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CIS Control 09: Email and Web Browser Protections

Web browsers and email clients are used to interact with external and internal assets. Both applications can be used as a point of entry within an organization. Users of these applications can be manipulated using social engineering attacks. A successful…

VERT Threat Alert: December 2024 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s December 2024 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1136 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2024-49138 The only vulnerability that has been…

3AM Ransomware: What You Need To Know

What is 3AM? 3AM (also known as ThreeAM) is a ransomware group that first emerged in late 2023. Like other ransomware threats, 3AM exfiltrates victims’ data (threatening to release it publicly unless a ransom is paid) and encrypts the copies…

Maximizing Security Data in Splunk with Tripwire’s New App

In today’s data-driven world, collecting information is just the beginning. The real value lies in transforming raw data into actionable insights that drive decisions. For enterprise security, this means making data not only accessible but also organized, relevant, and easy…

Money-Laundering Network Linked To Drugs and Ransomware Disrupted

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed details of Operation Destabilise, a years-long international law enforcement investigation into a giant Russian money laundering enterprise that handled billions of dollars for drug traffickers and ransomware gangs worldwide. The multi-billion dollar…

CIS Control 10: Malware Defenses

With the continuing rise of ransomware, malware defenses are more critical than ever before with regard to securing the enterprise. Anti-Malware technologies have become an afterthought in many organizations, a technology that they’ve always had, always used, and never really…

Tripwire Patch Priority Index for November 2024

Tripwire’s November 2024 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft and Google Chromium. First on the list are patches for Microsoft Edge, Excel, and Word that resolve remote code execution and security feature bypass vulnerabilities. Next are…

Tech Support Scams Exploit Google Ads to Target Users

It’s not a new technique, but that doesn’t mean that cybercriminals cannot make rich rewards from SEO poisoning. SEO poisoning is the dark art of manipulating search engines to ensure that malware-laced adverts and dangerous websites appear high on users’…

ShrinkLocker Ransomware: What You Need To Know

What is ShrinkLocker? ShrinkLocker is a family of ransomware that encrypts an organisation’s data and demands a ransom payment in order to restore access to their files. It was first identified by security researchers in May 2024, after attacks were…

Exploring the Security Risks of VR and AR

In an era where innovative technologies are emerging left, right, and center, two of the most influential in recent years are experiencing exponential growth. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are immersive technologies that have now firmly integrated into…

CIS Control 13: Network Monitoring and Defense

Networks form a critical core for our modern-day society and businesses. People, processes, and technologies should be in place for monitoring, detecting, logging, and preventing malicious activities that occur when an enterprise experiences an attack within or against their networks.…

VERT Threat Alert: November 2024 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s November 2024 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1132 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2024-43451 A vulnerability that allows for NTLMv2…

Winter Fuel Payment Scam Targets UK Citizens Via SMS

Scammers have leapt at the opportunity to exploit vulnerable UK residents by sending bogus messages telling them they need to take action to receive help with their winter heating bills. In July, the UK’s new Labour Government announced that it…

CIS Control 14: Security Awareness and Skill Training

Users who do not have the appropriate security awareness training are considered a weak link in the security of an enterprise. These untrained users are easier to exploit than finding a flaw or vulnerability in the equipment that an enterprise…

How to Integrate FIM with SOAR Platforms

File Integrity Monitoring ( FIM) is a key intelligence and audit tool in an advanced security portfolio. While it is a logical component to integrate into your Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response ( SOAR) tooling, it’s important to consider your…

Real Estate Fraud is Running Rampant in the US

Real Estate Fraud is Running Rampant in the US Real estate is an area ripe for fraud and scams: transactions usually involve large sums of money, convoluted paperwork, and messaging back and forth. Criminals can use a wide variety of…

Tripwire Patch Priority Index for October 2024

Tripwire’s October 2024 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft. First on the list are patches for Microsoft Edge, Office, Excel, and Visio that resolve remote code execution, elevation of privilege, and spoofing vulnerabilities. Next are patches…

What Is the ISA/IEC 62443 Framework?

