network-attacks-and-its-different-approaches
Posted in Cyber Security

Network Attacks and Its Different Approaches

Latest Blogs

network-attacks-and-its-different-approaches

By AMSAT May 24,2021

Network Attacks and Its Different Approaches

What is a Network Attack?

Network security solutions are of key importance in today’s volatile and uncertain technology landscape. A network attack is an effort to gain unlawful access to company’s network, with the object of pilfering data or carrying out other malicious activity. In a network attack, cybercriminals are engaged in penetrating the corporate network limit and gaining access to internal systems. Quite frequently, threat actors combine other types of attacks, such as impacting an endpoint, disseminating malware or abusing a fault in a system within the network.

Approaches of Network Security

Several methods to network security are available for companies to choose from. A specific technique, or model, influences all resulting security decisions and set the tone for the entire organization’s network security arrangement. Network security models can be categorized by either the scope of security actions taken (perimeter, layered) or how hands-on the system is.

Perimeter Security Approach

In this type of approach, the chunk of security attempts is focused on the limit of the network. This might comprise firewalls, proxy servers, password policies, and any technology or process that makes unlawful access of the network less probable. Practically no effort is made to protect the systems within the network. While the perimeter is protected in this method, the several systems within that perimeter are often susceptible.

 

Although this perimeter method is clearly faulty, some small companies still use it due to budget constraints or inexperienced network administrators.

Layered Security Approach

In this approach, the perimeter is not only protected, but separate systems within the network are also safe. One way to achieve this is to split the network into sections and protect each piece as if it were a discrete network so that, if perimeter security is affected, all internal systems are not compromised. Layered security is the favored approach whenever likely.

 

Your security approach should also be measured by how proactive and/or reactive it is. This can be done by finding out how much of the system’s security setup and policies are devoted to protective measures versus how much are dedicated to simply responding to an attack after it has happened.

Hybrid Security Approach

Network security is seldom complete in one model or another in the real world. Networks usually fall along a range with essentials of more than one security model. The two types also combine to form a hybrid method; one can have a network that is typically passive but layered, or one that is primarily perimeter, but hands-on. Taking into account approaches to computer security along a Cartesian coordinate system, with the X axis symbolizing the level of passive-active methods and the Y axis portraying the range from perimeter to layered defence, can be useful.

TAGS

  • Cyber Crime
  • Security Updates
  • Network Attacks
  • Network Security

Recent Blogs

Share this article

Ready to Get Started?

Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

    By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

    review-of-trickbot-a-pernicious-crimeware-tool
    Posted in Cyber Security

    A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

    Latest Blogs

    By AMSAT May 21,2021

    A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

    The outgoing week saw many events that made headlines. From Russian-language cybercriminal forum ‘XSS’ banning DarkSide and other ransomware groups to Google rolling out new advanced feature to fight security threats, the cybersecurity realm was full of exciting developments.


    Here’s a brief review of what took place in the past week.

    DarkSide and other ransomware groups banned by Russian-language cybercriminal forum ‘XSS’

    As per a media report, XSS, a popular cybercriminal forum, slapped a blanket ban on ransomware sales, ransomware rental, and ransomware affiliate programs on their platform.


    The move came after worldwide scrutiny of ransomware groups augmented following a detrimental attack on Colonial Pipeline that left parts of the United States with gas scarcity for days.


    DarkSide purportedly felt the pressure in other ways, with the group sending out a statement on another cybercriminal forum, Exploit, claiming to have had some of their tools upset.


    DarkSide held responsible for Colonial Pipeline attack

    DarkSide, an organized group of hackers, was held responsible for the shocking Colonial Pipeline attack a few days ago. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also confirmed the group was behind the malicious attack.


    Colonial Pipeline, which supplies 45% of the East Coast’s fuel, exposed a ransomware outbreak on the company’s systems which forced the suspension of operations and some IT systems.


    Almost a week after the May 7 attack, Colonial Pipeline resumed operations. The company said it would take many days for the pipeline’s deliveries to return to normal.


    Google rolled out new advanced feature to fight security threats

    Search engine giant Google came up with new cutting-edge security defender features for Google Workspace to help admins battle cybersecurity threats.


    The Alert Center will feature real-time alerts with information about security measures in the admin’s domain that are powered by VirusTotal.


