RSS_Virtulization

Russia-Sponsored Group Employs Apparently Legitimate Documents Aligned to Growing Hostilities Between Russia and Ukraine Authored by: Gage Mele, Yury Polozov, and Tara Gould Key Findings Anomali Threat Research discovered a campaign targeting Ukrainian government officials with malicious files that could be repurposed to target government officials of other countries. We assess with high confidence that this activity was conducted by Russia-sponsored cyberespionage group Primitive Bear (Gamaredon). Primitive Bear was observed distributing .docx files that attempted…

An American company with ambitions to “help build a better internet” is to open its first ever office in Canada. On April 19, security, performance, and reliability company Cloudflare announced its plans to expand northward and open an office in Toronto.  Cloudflare’s co-founder, president, and COO, Michelle Zatlyn, who is Canadian but currently resides in San Francisco, California, said in a blog post that the announcement “feels like a homecoming.” “Canada has always been an important part of our history…

In a year where people relied on their digital lives more than ever before and a dramatic uptick in attacks quickly followed, McAfee’s protection stood strong.  We’re proud to announce several awards from independent third-party labs, which recognized our products, protection, and the people behind them over the course of last year.  Recognized four times over for our people and products  The Cybersecurity Excellence Awards is an annual competition honoring individuals and companies that demonstrate excellence, innovation, and leadership in information security. We were honored with four awards:  As a company, we were…

Mastercard has announced its intention to acquire Seattle-based digital identity verification company Ekata in a deal valued at $850m. The payment processor publicized the planned purchase on Monday morning and said that they expect to close the deal within the next six months. Ekata works with over 2,000 companies worldwide to help them combat fraud and counts among its clients Sage, American Airlines, Equifax, and Lyft. It was founded in July 2019 when Seattle-based background checking company Whitepages split into two separate…

The United States has brought federal charges against a Maryland resident in connection with a social media scam that victimized elderly Americans. Oluwaseyi Akinyemi, also known as “Paddy Linkin” and “Joseph Kadin,” is accused of conning more than a dozen seniors out of nearly half a million dollars.  A criminal complaint was filed against the 34-year-old Nigerian native on April 16 charging him with mail fraud, attempted mail fraud, and mail and wire fraud conspiracy. Akinyemi is suspected…

The Center for Internet Security recently launched a free tool for private U.S. hospitals to block malicious activity. Wavebreakmedia, Getty Images/iStockphoto In spite of how critical they have become during the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have been forced to deal with a barrage of ransomware attacks over the last year. A Comparitech report found that there were 92 separate ransomware attacks in 2020 that had an effect on more than 600 US clinics, hospitals and organizations….

Security experts said the recent upheaval in the job market makes it imperative to bolster separation protocols further. Image: iStockphoto/RyanKing999 The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented turmoil in the job market over the last year, with millions across the world losing or leaving jobs due to economic disruption. An unfortunate byproduct of the employee turnover is the cybersecurity threat that comes with having a significant number of former employees.  Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of…

Google is shouting about a new standard designed to enhance baseline security across mobile applications. The Mobile Application Profile is the work of the Internet of Secure Things Alliance (ioXt), a consortium of over 300 members including Google, Facebook, T-Mobile, Zigbee Alliance, Schneider Electric and many others. “With so many companies involved, ioXt covers a wide range of device types, including smart lighting, smart speakers, and webcams, and since most smart devices are managed through…

The systems administrator for a notorious organized cybercrime group has been handed a 10-year jail sentence for his part in financial crimes that cost firms and consumers billions. Ukrainian national Fedir Hladyr, 35, was manager and sysadmin for FIN7 (aka Carbanak), which is believed to have made a fortune from targeting banks, restaurants, gambling and hospitality firms. The campaign which Hladyr has been linked to involved the compromise of thousands of computer systems internationally, including…

The UK’s privacy regulator issued over £42 million in fines last year, although the vast majority of the money relates to two major GDPR penalties, according to new data. Flagged by think tank Parliament Street, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) “work to recover fines” report revealed that 17 financial penalties had been levied in 2020, amounting to more than £42.4 million. Most can be attributed to the vastly reduced and much-delayed fines finally imposed on…