Cybersecurity threats to manufacturing and process plants come from a wide range of attack vectors, including supply chain, logistics, enterprise computing, remote connections, operator stations, programmable logic controllers, distributed control systems (DCSs), smart sensors, and new smart devices. Internet of…

CIS Control 15: Service Provider Management

Enterprises today rely on partners and vendors to help manage their data. Some companies depend on third-party infrastructure for day-to-day operations, so understanding the regulations and protection standards that a service provider is promising to uphold is very important. Key…

Why Security Configuration Management (SCM) Matters

Security configuration management (SCM) is all about making sure your security systems do what you think they’re doing. In tennis, there is something called an unforced error. This is when a player loses points for a mistake they made themselves,…

5 Things to Learn About COBIT

You can’t do large-scale business in 2024 without having a successful, well-run IT infrastructure. Arguably, it’s difficult to do any sort of business well (large or small) without tuning your IT capabilities to your business objectives. This allows them to…

Defending Against Ransom DDoS Attacks

DDoS attacks have become an annoyance most companies assume they may have to deal with at some point. While frustrating, minor website disruptions from small-scale hacktivist campaigns rarely create substantial business impacts. However, a particularly insidious DDoS spinoff has emerged…

CIS Control 16 Application Software Security

The way in which we interact with applications has changed dramatically over the years. Enterprises use applications in day-to-day operations to manage their most sensitive data and control access to system resources. Instead of traversing a labyrinth of networks and…

Preventing Breaches Using Indicators of Compromise

The story of cybersecurity involves bad actors and security professionals constantly trying to thwart each other, often using newer and more advanced measures in an attempt to outdo each other. In recent years, especially, cybercriminals have evolved to include sophisticated…

Cybersecurity at Ports Gets a Boost with New Bipartisan Bill

Cybersecurity’s role in geopolitics is growing more significant by the day. In a world of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, governments worldwide are recognizing the impact digital attacks can have on national security, trade, and infrastructure. This has never been more…

The Importance of Layered Cybersecurity Solutions

The threat of cyberattacks is at an all-time high. In fact, research shows that worldwide cybercrime costs are anticipated to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Cybercriminals threaten all, as 43% of cyberattacks target small enterprises. The rise of these…

The Role of the NIST CSF in Cyber Resilience

Resilience is one of the hottest topics of the moment, but for good reason. For most organizations, suffering a cyberattack is a matter of when, not if. Attackers are, lamentably, always one step ahead of defenders and, as such, responding…

CIS Control 18 Penetration Testing

Penetration testing is something that more companies and organizations should be considering as a necessary expense. I say this because, over the years, the cost of data breaches and other forms of malicious intrusions and disruptions are getting costlier. Per…

VERT Threat Alert: October 2024 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s October 2024 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1127 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2024-43573 A vulnerability in the Windows MSHTML…

Justifying Compliance Tools Before a Breach Occurs

Breaches, be they accidental, careless, or malicious, are an inevitability for most companies. Depending on the industry, the consequences could range from something as minor as a little public embarrassment to hefty fines, lawsuits, expensive remediation actions, and loss of…

Are Your Containers Secure? Answer These 5 Questions and Find Out

What Is Container Security? Container security involves protecting containerized environments and the applications they run. As containers package applications and their dependencies, they offer consistency across different environments. However, this also raises security concerns, such as ensuring the integrity of…

Major Database Security Threats and How to Prevent Them

Human nature tells us that we’ll go for the low-hanging fruit before climbing a tree. Since threat actors are (after all) human, the same applies to them. Since databases are particularly vulnerable to many lower-level attacks, they are constantly at…

Tripwire Patch Priority Index for September 2024

Tripwire’s September 2024 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft. First on the list are patches for Microsoft Excel, Visio, and Publisher that resolve remote code execution, elevation of privilege, and security feature bypass vulnerabilities. Next are…

Key Takeaways from the 2024 Crypto Crime Mid-Year Update

We’re over halfway through the year, and ChainAnalysis has released parts one and two of their 2024 Crypto Crime Mid-Year Update . The update provides valuable insight into the cryptocurrency and cybersecurity landscape, so let’s look at the key takeaways…

Monitoring Your Files for Security and Compliance

Have you ever stopped to consider all of the components that comprise a working automobile? Even a cursory examination reveals more parts than might be considered when we turn the ignition key. However, many of these components are useless when…

The Growing Threat Of Fake Job Applicants

It cannot be denied that the rise of remote work has opened up many opportunities for both employers and job seekers. Despite this, however, it has also presented a plethora of challenges when it comes to recruiting in the cybersecurity…

The Relation Between Breaches and Stock Price Drops

When discussing the consequences of a data breach for organizations, we usually consider three types of damage: financial, legal, and, somewhat more tenuously, reputational. But what about stock prices? One would assume that stock price—an indicator of a business’s overall…