    As per Google, the objective is to help decrease the load on admins of security notification noise and provide an integrated view of the most critical alerts.

    TAGS

    • Cyber Crime
    • Security Updates

    Recent Blogs

    Share this article

    Ready to Get Started?

    Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

      By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

      everything-about-online-scams-and-their-types
      Posted in Cyber Security

      Everything about Online Scams and Their Types

      Latest Blogs

      everything-about-online-scams-and-their-types

      By AMSAT May 18,2021

      Everything about Online Scams and Their Types

      What are online scams?

       

      An online scam is a cyber fraud or trickery which exploits the Internet and could include concealment of information or providing inappropriate information for the purpose of deceiving victims out of money theft, capturing user login and password credentials. An online scam is not considered a solo, characteristic crime but encompasses a variety of illegal and unlawful actions that are carried out in cyberspace. It is, nonetheless, distinguished from theft since, in this situation, the victim readily and purposely provides the information, money or property to the threat actor. Scams can happen in several ways, through phishing emails, social media, SMS messages on one’s cellphone, false tech support phone calls, malware and more.

      Top internet scam types

      Cybercriminals have formulated a number of ways to trick victims through the internet. Here are some of the top types of scams.

      Phishing scam

      Phishing is so far the most widespread, and possibly the most perilous scam. A common scam, phishing collectively cost victims over $48m in 2018, as per an FBI report. A trickster will send you an email message that seems to be from an authentic source, such as a financial institution, a social networking site, or an online store. The message seeks to cheat you into providing important and sensitive personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers and bank account details. For example, you might be directed to a website that looks genuine, but was established only to seize your information.

       

       

      If you’re uncertain whether an email is genuine or not, go straight to the company’s official website in a different tab, without clicking on links within the doubtful email.

      Romance scam

      You can use online dating as a great way to connect with potential romantic partners, but fraudsters have started using this technique to deceive gullible victims. The crook typically starts a chat on an online dating site and starts an online relationship, but constantly comes up with explanations why they can’t meet up in person. Once the impostor has got the victim’s trust, they’ll ask for money or details about the victim’s monetary life. So, what to do? If you initiate an online relationship with someone, you may protect yourself by asking a number of different questions. Never give financial information to anyone you don’t know.

      Quick-money promise

      This rip-off might begin as a phone call, any message, or unwelcome email that promotes a job that requires little work but offers a large amount of quick money. Fraudsters who carry out this trick often target people on the lookout for a new job or willing to work from home. But once you get the job, you’re asked to fill out regular communication to provide your social security number, address, and bank information, apparently for direct deposit of your salary. The imitators can use this personal information to get into your financial accounts. When looking for a job, use renowned, trustworthy job sites, investigate the employer, and shun applying for positions that appear too good to be true.

      The overpayment scam

      Initially, the transaction might appear genuine. Someone responds to your online ad and arranges to pay for an article you’re selling. But the buyer creates a reason for sending you much more than the buying price, then asks you to wire back the difference before the money clears your bank account. Once you’ve paid back the difference, it becomes clear the moved money was bogus, and you’re out the cash you gave the trickster.

       

       

      Be watchful. If someone sends you much more money than you’re due, it may be a rip-off. Never return any money until the transfer is in your account. If you’re indeed doubtful, you can also revoke the whole operation and report this issue to the platform where you’ve recorded the online advertisement.

      Facebook impersonation scam

      Facebook users may occasionally come across scams. A cheat copies the name, profile picture, and elementary information from a real account to generate a second, closely indistinguishable account on Facebook. Then, the fraudster sends friend requests to the original account’s friend list in a bid to get into the personal information of the unwary friends who grant access to their profiles.

      Counterfeit shopping websites

      Employing sophisticated designs and plans, cybercriminals may produce and publish false retailer websites that either look original or that duplicate current retailer websites. The false shopping sites might offer contracts that are too good to be true, For example, you might find prevalent brands of fashion and classy electronics at extremely low prices. And if you buy, you may either obtain the item and realize it’s counterfeit, or you may receive nothing at all.

      The Nigerian letter scam

      In this one of the longest-running online scams, you’ll receive an emotional message from someone pretending to be a government employee, entrepreneur, or member of a profusely rich foreign family asking you to help them recover a large sum of money from a foreign bank. In exchange, the individual promises to give you some of the money. You must ignore these fake messages or report to cybercrime complaint center in your area of residence.

