Amidst the pandemic overwhelming the capacity of many hospital systems, malicious hackers have been quick to target healthcare providers and medical agencies. These cyber-attacks have hit both the United States and Europe in recent months, serving as a reminder for organizations to closely review their information security posture during these times of uncertainty. Despite certain attacker groups stating their intent to refrain from targeting healthcare organizations for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, publicly reported…

Firewalls are a term many know as protective of their computers from cyberattacks, but not many know what they do and why they need it (if at all). In this article, we will explore the Firewall, its use, importance, the differences between a personal Firewall and one used for enterprises and large organizations, and what our recommendation for a great Firewall. What is a Firewall? A Firewall is the controller of incoming and outgoing traffic…

This year’s RSA Conference will look a little different. Instead of booking flights and hotel rooms in the busy city of San Francisco, we’ll be powering up computers in our home office with family in the next room. We’ve all had a tumultuous year and with that comes resilience, which is also this year’s conference theme. Ahead of the RSA virtual conference, I spoke with a few of my colleagues about the major themes we…

Three Maryland residents are suspected of being involved in dating and business email compromise (BEC) scams that defrauded victims out of more than $2.3m. An indictment returned in March by a federal grand jury and unsealed yesterday charges 37-year-old Baltimore resident Noel Chimezuru Agoha, 34-year-old Sessieu Ange Oulai of Parkville, and 32-year-old Essex resident Kelechi Arthur Ntibunka with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Court documents allege that from August…

A federal lawsuit has been filed against Pennsylvania and a vendor contracted by the state’s Department of Health (DOH) over a data breach that exposed the personal health information (PHI) of thousands of Pennsylvanians. The DOH hired Atlanta-based company Insight Global in 2020 “to provide contact tracing and other similar services” following the outbreak of COVID-19. The Department later said that employees of the company caused a data breach by creating “unauthorized documents outside of the secure data systems…

Mitigating bot attacks is a major concern for security leaders, according to new research published yesterday by cybersecurity company Human (formerly White Ops). The “2021 Bot Management Trends” report, which is based on a survey conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), exposed worries regarding a string of threats posed by bots.   In the first quarter of 2021, ESG asked 425 cybersecurity and IT decision makers with application security knowledge and responsibilities for their organizations about their perceptions of…

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published a set of security principles to underpin the development of so-called smart cities. Titled Connected Places Cyber Security Principles, the guidance aims to help local authorities in the UK embrace the benefits of connected places, while at the same time ensure they are resilient to cyber-attacks. The smart city concept involves the use of connected technology, such as IoT devices, to collect data and enhance services within…