Tag: cyber attack
DDoS “celebrates” 25th anniversary with a spike
The first documented widespread distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack occurred in 1996 when New York City-based internet provider, Panix, was attacked. The New York Times described it: Beginning Sept. 6 and continuing through at least last Tuesday, a hacker intent on shutting...
Pandemic cybersecurity in South Africa
The coronavirus has brought economic devastation to all parts of the world. As a journalist based in the United States, I understandably tend to focus on the United States. But it’s easy to become so focused on one’s home country that...
Lateral movement cyberattacks remain relevant
As the pandemic rages around the world and workers continue to hunker down remotely, it seems as everything has changed. Yet, in some ways, the old adage – the more things change, the more they stay the same – still...
Tax scam season arrives
While your clients are busy preparing for the impact of coronavirus shutdowns on their businesses, MSPs must stay vigilant when it comes to the annual influx of tax scams. In the past, these scams centered around W-2 form theft. Because...
Conversation hijacking emerges as a cybersecurity threat
Recent research by Barracuda Networks highlights the growing dangers of “conversation hijacking.” According to the research, an analysis of approximately 500,000 monthly email attacks shows a 400 percent increase in these types of attacks. There were approximately 500 incidents in...
The risks of state-sponsored cyberattacks are rising
When tensions between Iran and the United States threatened to spill over into an all-out war, concern immediately turned towards state-sponsored cyberattacks. Tom Reagan, U.S. cyber practice leader at Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm, told CNBC...
Building a defense from social engineering attacks
Last week Smarter MSP examined the security threat that social engineering poses to organizations of all sizes. Social engineering is a technique that hackers use to gain access to an organization’s network, without having to break down the metaphorical door....
Social engineering: a hacker’s most effective weapon
What is the weakest link in your client’s network? It’s not unpatched software (although you should patch) or the unimaginative passwords (although you should change it). The weakest links are humans themselves. It’s Joan in accounting or Stan in human...
Tech Time Warp: Flame, the virus with a massive controlled burn
The Flame virus first achieved infamy in May 2012, shortly after the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union asked a security company to look in to the hacking of Iranian computers. Although not widespread — only a few hundred computers are...
Bad actors are using AI in their cyber attacks
The alarms have been going off for some time about the growing role of AI in cyber attacks. In 2017, a survey of cybersecurity professionals found that 91 percent are concerned about AI-powered attacks against companies. More recently, an article in Fortune...