Business workshop: Decision expected to lead to more cybersecurity suits

We can expect a surge in lawsuits related to cybersecurity, thanks to a recent federal appeals court decision giving the Federal Trade Commission authority to crack down on companies with inadequate cybersecurity systems.

The FTC sued the Wyndham hotel chain for three data breaches of its computer network that resulted in $10.6 million in fraudulent charges on customer credit cards and the transfer of the account information of hundreds of thousands of consumers to a Russian website.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the FTC could hold Wyndham responsible for inadequate protection of its customers’ information. The appeals court decision only enables the FTC to pursue the lawsuit, which is still pending before a district court. For the full article click here 

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CHIME Backs Senate Passage Of Cybersecurity Bill

Your security clients’ cybersecurity initiatives have recently received additional support from the College Of Health Information Management Executives (CHIME).

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) passed October 27 in the Senate, 74-21, according toNewsweek. The bill is intended to improve cybersecurity in the U.S. by opening channels of information around threat information between government entities and the private sector.

In response, CHIME released a statement about the passage, according to Healthcare Informatics, that stated, in part, “Once enacted by the president, CISA will represent a significant advancement in cybersecurity and better enable the nation’s chief information officers (CIO) and chief Information security officers (CISO) to better protect patient health information.” For the full article click here 

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Travel companies can unlock hidden revenues with smarter cybersecurity – Amadeus white paper

As the online channel becomes increasingly dominant in our business and personal lives, the risk of account takeover or identity theft are ever greater. This creates a significant burden for companies: today, cybercrime costs the victim company an average of 2.6 million dollars per incident.

The Amadeus white paper, Cybersecurity as a lever for revenue growth: Why Information Security matters to the Chief Commercial Officer, also reveals that this threat can actually be turned into a commercial opportunity, allowing companies to manage data security to improve the customer experience, grow their reputation, reduce risk exposure and ultimately improve the balance sheet. For the full article click here 

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Cybersecurity in the IoT age – Part II

How have cyberattacks evolved in recent times and how will they further evolve in future?

Throughout the years, we have generally observed an upward trend in the sheer number of attacks as well as their level of sophistication. Digitization has made everything possible but also opened doors for attacks never seen before. I believe we will continue to see attacks launched at cloud, social media, mobile devices and IoT applications as the online-sphere represents a huge reservoir of digital confidential information cyber criminals can grab. This spells an ongoing struggle to defend against cybercrimes.

Emerging technologies will also serve to be a petri dish of cybersecurity issues. For example, autonomous cars can wreak havoc if hacked on the highway or in a populous area. In the future, we might also start to see humans embedded with chips; those could be broken into and cause serious damage to human body. Google’s Project Loon, an initiative to bring Internet to remote areas, could potentially introduce sophisticated attacks to an unfamiliar audience. As a result, I reckon the industry will see increasing demand for security solutions and technologies catered to solve this new wave of security challenges. For the full article click here 

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ICIT Brief: Know Your Enemies – A Primer on Advanced Persistent Threat Groups

Every system connected to the internet in every home, organization, and government entity is relentlessly subject to the attempts of malicious actors to steal their data or exploit their system. Cyber-attacks are prevalent in the digital age because computers (including mobile devices) are ubiquitous in society, because identification of an attacker and attribution is difficult, and because judicial rulings for cyber-crimes are nebulous.  Most cyber-attacks are prevented by basic security measures such as firewalls and antivirus applications. However, an elite percentile of the sea of cyber attackers is more persistent, more resourceful, and more sophisticated than the rest. These elite factions are known as Advanced Persistent Threats, and basic security measures are not enough to stop them from compromising some of the best-secured systems around the world.

In our latest brief, entitled “Know your Enemies:  A Primer on Advanced Persistent Threats“, the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT) pulls back the veil  on the world’s most prominent threat actors to assist the reader in better understanding its adversaries from countries including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.  This primer provides an overview of the threat landscape, attack vectors, size and sophistication of threat actors.  Some of the Groups and Platforms include: The Elderwood Platform, Topsec, Axiom, Hidden Lynx, Deep Panda, PLA Unit 61398, Putter Panda, Tarh Andishan, Ajax, Bureau 121, Energetic Bear, Uroburos, APT 28, Hammertoss, CrazyDuke, Sandworm, Syrian Electronic Army, Anonymous and Butterfly Group among others.

This brief was written by ICIT Sr. Fellow James Scott and ICIT visiting scholar Drew Spaniel from Carnegie Mellon University.

Click HERE to download this brief.

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Cybersecurity ETFs Launch

Computerized security breaches are now a regular part of the daily news. From an investment angle, electronic attacks have been a boon to cybersecurity stocks, which are receiving new business as companies spend money to defend themselves against cyber-attacks.

Direxion Investments launched the Cyber Security Bull and Bear 2X Shares (HAKK/HAKD) targeting this emerging industry sector. Both funds are linked to the ISE Cyber Security Index and aim for 200% daily and 200% daily opposite (inverse) exposure.

“Our new leveraged ETFs enable traders to benefit from exposure to these industries, regardless of market conditions and sector performance, in a flexible way,” said Sylvia Jablonski, managing director at Direxion. For the full article click here

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New hub to fight cybercrime opens

A NEW cybersecurity hub was unveiled in Pretoria on Friday, with Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Siyabonga Cwele saying SA — currently among the world’s major cybercrime hotspots — can beat cyberattacks and disruptions.

The virtual hub has been established to serve as a central point for collaboration between industry, the government and civil society on all cybersecurity-related incidents in SA.

Information gathered through the hub will be used to monitor cyberattacks and provide warnings to stakeholders of immerging threats. It will serve as an information centre for solutions on how to deal with threats and enable stakeholders to get updates on preemptive measures to strengthen their systems against cyberattacks.

“We need to mobilise our resources to train and equip our cybersoldiers with high-end skills and technology to defend our nation,” he said.

The launch of the hub comes as financial experts warn that a lack of knowledge of new financial technologies, coupled with the absence of global regulation, are putting consumers at higher risk of falling victim to cybercrime.

The future will increasingly feature more online and mobile technologies with sophisticated apps and services, while customers on the other hand, would not necessarily be more sophisticated or literate financially. This could place them at more risk of cybercrime.

Results from a study by marketing research company Columinate revealed that SA is the third highest cybercrime hotspot in the world, with 50% of credit card fraud happening online. For the full article click here

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