Aligning Your Cybersecurity Strategy with the NIST CSF 2.0

So, you’re considering integrating the NIST CSF 2.0 (National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework) into your cybersecurity practices. Congratulations! You’ve taken the first step toward improving your organization’s cybersecurity posture. However, you may need clarification about the best…

The Latest Email Scams: Key Trends to Look Out For

Amid the numerous instruments that have augmented our digital communication and commerce experiences over time, email remains a staple for everything, from confirming purchases to life-changing events like the authorization of financial aid. It comes as no surprise that email…

NESA Standard Ensures Security of UAE’s Cyberspace

To allay dependence on oil revenue and expand the private sector, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has committed, in recent years, to establishing a knowledge-based economy. Consequently, they have become a formidable competitor in Information Communication Technology (ICT). As the…

England and Wales Report a Spike in Computer Misuse

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) most recent Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) has revealed that computer misuse cases rose 37% in the year ending March 2024, bucking a general trend of decline. The CSEW first started tracking…

What’s Changed in CIS Critical Security Controls v8.1?

The CIS Critical Security Controls (CIS Controls) are a set of best practices designed to help organizations protect themselves from the most common cyber attacks. First developed in 2008, the controls define the minimum level of cybersecurity any organization that…

Navigating the Cloud Chaos: 2024’s Top Threats Revealed

Misconfigurations (when cloud computing assets are set up incorrectly, leaving them vulnerable to unauthorized access, data breaches, and operational disruptions) and inadequate change control top the list of cloud security threats in 2024, rising from third place the year before.…

Mitigating Alert Fatigue in SecOps Teams

Security Operations Teams (SOCs) today are under attack by the very mechanisms meant to help them. A recent industry study revealed a few startling facts: SOCs spend a third of their workday hunting down false positives. Even then, SOCs only…

WordPress Plugin and Theme Developers Told They Must Use 2FA

Developers of plugins and themes for WordPress.org have been told they are required to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) from October 1st. The move is intended to enhance security, helping prevent hackers from gaining access to accounts through which malicious code…

This Senate Bill Could Improve Voting Machine Security

The upcoming election has brought up conversations about the security of our voting infrastructure. While recent developments have somewhat shifted attention toward more visceral threats such as “death threats against county clerks, polling-place violence, and AI-fueled disinformation,” the protection of…

Common Phishing Attacks and How to Protect Against Them

Phishing is a malicious attempt to deceive individuals into divulging sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, or other personal data. These attacks are typically carried out by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in electronic communications. Phishing can…

VERT Threat Alert: September 2024 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s September 2024 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1123 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2024-38217 Windows uses the Mark of the…

SOX Compliance in the Age of Cyber Threats

Achieving Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act compliance is becoming more difficult. While the Act is primarily a financial reporting regulation, it requires all publicly traded companies operating in the United States to maintain the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of financial reporting, which…

Cicada Ransomware – What You Need To Know

What is the Cicada ransomware? Cicada (also known as Cicada3301) is sophisticated ransomware written in Rust that has claimed more than 20 victims since its discovery in June 2024. Why is the ransomware called Cicada? The criminals behind Cicada appear…

The Power of Tripwire Enterprise SCM Policies

There are many good business, security, and compliance reasons for leveraging the extensive rule and policy engines of Fortra’s Tripwire Enterprise (TE) to implement Security Configuration Management (SCM) capabilities, which have been documented very well in other blogs. In contrast,…

Tripwire Patch Priority Index for August 2024

Tripwire’s August 2024 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft, Adobe and Google. First on the list are patches for Microsoft Edge and Google Chromium that resolve 12 vulnerabilities, including information disclosure, remote code execution, and memory…

A Guide on 5 Common LinkedIn Scams

LinkedIn scams are rampant. Know why? Scammers play on trust, which is why they love exploiting professional networks that have earned a trustworthy reputation. In a lot of ways, it’s the last place you’d expect. Unfortunately, given the incredibly high…

How Automation and AI are Transforming GRC Management

There is no doubt that we now live in an AI-driven, automation-powered world. Across industries and markets, leaders and professionals are achieving the utility of AI in their processes. The same applies to Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) management, but…

Tips to Help Leaders Improve Cyber Hygiene

The cyber threat landscape continues to be an unpredictable challenge for organizations as more of them embrace digitization. When it comes to maintaining stability and security in the age of rampant cyber attacks and record levels of data breaches plaguing…