If you have been following Verizon’s annual data breach investigation reports like I have over the years, you get excited when the new one comes out. If you have never read the report, now’s your chance, as the 2021 report...more
CYBERSECURITY -
Coveware Q1 2021 Report Shows Increase in Ransomware Payments Over Q4 2020 Coveware issued its Q1 2021 -
Ransomware Report on April 26, 2021, which concludes that “[D]ata exfiltration extortion continues...more
5/7/2021
/ Apple ,
Contact Tracing ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Drones ,
Girl Scouts ,
Kroger ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
Coveware issued its Q1 2021 Ransomware Report on April 26, 2021, which concludes that “[D]ata exfiltration extortion continues to be prevalent and we have reached an inflection point where the vast majority of ransomware...more
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced this week that the Commonwealth will not continue to do business with its contact tracing vendor following a security incident that potentially exposed the personal information of...more
5/6/2021
/ Contact Tracing ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Hackers ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Vendor Contacts ,
Vendors
Eversource Energy, which is the largest energy supplier in New England with 4.3 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, is notifying customers that their personal information was compromised on an...more
This week, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued the Report on the SolarWinds Cyber Espionage Attack and Institutions’ Response....more
4/30/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hackers ,
Information Sharing ,
NYDFS ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SolarWinds
The United States government, states, municipalities, and private companies all have been trying to defend themselves from cyber warfare from foreign adversarial governments, including Russia, China, and North Korea, for...more
4/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Hackers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SolarWinds
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has settled alleged violations of the Department’s strict cybersecurity regulations with National Securities Corp. (NSC) for $3 million, over four separate cybersecurity...more
4/19/2021
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
NYDFS ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Settlement Agreements
The Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently released a free tool that will assist organizations with identifying indicators of compromise following threat activity in...more
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) recently issued a joint alert with the Department of Homeland Security/Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) that “Mamba ransomware has been deployed against local...more
4/9/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
On April 6, 2021, DocuSign issued an Alert notifying users of a new malicious hacking tool that is mimicking DocuSign to drop malware into victims’ systems. According to the Alert, the document building tool, dubbed...more
Applus Technologies, Inc., a vendor of multiple state Departments of Motor Vehicles that assists states with vehicle inspections, recently announced that its systems have been affected by malware, disrupting motor vehicle...more
4/9/2021
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
DMV ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Malware ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Popular ,
Safety Inspections
Speaking of security education and training, the National Cybersecurity Center this week launched a new initiative to offer cyber-hygiene and IT security sessions to elected state government officials and their staff for...more
State and local governments have been hammered with business email compromise (BEC) attacks over the past few years and the onslaught does not appear to be abating....more
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently completed and published a study on electricity grid cybersecurity that concluded that the Department of Energy (DOE) needs to ensure its plans fully address...more
CYBERSECURITY -
$50 Million Ransom Demand is Largest Ever -
In what is being reported as the largest ransom demand ever, Taiwanese electronics and computer manufacturer Acer has reportedly been hit with a ransomware...more
3/26/2021
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Drones ,
Facebook ,
Hackers ,
Honeywell International ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Vaccinations ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Aerospace and energy equipment manufacturer Honeywell has reportedly been hit with a cyber-attack in the form of a malware intrusion that disrupted some of its information technology systems....more
Cyber-hygiene and prevention are sometimes hard to fit in when there are so many vulnerabilities, zero-day attacks and third-party incidents that keep us busy every day....more
In the category of “you can’t make this up but satisfyingly ironic,” it was recently reported that criminals who used the WeLeakInfo database to buy stolen credentials of individuals have had their own information...more
What do you do if your HR benefits and payroll vendor suffers a cyber-attack and payroll can’t be run? Do you have a backup plan for running payroll? How will you communicate with your employees?...more
CYBERSECURITY -
Free Ransomware Service Offered to U.S. Hospitals -
The Center for Internet Security (CIS) announced last week that it has launched the Malicious Domain Blocking and Reporting (MDBR) service to assist...more
2/26/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Driverless Cars ,
Hackers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Information Technology ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right of Access ,
WhatsApp
CYBERSECURITY -
Health and Personal Information of N.C. Residents Posted Online by Ransomware Group -
Becker’s Health IT reports that two batches of sensitive information of Chatham County, N.C. residents have been posted...more
2/19/2021
/ Article III ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Hackers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Right of Access ,
Standing
Cyber-attacks and Cybersecurity Failure Are Top Risks of the Next Decade Says World Economic Forum -
Although somewhat obvious, the World Economic Forum, in partnership with Marsh McLennan, SK Group and Zurich Insurance...more
2/16/2021
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybertheft ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Hackers ,
NYDFS ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Social Media
In what the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is touting as the first guidance by a U.S. regulator on cyber insurance, NYDFS announced on February 4, 2021, in Insurance Circular Letter No. 2 (2021), that it...more
Although somewhat obvious, the World Economic Forum, in partnership with Marsh McLennan, SK Group and Zurich Insurance Group, recently issued its 16th edition of the Global Risks Report (the Report), which analyzes “the risks...more