Five Charged in $722 Million Cryptomining Ponzi Scheme

Scott Ferguson • December 11, 2019

The Justice Department has charged five individuals with running a high-tech Ponzi scheme that allegedly fleeced investors out of $722 million by falsely promising clients big returns as part of a cryptomining operation.

Endpoint Security

FBI Warns of Smart TV Dangers

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Governance

Scrutiny of Google's Access to Patient Data Intensifies

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • December 12, 2019

Ascension healthcare system's sharing of data with Google on millions of patients is drawing increased scrutiny from members of Congress as well as privacy advocates. What are the major areas of concern?

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Electrical Grid Cybersecurity Measure Advances

Scott Ferguson • December 12, 2019

A proposal that won U.S. House approval Wednesday calls for crafting a strategy for securing the nation's electrical grid. It also would create a two-year pilot program within the U.S. Energy Department's National Laboratory to identify vulnerabilities within the grid.

Governance

How This CISO Handles Security in Multiple Business Sectors

Suparna Goswami • December 12, 2019

What challenges does a CISO face when dealing with issues facing several industries? Abid Adam of Axiata Group, a conglomerate based in Malaysia, describes his efforts to manage privacy and security in three diverse sectors.

Encryption & Key Management

Visual Journal: Black Hat Europe 2019

Mathew J. Schwartz • December 12, 2019

Black Hat Europe returned to London last week, featuring two days of briefings covering topics from cryptography and breach response to exploit development and application security. Plus, a packed business hall offered technical demonstrations. Here are visual highlights of the event.

Account Takeover

Joker's Stash Celebrates Turkey Day With Stolen Card Data

Mathew J. Schwartz • December 11, 2019

The notorious Joker's Stash carder marketplace has recently listed for sale 460,000 records, including four "Turkey-Mix" batches that feature never-before-seen payment card data that traces to Turkey's 10 largest banks, says cybersecurity firm Group-IB.

Endpoint Security

McAfee Considers Purchase of NortonLifeLock: Report

Akshaya Asokan • December 11, 2019

McAfee's ownership team is exploring a deal to acquire NortonLifeLock, the renamed, publicly traded firm that was formerly the consumer and small business security division of Symantec, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cites "people familiar with the matter."

Breach Notification

Health Data Breach Tally: Trends in 2019

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • December 11, 2019

The federal tally of health data breaches shows that hacking attacks and incidents involving business associates dominated this year. Here's an analysis of all the latest trends.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Decryptor Bug Means Ryuk Victims Stuck in Ransomware Rut

Jeremy Kirk • December 10, 2019

Emsisoft has spotted a buggy decryptor for the Ryuk ransomware and developed a custom tool to fix it. But victims will still have to pay the ransom to recover files.

Account Takeover

GDPR Violation: German Privacy Regulator Fines 1&1 Telecom

Mathew J. Schwartz • December 10, 2019

One of the largest fines to date for violating the EU's General Data Protection Regulation has been announced by Germany's federal privacy and data protection watchdog, the BfDI, against 1 & 1 Telecommunications, in part for inadequate authentication mechanisms. The company plans to appeal.

Encryption & Key Management

Quantum-Proof Cryptography: What Role Will It Play?

Suparna Goswami • December 10, 2019

CISOs need to begin investigating the use of quantum-proof cryptography to ensure security is maintained when extremely powerful quantum computers that can crack current encryption are implemented, says Professor Alexander Ling, principal investigator at the Center for Quantum Technologies in Singapore.

Governance

Banner Health Breach Lawsuit Settled

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • December 9, 2019

A federal court has granted preliminary approval of a multi-million dollar settlement of a consolidated class action lawsuit filed against Banner Health in the wake of a massive 2016 breach of healthcare and financial information. Here's a rundown of the details.

Finance & Banking

A $200,000 Internet Fraud: Will Anyone Investigate?

Jeremy Kirk • December 9, 2019

Internet crime has grown so rapidly that law enforcement is outpaced. Here's the story of how a Manhattan doctor lost $200,000 in an internet scam, and why he's struggling to get law enforcement's attention.