Security News

Me on COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps
2020-05-01 11:22

"My problem with contact tracing apps is that they have absolutely no value," Bruce Schneier, a privacy expert and fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, told BuzzFeed News. One, the app's location and proximity systems - based on GPS and Bluetooth - just aren't accurate enough to capture every contact.

COVID-19 prompts DHS warning to review Office 365 security
2020-05-01 10:09

Heads up, Microsoft Office 365 users: It's time to take some important steps in securing your account. The US Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has released some recommendations to help secure the online productivity service.

Criminals Quick to Exploit COVID-19 Crisis in Europe
2020-05-01 03:55

In a report Thursday looking at how the pandemic will shape organized crime in the EU, Europol said much of the criminality related to the deadly virus reflects the flexibility of criminal organizations, a trend that was already witnessed during previous financial crises. The impact became evident much more quickly, with a sharp increase in cybercrime in the first weeks of the virus's spread. "New and adapted attacks appeared almost immediately from the onset of the crisis and have been among the most visible types of criminality," Europol said.

How Cybercriminals are Weathering COVID-19
2020-04-30 18:20

These restrictions have created a burgeoning underground market for reshipping scams, which rely on willing or unwitting residents in the United States and Europe - derisively referred to as "Reshipping mules" - to receive and relay high-dollar stolen goods to crooks living in the embargoed areas. Still, every dark cloud has a silver lining: Intel 471 noted many cybercriminals appear optimistic that the impending global economic recession "Will make it easier to recruit low-level accomplices such as money mules."

Google 'Task Force' Fights Bad COVID-19 Ads
2020-04-30 16:44

Google said Thursday its task force devoted to fighting "Bad" ads hawking bogus coronavirus cures, illegitimate unemployment benefits and overpriced medical supplies had blocked tens of millions of messages. Google has blocked and removed coronavirus-related marketing pitches in recent months for policy violations including price-gouging and misleading claims, according to ads privacy and safety vice president Scott Spencer.

COVID-19 Lockdown Fuels Increase in RDP Attacks
2020-04-30 13:06

According to Kaspersky, the number of brute-force RDP attacks has rocketed all around the world. At the beginning of March, the security company was observing in the low hundreds of thousands of RDP attempts per country, per day, but the volume grew to nearly 1 million attacks per day toward the end of the month, in some countries.

iThreat helps combat COVID-19 fraudulent websites
2020-04-30 01:00

iThreat announced that it is working with a coalition of Internet infrastructure providers, law enforcement organizations and other anti-abuse organizations to combat the flood of fraudulent websites that have appeared in recent weeks seeking to capitalize on the global COVID-19 pandemic. iThreat is in a strong position to help combat this type of criminal activity via its CleanDNS platform.

445 million attacks detected since the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 wreaks havoc
2020-04-29 03:30

Earlier in the quarter, there was a sharp decline in human-driven attacks originating from low-cost 'sweatshop' resources. Automated attacks are easier to scale up quickly, allowing fraudsters to quickly take advantage of the changing digital landscape.

Cybersecurity professionals are being repurposed during COVID-19 pandemic
2020-04-28 16:03

47% of respondents have been temporarily moved to assist with IT-related tasks during remote work,2 survey finds. Eighty-one percent of cybersecurity professionals said their job function has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, while at the same time, 23% reported cyberattacks at their organizations have increased since transitioning to remote work, according to a new survey by².

Privacy pros expecting an increase in privacy rights requests as a result of COVID-19
2020-04-27 03:30

Despite changing IT priorities and tightening of spend due to COVID-19 measures, 56% of data privacy professionals are expecting there will be an increase in rights requests as a result of COVID-19. The research found that consumers are actively exercising their rights under CCPA with 51% of companies receiving more than 10 requests a week and 20% receiving more than 100 requests a week.