If targeted cyber attacks weren’t already one of the year’s top security concerns, a new study revealed that they’re no longer limiting their focus on the corporate giants of the world. They’re becoming the norm for midsized businesses, as well. This was just one of several recent reports and newly surfaced malware like the Stuxnet worm that have security professionals on high alert. With more stealthier attacks aimed at beating forensic efforts, cyber crime continues to have a growing impact on organizations and their bottom line. Here are some of the top security stories from July 2010. Continue reading this post…
For organizations that run the nation’s most critical infrastructures, it’s important to understand that today’s targeted cyber attacks are designed to carry out any number of activities including monitoring network processes to bringing down the grid. Just because hackers haven’t carried out an attack doesn’t mean malware isn’t already resident in a system waiting for the most opportune time to launch.
In the article, “Attackers can take out critical infrastructure, but profit lies elsewhere, researcher says,” Jason Larson, a security researcher at the Idaho National Laboratory, said there’s plenty of evidence that hackers have already infiltrated control systems that run power generation plants, gas and oil refineries, and other chemical factories, but so far their activity is observational. Continue reading this post…
In an important step to enforce new state laws around protecting the privacy of medical records, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has fined five California hospitals a total of $675,000 for failing to prevent unauthorized access to their confidential patient information.
With targeted malware attacks posing greater threats to health care institutions, the director of CDPH, Dr. Mark Horton, said ensuring the privacy of patient data is a critical component to the medical industry.
“Medical privacy is a fundamental right and a critical component of quality medical care in California. We are very concerned with violations of patient confidentiality and their potential harm to the residents of California.”
While Federal regulations such as HIPAA have prompted health care organizations to take measures to better protect digital patient records, stopping highly targeted cyber attacks continue to be one of the industry’s top challenges. Continue reading this post…
The sharing of personal information over the Internet has been a huge driver for targeted attacks, which are designed to steal highly sensitive corporate information. According to the article, “Surviving today’s targeted attacks,” hackers who once sought fame and notoriety are now motivated by money. Targeted attacks go after the most valuable corporate data including source codes, future product information, third-party data, executives’ emails and customer information. Stefan Tanase, senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, said there are four steps cyber criminals take in executing a targeted attack: Continue reading this post…
Laser focus attacks, new exploits, and ongoing security woes continue to leave many organizations in disarray about how to defend their networks against highly targeted cyber-attacks. Even the government, which has taken a hard stance on protecting our digital infrastructure, has been slow to move. Here were some of the top security stories from May 2010. Continue reading this post…