      Unexpected prize scam

      In this scam, you receive an email that claim you’ve won a large amount of cash, a free tour to an exotic place, or some other amazing prize. The message will say that if you want to claim your tour or prizes, you only need to pay a small fee. Once you pay the fee, you will never hear from the organization again.

      Extortion or “hitman” scam

      In this type of scam, the fraudster may threaten to disconcert or hurt you or a family member unless a ransom is paid. The cybercriminal may have collected details about your life from social media profiles, which could make the claim appear more genuine or pressing.

       

      How to protect yourself against online scams?

       

      Anyone can fall prey to online scams these days, so it’s important to know how you can protect yourself against the internet scams which have become an unfortunate reality in today’s digital world. There are a number of ways that can help you protect against online scams, such as setting up a multilayered security features; being unresponsive to scam messages, installing antivirus software; backing up your data; and never relying on unsolicited phone calls or emails.

      TAGS

      • Cyber Crime
      • Security Updates
      • Phishing scam
      • Romance scam
      • Quick-money promise

      Recent Blogs

      Share this article

      Ready to Get Started?

      Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

        By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

        a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld​
        Posted in Cyber Security

        A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

        Latest Blogs

        a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld​

        By AMSAT May 07,2021

        A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

        The world of cybersecurity saw a number of significant events in the past week. With SAP admitting to export thousands of illegal software exports to Apple facing consistent problems with iOS, macOS zero-day attacks, the outgoing week was replete with many groundbreaking developments. But the headline of the week was a cyberattack that hit the company providing internet services for Belgium’s parliament, government agencies, universities and scientific institutions.

         

        Here’s a brief roundup of the major developments of the past week.

        Belgian Government, Parliament, Colleges Struck by Cyberattack

        A cyberattack hit the company providing internet services for Belgium’s parliament, government agencies, universities and scientific institutions, with connections to numerous customers disrupted.

         

         

        The company called Belnet said in a statement the attack “is still in progress and takes place in successive waves. Our teams are working hard to mitigate them.” The company has around 200 customers.

         

         

        Belgian media reported that online services for coronavirus vaccination centers were partly disrupted and that prosecutors’ offices in Brussels had experienced problems.

         

         

        Belnet Director Dirk Haex said that the attack of such a scale were not witnessed before, adding that it was premature to say who could be behind it.

        SAP admitted to breaching existing sanctions regarding software exports to Iran

        SAP conceded to export thousands of illegal software exports to Iran, thus violating sanctions and an embargo placed on the country by the United States.

         

        The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said that the cloud software vendor breached both the Export Administration Regulations and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations thousands of times over the last six years.

         

         

        The DoJ claimed: “Beginning in 2011, SAP acquired various CBGs and became aware, through pre-acquisition due diligence as well as post-acquisition export control-specific audits, that these companies lacked adequate export control and sanctions compliance processes.”

        Apple continued to confront Problems with iOS, macOS zero-day attacks

        Technology titan Apple continued to encounter problems with zero-day attacks with news of another mysterious in-the-wild compromise impacting iPhones, iPads and macOS devices.

         

        Apple’s newest iOS/iPadOS 14.5.1 update highlights vulnerabilities in WebKit (CVE-2021-30665) and WebKit (CVE-2021-30663).

         

        A separate advisory documents the two vulnerabilities on macOS and advises Apple customers to upgrade forthwith to macOS Big Sur 11.3.1.

        TAGS

        • Cyber Crime
        • Security Updates
        • SAP

        Recent Blogs

        Share this article

        Ready to Get Started?

        Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

          By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

          6-biggest-threats-to-cloud-computing
          Posted in Cloud Security

          Top 6 Biggest Threats to Cloud Computing

          Latest Blogs

          6-biggest-threats-to-cloud-computing

          By AMSAT May 3,2021

          6 Biggest Threats to Cloud Computing

          Businesses have had to turn to third-party cloud and managed security services to find ways to strengthen cybersecurity and move from legacy to modern data platforms.

           

          Nevertheless, the abrupt shift to the cloud has brought new security risks. This means that if your business or organization opts to implement cloud technologies and migrate your data over, you could be making a major blunder without being fully knowing the risks involved.

