Category: Security
FTC lays down the ransomware law
The chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is advising businesses that the FTC might hold them accountable for not fixing vulnerabilities commonly exploited by cybercriminals launching ransomware attacks. FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez says the actual ransom demand is usually...
Ransomware Highlights the Need to Manage Data Protection as a Process
Under the heading of an ill wind always blows some good, the rise of ransomware has certainly moved data protection up the IT agenda. There are very few IT organizations these days that are not at the very least considering...
Ransomware driving backup and recovery conversations for MSPs
Backup and recovery may not have always been the sexiest of IT topics, but thanks to the rise of ransomware it is now one of the hottest. The single most effective defense against ransomware is an ability to recover an...
Changes in attack patterns create demand for managed security services
While managed security services providers (MSSPs) have been remotely managing firewalls and anti-virus software deployments for years, it’s become clear over the past 12 months that new classes of threats are doing an end run around those core security technologies. For...
Cerber ransomware targets Microsoft Office 365 users
First identified back in March, Cerber ransomware made headlines again recently after reportedly targeting Microsoft Office 365 users through a large-scale zero-day attack. Outside estimates say the email was sent to millions of Office 365 users and that it took...
The growing importance of security breach incident management
How an IT organization handles a breach is now arguably more important to the business affected than all the time and effort they put into preventing one from happening. In this day and age, some kind of breach is now...
TeslaCrypt closes doors, offers master decryption key
In a surprising turn of events, notorious ransomware TeslaCrypt seems to be no more.
Ransomware exposes poor data management hygiene
As ransomware attacks continue to proliferate, the soft underbelly of IT — how organizations often manage their data in a cavalier manner — is finally being exposed. Ransomware combines social engineering techniques, malware, and encryption to take an organization’s data hostage. As...
The FBI wants to see your malware
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would like IT services providers and their customers to share their malware with them. As part of its ongoing efforts to combat cybercriminals, the FBI has developed a massive database of malware that it...
Samsam and Petya: The New Wave of Ransomware
Malware development, like any other area in IT, is a hotbed of innovation and change. At the forefront of this trend are the groups responsible for developing ransomware applications such as TeslaCrypt and Cryptowall. Today’s news brings two new challengers:...
