A lecturer from the University of Plymouth has won a prestigious international prize for her research in maritime cybersecurity. Dr. Kimberly Tam’s work won her the overall gong and the cybersecurity category in the 2021 Lloyd’s Science of Risk prize. Tam was among six academics announced as award winners by insurance and reinsurance market Lloyd’s of London on May 21. The Science of Risk prize is awarded to academics and PhD students who further the understanding of…

Imagine this scenario: a CEO, CIO, CTO, CISO walk into a bar…    The CTO has heard about cocktails that go beyond the “pour and shake,” and asks the bartender what they know about molecular gastronomy to take their drink to the next level. The CIO considers the CTO’s choice, weighing the risk versus reward of trying something new. The CEO orders a Long Island iced tea – a bold, ambitious, and challenging choice that incorporates a bit of everything, but they know in…

In Part 1 of our Through Your Mind’s Eye series, we explored how our brains don’t give each decision we make equal attention, and we take mental shortcuts known as biases. These biases allow us to react quickly, but they can also lead to mistakes and oversights.  Because we all have biases that shape who we are, our decisions in and out of cybersecurity can be impacted in both good and bad ways. Safety Bias…

A hacker from Michigan has admitted to stealing the sensitive data of more than 65,000 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) employees and selling it online. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) IT specialist Justin Sean Johnson, known on the dark web by the handles TheDearthStar, Dearthy Star, TDS, and DS, hacked into UPMC’s human resources database in January 2014. Six years later, the 30-year-old resident of Detroit was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh and subsequently arrested on…

The attacks have targeted US healthcare and first responder networks with ransom demands as high as $25 million, says the FBI. Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto Healthcare and first responder networks should be on guard for a continuing series of ransomware attacks uncovered by the FBI. In an alert published last Thursday, the agency said that it found at least 16 Conti ransomware attacks against law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, 911 dispatch centers and municipalities within…

Summer is here, which means more sun and more fun for everyone. It also means more streaming, gaming, and downloading. This seasonal reality reminds us that to enjoy the best of summer, it’s important to stay aware of the digital risks that could sink the fun faster than you can say, “it’s hammock time!”  Summer Safety at Home  Emerging from the pandemic, we’re familiar with the increase in online time that came with remote learning. However, shift into summer means the remote learning hours will quickly turn into hours spent gaming, TikTok scrolling, and social…