CISA has released a new cybersecurity checklist as a primer for an expected uptick in hacking ahead of the 2024 presidential election, composed of just four pages of information that does not pack any surprises.
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.
CISA directs federal agencies to adhere to the vulnerability management catalog and patch 300 exploited vulnerabilities assigned CVE IDs in 2021 within 2 weeks and 6 months for previous ones.
CISA/NSA Identity and Access Management Guidelines Provide Cybersecurity Guidance for Administrators
CISA and the NSA note that identity and access management vulnerabilities are a particular recent focus for certain state-backed threat groups, and that 40% of data breaches not involving user error or an insider are now facilitated by stolen credentials.
Cisco has launched a data breach investigation and pulled its development portal offline after a hacker listed the company’s infrastructure information on a hacking forum.
The Cisco network breach was traced back to an employee's personal Google account. It was protected by multi-factor authentication (MFA), but the attacker tried a number of different voice phishing attempts.
Secure remote working procedures will be a high priority for all types of organizations after COVID-19 as many employees continue to work outside of the traditional office.
Networking gear manufacturer Cisco has disclosed that a data breach stemming from a voice phishing (vishing) attack targeting a third-party CRM system leaked customer information.
It’s not all about the safeguards and technical measures around information. Savvy security experts need to understand privacy and how it interacts with the security world and what privacy means for an organization’s security strategy and compliance with things like HIPAA, GDPR, CBPR, etc.
Indian government has cited national security as the reason for banning 59 Chinese apps, including popular apps such as TikTok, UC Browser and Clash of Kings.
Nearly half of Brazil's citizen data is offered in underground forum with a starting bid price of $15,000 and a minimum bid increase of $1,000. Seller is also offering to look up specific individual data for a small fee of $150.










