Crypto mining malware is now the weapon of choice for hackers worldwide. The skyrocketing prices of cryptocurrencies is driving the scale of cryptojacking attacks, and can mean very lucrative profits ranging from hundreds of dollars to twenty thousand dollars per month. Victims now include Tesla and the UK government.
Cyber Security
Cyber criminals, state-sponsored hackers and even the occasional disgruntled employee are constantly looking to gain unauthorized access for a variety of purposes: theft of money, cyber espionage, personal information for sale or for use in scams, and damage to critical infrastructure for just a few of the most common.
So how does an organization mitigate an entire world full of continual cyber attacks? Just as buildings have a number of necessary elements of physical security: access control, cameras, alarms and so on; there are similar key elements of cyber security that are absolutely vital for just about any modern business.
It starts with identifying and closing the most common doors that attackers use. For example, phishing attacks on employees are far and away the most common initial point of entry. The breach of even a low-level employee account can quickly turn into an escalation in access privileges and the ability to reach sensitive information. This is also true of smart devices, which are generally more poorly secured than computers and phones.
Software supply chain attacks have spiked significantly year-over-year. Sonatype logged over 245,032 malicious packages in open source projects available to public download in 2023, double the number seen from 2019 to 2022. In total, one in eight open source downloads poses a risk.
AI autonomy has redrawn the security battlefield. What was once human versus human is now AI against AI, with both attackers and defenders wielding machine power.
The European Commission is investigating a data breach that compromised the infrastructure used to manage mobile devices, which leaked the staff members’ personal information.
GAO audits carried out between fiscal years 2012-2017 have discovered significant cyber vulnerabilities in the U.S. Department of Defense’s top weapons systems, reflecting a misguided approach that does not take into consideration basic cyber security.
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab has discovered an iOS malware variant spreading via an iPhone zero-click exploit in iMessage. Russia has accused the NSA of targeting the country’s diplomatic missions and Apple of providing backdoors.
Easy targets. That’s the best way to describe universities and colleges as targets of cyberattacks. Most still operate using legacy systems and infrastructure, and many users, devices, and inadequate cybersecurity policies make them easy prey for bad actors.
KELA found that the sale of network initial access methods in underground forums was worth millions of dollars, and brokers resorted to selling in private conversations.
A months-long data breach has exposed the personal information of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) workers.
CPO Magazine sat down with Prashant Pai and Scott Stransky at Verisk to understand what companies should consider when shoring their cybersecurity defenses.










