cyber security - itbusinessdirect

New devices connecting to the internet increase risk of corporate cyber attacks

September 1, 2016 Editor

Is the Internet of Things putting your business at risk? Network security needs to be top of mind for decision makers within the business, as more and more device connect to the internet via wireless network technology. According to Palo Alto Networks, wireless network technology is simultaneously necessary and risky for organisations, and the Internet of Things could be putting businesses at risk of a cyber attack. “Most businesses are aware that wireless connections can be risky so they look to mitigate the risks by protecting their internal infrastructure,” says…

Africa’s banking security in Africa is reaching a tipping point for growing cybercrime risk

April 29, 2016April 29, 2016

Africa’s relative lack of infrastructure is both a blessing and a curse for banks. While access to traditional services is still a challenge, innovation in technology can offer big opportunities. Mobile has become the de facto means of banking in many parts of Africa and, as mobile penetration – particularly smartphone penetration – increases, this is allowing banks to connect with more of the population than ever before, and to do so in a more targeted, personal way. A study looking at trends in banking in sub-Saharan Africa, released in…

Cyber Crime Predicted To Reach $2 Trillion By 2019

April 22, 2016

During the last ten years, our lives have changed. The increased usage of the Internet made blurred some lines between the virtual and the real world making some processes faster. Ordinary people are enjoying this change, as life is becoming much easier for them. Large companies and enterprises experience some negative sides of such changes, though. They are preparing for a huge increase in cyber crime. General Crime Numbers Ginni Rometty, the Chairman of IBM Corp, mentioned in his recent interview that cyber crime wave, as they named it couple…

31pc of employees consider themselves the biggest threat to cyber security

April 15, 2016May 16, 2016

Hackers Breach Top Wall Street Law Firms, Including Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP

Both companies and employees are aware of the damage cyber-attacks can make, and know that employees are the weakest link in a company’s security chain. Those are the results of two separate studies conducted by security firm WinMagic. During the Cloud Security Expo, it released the studies in which it asked 250 IT managers and 1,000 employees about the importance of IT security in the workplace. The data shows that businesses have taken actions to protect themselves following high-profile data breaches, such as the one which happened to TalkTalk. Almost…

Hackers Breach Top Wall Street Law Firms, Including Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP

March 31, 2016

Reuters: Hackers broke into the computer networks of some big U.S. law firms, including Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Federal investigators are looking to see if confidential information was stolen for insider trading, as these law firms represented Wall Street banks and big companies, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Other law firms were also targeted, but the probe has not amounted to any clear information on what details have been stolen, the newspaper…

Big data security required as 80% of devices ‘at risk’

March 24, 2016 Staff Writer

Research by Irish company AdaptiveMobile found 80% of devices are at risk. This shows the need for ‘big security’ to be introduced to accommodate the huge projected growth in the internet-of-things, it says. Current security solutions won’t be strong enough to facilitate such an explosion in the number of devices, according to AdaptiveMobile’s chief technology officer Ciaran Bradley. “The concerning thing is when we look at the internet-of-things we’re talking about billions of sensors so if we were to take the current lax approach to security and transfer that across…

Android app Malware steals two-factor SMS codes, hijacks big Australian banks systems

March 11, 2016

Millions of customers of Australia’s largest banks are the target of a sophisticated Android attack which steals banking details and thwarts two-factor authentication security. Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank customers are all at risk from the malware which hides on infected devices waiting until users open legitimate banking apps. The malware then superimposes a fake login screen over the top in order to capture usernames and passwords. The malware is designed to mimic 20 mobile banking apps from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, as well as…

Guarding your online brand against cybersquatters

November 13, 2015February 11, 2016 Staff Writer

If you had a business called Widgets R Us and somebody set up shop right next door with a business called Widgets R U, you’d probably be a bit miffed. Especially if the interloper then demanded money to move elsewhere. cybersquatters: But this sort of thing is happening all the time online. It’s called cybersquatting – buying up website addresses, or domain names, that sound very similar to existing well-known brand names. When Google recently launched its new parent company Alphabet, and the abc.xyz web address, there were more than…

ICANN Hacked! Resets encrypted passwords after user profile database breach

August 6, 2015February 15, 2016 Staff Writer

The overseer of the Internet’s addressing system said Wednesday that someone obtained information related to user accounts for its public website, although no financial information was divulged. ICANN, short for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, said user names, email addresses, encrypted passwords and other data, such as bios, interests and newsletter subscriptions, were contained in the accounts. Despite the breach, the accounts as well as internal ICANN systems do not appear to have been accessed, the organization said in a post on its website. Although an investigation…