Parliament is considering a bill that would enforce minimum security requirements for IoT devices (Photo: ISMG)

UK Legislation Seeks Mandatory Security Standards for IoT

Prajeet Nair • November 25, 2021

Could the internet of things be made more secure? A draft law in Britain would impose stronger cybersecurity regulations for manufacturers, importers and distributors of smartphones, TVs, toys and other "connected" digital devices, backed by the threat of fines of up to $13 million for noncompliance.

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Cybercrime

Hackers Disrupt Canadian Healthcare and Steal Medical Data

Latest

3rd Party Risk Management

Alert: Cuba Ransomware Gang Hits 49 CNI Organizations

Prajeet Nair • December 4, 2021

The FBI warns that the Cuba ransomware actors have managed to extort $43.9 million in ransom payments from victims after compromising at least 49 entities in five critical infrastructure sectors: financial, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and information technology, all since early November.

Incident & Breach Response

Researcher: Healthcare Staffing Database Exposed Worker PII

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • December 3, 2021

A security researcher says a misconfigured, non-password-protected database of a healthcare staffing company potentially exposed the personal information in about 170,000 medical worker records. The staffing firm, however, disputes the details of what was allegedly contained in the database.

3rd Party Risk Management

TSA Issues New Cybersecurity Requirements for Rail Sector

Dan Gunderman • December 3, 2021

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has issued new security directives for higher-risk freight railroads, passenger rail, and rail transit that it says will strengthen cybersecurity across the transportation sector in response to growing threats to critical infrastructure.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

BIO-ISAC: Beware of Tardigrade Attacks on Biomanufacturers

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • December 3, 2021

The Bioeconomy Information Sharing and Analysis Center is warning biotechnology organizations, including vaccine makers and other biomanufacturers, of escalating threats involving Tardigrade malware, which experts say is used to launch ransomware and other potentially serious attacks.

Cybercrime

Arrest Points to Ubiquiti Breach Being an Inside Job

Prajeet Nair • December 3, 2021

A former employee of a New York-based technology company, likely to be IoT technology company Ubiquiti, has been arrested for stealing confidential data and extorting his employer for nearly $2 million. If convicted, the suspect faces up to 37 years in prison.

Account Takeover Fraud

Deepfakes, Voice Impersonators Used in Vishing-as-a-Service

Soumik Ghosh • December 3, 2021

Advanced voice impersonation and deepfake technologies are giving rise to cybercrime groups that offer Vishing-as-a-Service, security researchers say. Vishing is proving to be successful in tricking victims and bypassing voice authorization mechanisms.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Ransomware Operations Double Down on Data Leak Sites

Mathew J. Schwartz • December 3, 2021

Many ransomware-wielding attackers continue to rely on initial access brokers to easily gain deep access to victims' systems, allowing them to steal data and attempt to pressure victims into paying via data leak sites. Researchers say that the number of victims being listed on such sites has surged.

Account Takeover Fraud

ISMG Editors: Are We Close to Cracking Cybercrime Ecosystem?

Anna Delaney • December 3, 2021

In the latest weekly update, four editors at Information Security Media Group discuss important cybersecurity issues, including how the FBI has seized bitcoins from an alleged REvil ransomware affiliate, how to mitigate risks from BIN attacks and the latest COVID-19 trends globally.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Need to Negotiate a Ransomware Payoff? Newbies: Start Here

Anna Delaney • December 3, 2021

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report features an analysis of best practices for negotiating a ransom payment. Also featured: Busting Zero Trust myths and the dangers of mythologizing defenders.

Cybercrime

Report: Aberebot-2.0 Hits Banking Apps and Crypto Wallets

Soumik Ghosh • December 1, 2021

A new variant of the Aberebot banking Trojan has been discovered by Cyble's researchers. Christened Aberebot-2.0, the latest malware version not only uses more advanced spying capabilities, it also has increased its target list to 213 banking apps and nine crypto wallets in 22 countries.

Cybercrime

Recently Discovered 'EwDoor' Botnet Targets US AT&T Devices

Dan Gunderman • December 1, 2021

A recently discovered botnet is infecting thousands of AT&T internet subscribers in the U.S., using a critical-severity blind command injection flaw first reported in 2017, according to new findings from China-based cybersecurity researchers.

Application Security

Hackers Abuse Remote Access Tools to Steal Crypto Data

Prajeet Nair • December 1, 2021

Unidentified threat actors are using fake cryptocurrency-related websites to distribute the SpyAgent malware, which abuses legitimate remote access tools. They have targeted a legitimate Russian remote access tool called Safib Assistant, Trend Micro researchers note.