           

          This blog will outline the six most important cybersecurity threats to cloud computing.

          1. Data breaches

          Data breach can be the key objective of an attack through which important information such as health, financial, personal individuality, academic and other associated information is observed, stolen or used by an unauthorized user. The issue can be remedied by evaluating data protection during design and run time. Companies therefore must limit access to data and uphold observance to industry standards and conformity.

          2. Inadequate identity, credential and access management

          Security threats may happen because of insufficient safety of the credentials. Data is likely to be read, changed, or removed by an unauthorized user. To counter this threat, contractors, third-party users and employees should be provided awareness and knowledge about security and its various aspects. In addition, companies must recognize and access rights to detect breaches.

          3. Insecure interfaces and APIs

          Customers and third-party users often offer software user interfaces or application programming interfaces (APIs) services. These APIs or passwords may be accessed by an unauthorized user, transmitting content, get authorizations and logging abilities. The problem can be remedied by using a good security model of software interfaces, and by using API frameworks.

          4. System vulnerability

          Security breaches might happen because of exploitable viruses in programs that remain within a system, letting a hacker intrude and get access to important information or smash the service operations. This problem can be overcome if organizations regularly detect data evaluations and system revelation change, or demolition. It’s also important that quality and integrity of systems and services be frequently checked.

          5. Account or service hijacking

          Account or service hijacking can be conducted to gain access and misuse extremely advantaged accounts. Attack systems like deception, phishing, and abuse of software susceptibility are conducted typically using the stolen passwords. The problem can be remedied by utilizing strong two-factor verification methods where possible.

          6. Evil insider

          An evil intruder can access important data of the system administrator or may even get control over the internet services at greater levels with little or no risk of being caught. An evil insider may impact a company by damaging brand, and effecting financial loss. To countenance this challenge, it’s important that organizations comprehend the practices done by internet service providers. Organizations should systematize their procedures and use technologies that scan regularly for misconfigured resources and counter strange activity in real time.

          Ways to prevent cyberattacks

          Given the current situation in the cyber world, it’s almost impossible to stop hackers from committing their nefarious activities and conducting cyberattacks. But most of these attacks can be prevented if companies take appropriate measures.

           

          First of all, companies should have a safe and classy hardware which is password-protected and supported up by 2-way verification. It’s highly advisable if you don’t ignore the efficiency of defending your physical storage disks; otherwise, it will give hackers or anyone a chance to steal your company’s important information.

           

          The other important point is that your company’s hardware must be protected as, according to research, the majority of the data breaches happen when stolen kit gets into the hands of the criminals. In addition, encryption of data gives your company an edge when your data is stolen by hackers. And that’s because of the fact that it becomes futile even if a hacker walks away with it.

           

          Thirdly, your company should have a backup data in case an attack is carried out on your company’s systems. However, it’s worth pointing out that the backup should be done very effectively, meaning that the data ought to be retrievable in case a disaster hits your company. Last but not least, educate employees on the latest developments in the cyber world, so that they can help alleviate cyber risks with ease. For example, they can be educated about risks linked with using indiscreet networks to access work information and circumventing unsafe websites and sharing important data on social media.

          TAGS

          • Data breaches
          • Security Updates
          • Cloud Computing

          Recent Blogs

          Share this article

          Ready to Get Started?

          Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

            By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

            a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld
            Posted in Cyber Security

            A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

            Latest Blogs

            a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld

            By AMSAT April 30,2021

            A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

            The world of cybersecurity saw a slew of significant events in the past week. New research indicated that the coronavirus pandemic and work from home (WFH) requirements are prompting a spike in cyberattacks against banks and insurance companies. But the headline of the week was healthcare service provider UnitingCare Queensland being hit by a cyberattack.

             

            Here’s a brief roundup of the major developments of the past week.

            Coronavirus, WFH cause rise in cyberattacks against banks, insurers

            As per new research, Covid-19 and work from home (WFH) requirements are causing a major surge in cyberattacks against financial institutions.


            A COVID Crime Index 2021 report observed how the remote working model is affecting the banking and insurance industries.

             

            As the pandemic continues to have an extensive impact, the swift transition to WFH models is being loosened in some neighborhoods, but many organizations are choosing to either continue letting staff work remotely or are adopting hybrid working practices.

