaCry Still Threatening Businesses U.S. aircraft maker Boeing is the latest company hit by the infamous WannaCry malicious software (malware). Early in the day of March 28, 2018, Mike VanderWel, chief engineer at Boeing Commercial Airplane Production Engineering, sent out a memo informing his colleagues about the WannaCry cyberattack at the company’s North Charleston, South Carolina production plant, The Seattle Timesreported. VanderWel wrote that the cyberattack was “metastasizing” or spreading out of the company’s North Charleston production plant and could potentially “spread to airplane software”. By evening of March 28th, the company was calling for calm. “We’ve done a final assessment,” Linda Mills, head of communications for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement. “The vulnerability was limited to a few machines. We deployed software patches. There was no interruption…

Feb242018 by genxwordadminNo Comments

What is Cryptojacking and How to Prevent This Cyberattack

Information Security, Security

What is Cryptojacking: How do you prevent this Cyberattack? Tesla is the latest company that joins the growing list of companies that have been hit by cryptojacking – a form of cyberattack in which a hacker uses the computing power of a target to mine cryptocurrency. According to RedLock, the company that revealed the Tesla hack, the attacker was able to access Tesla’s cloud account and used it to mine Monero, a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin. Both Monero and Bitcoin need to be mined. Cryptocurrency mining is a process by which transactions are verified. It’s also a process by which a new crypto coin is released. Miners, those who allow their computers to be used for cryptocurrency mining, are compensated for the computer and electricity usage. A spokesperson of Tesla…

Nov172017 by genxwordadminNo Comments

How Vulnerable is Your Organization’s Email System?

Information Security, Security

Is Your Organization’s Email System Vulnerable? The email system is your organization’s most important digital avenue, yet it’s the most vulnerable. Despite the growth of other forms of digital communication like instant messaging and social networking, sending and receiving emails still remains the most favored means of communication by many. The email is the hub by which you communicate with your employees, your business partners and your customers. Email Popularity Email is the preferred means of communication because it’s one of the quickest forms of communication and an effective means to transfer files. In addition to exchanging messages and files, the email, through time, has become the window to other accounts. Without an email address, you can’t open an online account of your bank or a social media account. According…

Oct232017 by genxwordadminNo Comments

Top Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small Businesses

Information Security, Security

Best Cybersecurity Practices for Small Businesses Digitalization revolutionized the way we do business. While digitalization improves efficiency and productivity, it also makes businesses more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Cybersecurity threats are not just of great concern to large businesses. Large, medium and small businesses alike are at risk of cyberattacks. A report from Better Business Bureau (BBB) – a nonprofit organization focused on advancing marketplace trust – found that only 35% of small businesses could remain profitable for more than three months if they permanently lost access to essential data as a result of a cyberattack, while more than half would be unprofitable in under a month. “Profitability is the ultimate test of risk,” said Bill Fanelli, one of the authors of the BBB report entitled “2017 State of Cybersecurity Among…