A reader kindly informed me that Movimiento Ciudadano, one of the political parties that had legitimate access to Mexico’s voter data list, has admitted it was responsible for the leak on Amazon. Except that as I read more, I realized they weren’t really admitting they were responsible for the leak. I’ve been trying to read/translate a number…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Retailers battle financial sector over lame data breach legislation that they think is too strong?
Cory Bennett reports: Retailers on Tuesday doubled down on their opposition to a data breach notification bill favored by financial firms. The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), one of the sector’s largest trade groups, argued in a letter to House leadership that the measure would be unfair to large swaths of the economy. The bill,…
Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report finds criminals continue to exploit human nature
Cybercriminals are continuing to exploit human nature as they rely on familiar attack patterns such as phishing, and increase their reliance on ransomware, where data is encrypted and a ransom is demanded, finds the Verizon 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report. This year’s report highlights repeating themes from prior year’s findings and storylines that continue to…
VEHICLE CYBERSECURITY: DOT and Industry Have Efforts Under Way, but DOT Needs to Define Its Role in Responding to a Real-world Attack
From a newly released GAO report: Modern vehicles contain multiple interfaces—connections between the vehicle and external networks—that leave vehicle systems, including safety-critical systems, such as braking and steering, vulnerable to cyberattacks. Researchers have shown that these interfaces—if not properly secured—can be exploited through direct, physical access to a vehicle, as well as remotely through short-range…
Edwin Shaw employee loses unencrypted flash drive with 975 patients’ info
An anonymous site visitor kindly pointed me to this item that was in the Akron Beacon Journal last week: If you went to Akron General Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation hospital in 2010 or 2011, expect to receive a letter from hospital officials saying that some of your information may have been compromised. Officials said the data…
SWIFT warns customers of multiple cyber fraud cases, issues software security update
Jim Finkle reports: SWIFT, the global financial network that banks use to transfer billions of dollars every day, warned its customers on Monday that it was aware of “a number of recent cyber incidents” where attackers had sent fraudulent messages over its system. The disclosure came as law enforcement authorities in Bangladesh and elsewhere investigated the…