             

            But security has proven to be a challenge as well. According to the research, 74% of banks and insurers have experienced an increase in cyberattacks since the beginning of the pandemic, with “criminal activity” spotted by financial entities has mounted by close to a third (29%).

            UnitingCare Queensland struck by cyberattack

            Earlier this week, a cyber-attack hit healthcare service provider UnitingCare Queensland (UCQ), rendering some of its digital and technology systems inaccessible.


            UCQ operates aged care facilities and numerous hospitals including St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital.
            Chinese firms covertly own almost a third of top VPNs, while other owners are based in countries with weak or no privacy laws, possibly putting users at risk, security experts have warned.

             

            Local media reports suggest that the incident was allegedly triggered by ransomware which had affected email and operations booking systems, causing staff to turn to paper-based procedures.

            Apple fixed macOS Gatekeeper bypass flaw exploited in the wild

            Technology giant Apple issued a wide range of security fixes resolving issues including an actively exploited zero-day flaw and a separate Gatekeeper bypass vulnerability.


            One of the most prominent fixes is for a flaw found by Cedric Owens. Tracked as CVE-2021–30657, the flaw let hackers circumvent Gatekeeper, Apple’s built-in protection mechanism for code signing and confirmation.

             
            In a blog post, Owens mentioned how cybercriminals could easily create a macOS payload that is not checked by Gatekeeper.

            TAGS

            • Cyber Crime
            • Security Updates

            Recent Blogs

            Share this article

            Ready to Get Started?

            Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

              By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

              a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld
              Posted in Cyber Security

              A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

              Latest Blogs

              a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld

              By AMSAT April 21,2021

              A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

              The week saw a number of incidents that shook the world of cybersecurity. From dozens of organizations targeted in attacks aimed at Covid vaccine cold chain to Reddit launching a public bounty program, many events caught the attention of security experts around the globe.

              Here’s a brief review of what took place in the past week.

              44 Companies Targeted in Attacks Focused on Covid-19 Vaccine Cold Chain

              As many as 40 organizations were targeted in a global drive aimed at the Covid-19 vaccine cold chain infrastructure, which deals with the distribution of vaccines and their storage at the required temperatures.


              As per IBM Security X-Force, the number of affected organizations is higher compared to the preceding evaluation.


              Operating in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia, the targeted organizations are involved in the transportation, warehousing, storage, and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.

              Reddit Launched Public Bug Bounty Program

              Reddit announced the launch of a public bug bounty program on the vulnerability hunting platform HackerOne.


              After a three-year private bug bounty program on the hunting platform, the program was going public with an expanded scope.


              Reddit said that the purpose of the program is to keep users’ accounts, identities, and private data secure, including chats, messages, email addresses, voting records, and subreddit subscriptions.

              US Expelled Russian Envoys, Imposed Sanctions for Hacking

              The Biden administration expelled 10 Russian diplomats and imposing sanctions against scores of companies and people, holding Russia responsible for meddling in last year’s presidential election and the cyber hacking of federal agencies.


              The sweeping measures were aimed at punishing Russia for actions that US officials say cut to the core of American democracy and to prevent future acts by imposing financial costs on Moscow, including by targeting its capacity to borrow money.

              TAGS

              • Cyber Crime
              • Security Updates

              Recent Blogs

              Share this article

              Ready to Get Started?

              Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

                By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

                a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld
                Posted in Cyber Security

                A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

                Latest Blogs

                a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld

                By AMSAT April 16,2021

                Dealing with cyber-threat: a complex challenge

                The world of cybersecurity was catapulted when officials revealed that a Sweden’s national sports federations, including FIFA, were hacked by Russian military intelligence in 2017-18. And that was not it! The cyberworld received another shock when it discovered that FBI agents launched a court-authorized cyber campaign to remove malicious web shells from hundreds of formerly hacked Microsoft Exchange servers in the United States. More alarmingly, at least 100 million devices were affected by a spate of Domain Name System (DNS) flaws in TCP/IP stacks in the outgoing week.

                 

                Here’s a brief review of what took place in the past week.

                Russians Hacked Swedish Sports Body

                Officials divulged that Russian military intelligence in 2017-18 hacked the organization that supervised Sweden’s national sports federations, including FIFA and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

                 

                Swedish prosecutors said the “repeated and comprehensive breaches” of the Swedish Sports Confederation by GRU led to athletes’ personal details, such as medical records, being accessed and that information being published by Swedish media.

