Security News > 2020 > June
In light of recent regulator action regarding Data Protection Officer independence, this article considers the ethical and practical considerations surrounding the appointment of a DPO. The fines and regulatory risk. On April 28, 2020, the Belgian Data Protection Authority issued a €50,000 fine to an organization for appointing the head of compliance, audit and risk management as DPO. The Belgian DPA argued that combining these two roles creates a conflict of interest and violates Article 38(6) of the GDPR. This decision is in line with earlier holdings where the Belgian DPA stated that DPOs cannot delete the personal information of a data subject themselves.
There has been a shift in internet traffic patterns coinciding with an increase in DDoS and other types of network attacks in recent months as organizations across industries quickly transitioned to remote workforces and individuals under stay-at-home orders began relying on the internet more heavily, according to Neustar. The pandemic effect was clear in traffic to specific websites, such as the 250% increase in queries for a popular collaboration platform as lockdowns commenced and the sharp rise in traffic to the website of a N95 masks manufacturer.
The smaller the business, the smaller the focus on cybersecurity, according to a survey of 400 small business owners, conducted by the Cyber Readiness Institute. A remote workforce during Covid-19 increased the cybersecurity concerns of just 31% of small business owners with fewer than 10 employees, while 41% of those at companies with more than 10 employees were more apprehensive of possible cyber attacks.
Credit card details, online banking logins, and social media credentials are available on the dark web at worryingly low prices, according to Privacy Affairs. Online banking logins cost an average of $35. Full credit card details including associated data cost $12-20.
Australia's prime minister said Friday his country was under a broad cyberattack from a "State-based actor" targeting government, public services and businesses, with suspicions falling on China. Australia enraged China by calling for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and by accusing China of fuelling a virus "Infodemic" and engaging in economic "Coercion".
Despite many countries planning for a return to physical offices and workspaces, 60% of IT leaders are continuing to increase their overall cloud usage and 91% are changing their cloud strategy as a result of the current economic climate. 60% said their cloud usage continues to increase, indicating that cloud consumption patterns are still in flux even after the initial surge in remote work.
Unbound Tech announced the advancement of its Crypto-of-Things solution - an endpoint security solution which removes dependence on traditional authentication methods, based on Unbound's NextGen Key Orchestration Platform. Now, businesses relying on hardware tokens, software tokens, and passwords can secure high-risk operations and authenticate transaction approvals without the typical security, usability, and cost trade-offs associated with those methods.
Ricoh announced major enhancements to its RICOH Smart Integration platform, a part of its RICOH Cloud Workflow Solutions portfolio. RICOH Smart Integration technology is available in a scalable, modular subscription model, from both direct and Ricoh Family Group dealer channels, to fit the evolving digital productivity requirements of any organization.
Armorblox, a cloud office security platform that protects inbound and outbound enterprise communications, announced the availability of integrations with Box and Slack to stop socially engineered attacks and data loss across email, messaging, and file-sharing services. In addition to API-based integrations with Office 365, G Suite, and Exchange, these new integrations extend Armorblox capabilities beyond email to prevent targeted attacks and sensitive data disclosures across cloud office applications.
Expanding on their long-term partnership, Siemens and IBM announce the availability of a new solution designed to optimize the Service Lifecycle Management of assets by dynamically connecting real-world maintenance activities and asset performance back to design decisions and field modifications. This new solution establishes an end-to-end digital thread between equipment manufacturers and the owner/operators of that equipment by leveraging elements of the Xcelerator portfolio from Siemens Digital Industries Software and IBM Maximo.