Attackers will threaten to release confidential data that could affect a company’s stock price to pressure them to pay the ransom, says the FBI. Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto Ransomware operators will stoop to any tactic necessary to try to force their victims to acquiesce to the ransom demands. One popular tactic is double extortion in which the attackers threaten to publish the stolen data unless the ransom is paid. Now some criminal gangs have devised a…

SailPoint survey finds that younger workers also are more likely to use company email addresses for online shopping and subscriptions. Image: Vladimir Obradovic, Getty Images/iStockphoto A new Trust Issues survey found that Gen Z and Millennials should follow the example set by their elders to develop better cyber hygiene habits at work. This SailPoint survey asked 500 U.S. workers about how they use email and deal with phishing attacks. The survey asked how respondents reacted…

Security experts have warned of potential disruption to the upcoming holiday shopping season after recording a double-digit year-on-year increase in bot-driven cyber-attacks so far in 2021. Imperva’s State of Security Within eCommerce report revealed that over half (57%) of attacks targeting retail websites this year were carried out by bots, versus just 33% across other industries. Account takeover attempts, looking to hijack customers’ accounts to steal personal and financial info, reached 33% so far in 2021, versus…

Over 20 staffers at the Student Loans Company (SLC) have faced disciplinary action for computer misuse and other offenses, including three former employees who were fired, according to new Freedom of Information (FoI) data. Litigation firm Griffin Law revealed the findings of its FoI requests to the non-profit, which is owned by the UK government’s Department for Education and is responsible for administering loans and grants to students. While several of the 23 offenses related to excessive internet use…

The UK’s data protection and privacy regulator is getting worse at collecting the fines it hands out to penalize erring companies, according to new data from TheSMSWorks. The SMS API provider has been tracking the progress of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in such matters since 2018. Unfortunately, it revealed that just a quarter (26%) of the monetary value of fines it issued from January 2020 to September 2021 had been paid, down from 32% during the last report…