                 

                The hacking was revealed after a probe by the Swedish Security Service in cooperation with the security services of other countries. But the investigation has been stopped due to the lack of the necessary preconditions for taking legal proceedings abroad or extradition to Sweden.

                FBI Agents Covertly Removed Web Shells from Hacked Microsoft Exchange Servers

                The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said that FBI agents carried out a court-authorized cyber drive to remove malicious web shells from hundreds of formerly hacked Microsoft Exchange servers in the United States.

                 

                In the wake of an upsurge in major in-the-wild zero-day attacks against Exchange Server installations that happened worldwide in January, farsighted organizations scrambled to lock down exposed Microsoft email servers and eliminate web shells that were installed by threat actors.

                 

                Unfortunately, several organizations were not able to fix systems and/or remove related malware that was installed.

                NAME:WRECK” DNS Flaws in TCP/IP Stacks Affected At Least 100 Million Devices

                Experts revealed that a string of Domain Name System (DNS) flaws affected popular TCP/IP stacks.

                Jointly called NAME:WRECK and identified in the DNS implementations of FreeBSD, Nucleus NET, IPnet, and NetX, the vulnerabilities could also be exploited to carry out denial of service (DoS) attacks, to execute code remotely, or take devices offline.

                 

                The flaws were recognized as part of Project Memoria, a research initiative aimed at enhancing the overall security of IoT devices and which has already led to the discovery of more than 40 issues in popular TCP/IP stacks, critical components providing basic network connectivity for an extensive range of devices.

                TAGS

                • Cyber Crime
                • Security Updates
                • Hacked Microsoft Exchange Servers

                Recent Blogs

                Share this article

                Ready to Get Started?

                Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

                  By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

                  key-security-trends-to-follow-in-2021
                  Posted in Cyber Security | Tagged , ,

                  Key Cybersecurity Trends, Threats, and Events to Emerge in 2021

                  Latest Blogs

                  key-security-trends-to-follow-in-2021

                  By AMSAT April 8,2021

                  Key Cybersecurity Trends, Threats, and Events to Emerge in 2021

                  Looking back on a year of unparalleled uncertainty, almost everyone from all walks of life learned some lessons, including cybersecurity leaders and experts. The sudden change in working patterns prompted millions of employees to work from home, putting enormous strain on access to IT systems.

                   

                  Cybercriminals didn’t let their guards down in determining how these and other changes created flaws to target and abuse either, which led to an upsurge in cyber-threat activity. By the end of March, more than 40,000 newly registered websites had already been identified with Covid-related names, which experts classified as “highly vulnerable” sites due to the scams and malware being pushed onto gullible consumers.

                   

                  By and large, cybersecurity emerged as a high priority for organizations as well as consumers who relied on technology more than ever before. So, remembering how vital it is to talk about cybersecurity more openly and therefore inspire deeper appreciation of the threats and best preemptive strategies, here are some major trends to look out in 2021:

                  1. Employee fatigue

                  Post Covid-19, a dramatic shift in working patterns has upended employees’ routine life: work from home has forced them to clock in more hours, which means very little respite with barely any gaps between meetings, and virtually no commute. All this has caused considerable employee fatigue or complacency, which means more human errors leading to cybersecurity issues. And this implies that businesses need to think about a whole new level of IT security education program, including ensuring people to step away and take a break.

                   
                  When you make a cybersecurity error at the workplace, it’s easy to go down and approach a responsive member of your IT security team. But it becomes extremely difficult to do at home now shorn of direct access to your usual go-to person, and it requires far more confidence to admit. Organizations need to take this human error factor into account and ensure steady edge security, regardless of the connection.

                  2. Surge in ransomware attacks

                  Ransomware attacks continue to rise both in frequency and severity, which doesn’t bode well for businesses. As everyone grappled to bear down with Covid-19 and move data and systems online, malicious threat actors saw more opportunities to exploit systems that were set up in haste.

                  In these well-coordinated attacks, business data is held hostage by the cybercriminals who will demand payment or compensation in order to return access to the data. Unscrupulous threat actors continue to innovate and improve their encryption processes, making them even harder to crack. They will continue to target the most susceptible businesses that cannot afford to lose their data and raise pressure to cave in to the extortion. While an all-inclusive data security system is central in helping to foil an attack, a simple backup of your valuable company data is one of the best safeguards against a ransomware attack.

                  3. Likelihood of more security incidents

                  A number of businesses in Europe sought to move key business processes to the cloud over the next few years, but with the onset of Covid-19, the plan has been pushed back a few months. Instead of taking the time to recodify processes, a transitional boost and shift step was added: the swift move. While the procedure may still be the same, the setting and security change. In 2021, companies are recodifying to gain the real benefits of agility from the cloud, while security teams are still rectifying the issues from the transitional shift. This ongoing migration at pace will lead to security holes, and we’re likely to see more cloud security events until the shifts are complete and we return to a semblance of stability, at least for a while.

                  4. SOC teams to grapple with a new work environment and more work pressure

                  As many companies look to cut costs, one natural solution is to hasten the digitization of processes. This means a surge of cybersecurity data returning to the security operations center (SOC). Add to this the shift already seen in telemetry as employees work from home, and a rise from more new association tools and cloud processes. Several SOC teams had also been accustomed to using numerous screens for big data analytics, and consistent team meetings to discuss multifaceted issues; so, the shift to work remotely, often with one screen, has been difficult for some.

                  4. Increased focus on privacy

                  In the West, especially in Europe, increased focus on data privacy has been seen in the last few months. Just one example of how momentous this has become is a major smartphone company running TV adverts in the region underlining its data protection capabilities. Simultaneously, we have the EU looking to build EU clouds, such as the Gaia-X project, that align to the broader EU cloud approach. All of this shows the priority of privacy on the EU agenda.

                  TAGS

                  • Cybersecurity Mesh
                  • Security Trends
                  • Integrating AI with cyber security
                  • Cyber warfare

                  Recent Blogs

                  Share this article

                  Ready to Get Started?

                  Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

                    By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

                    a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld
                    Posted in Cyber Security

                    A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

                    Latest Blogs

                    a-brief-weekly-review-of-top-stories-that-dominated-the-cyberworld

                    By AMSAT April 2,2020

                    A Brief Weekly Review of Top Stories that Dominated the Cyberworld

                    The cyberworld saw its fair share of events in the outgoing week: from a bug in ‘netmask’ npm package that affected hundreds of thousands of projects to several ransomware gangs targeting vulnerable exchange servers, and so on. But the development that stood out in the entire week was the event where German lawmakers were targeted by Russian threat actors.

                     

                    Here’s a brief review of what took place in the past week.

                    German MPs Again Targeted by Russian Threat Actors: Report

                    As per local media, many German lawmakers fell victim to a cyber-attack, with security experts conjecturing Russian hackers might be behind the incident.


                    Der Spiegel weekly said that cybercriminals used phishing emails to gain access to the computers of at least seven federal MPs and 31 lawmakers in regional parliaments.


                    The magazine added that it was not clear whether any sensitive information was accessed.

                    280,000 Projects Affected by Vulnerability in ‘Netmask’ npm Package

                    Security expects suspected that a flaw in the netmask npm package could expose private networks and lead to a wide range of attacks, including malware delivery.


                    Tracked as CVE-2021-28918, the newly identified issue resided in the fact that the package would erroneously read octal encoding, essentially resulting in the misapprehension of supplied IP addresses.


                    Due to this bug, netmask would consider private IP addresses as external IP addresses and the other way around, thus opening the door to a variety of attacks, depending on the manner in which the package is used.

                    Vulnerable Exchange Servers Targeted by More Ransomware

                    The Black Kingdom/Pydomer ransomware operators joined the ranks of cybercriminals targeting the Exchange Server bugs that Microsoft revealed in early March.


                    The four zero-day flaws had been targeted in live attacks well before patches were released for them on March 2. The number of unpatched Exchange installations plummeted drastically, going from roughly 80,000 on March 14 to fewer than 30,000 on March 22.

                    TAGS

                    • Cyber Crime
                    • Security Updates
                    • Russian Threat
                    • German MPs

                    Recent Blogs

                    Share this article

                    Ready to Get Started?

                    Our specialists are ready to tailor our security service solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

                      By submitting the form, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy