News

  Fraudsters have targeted UK taxpayers with a total of 1,524,449 phishing emails, calls and text messages purporting to be from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over the last two years, according to official figures. The data reveals the staggering number of suspected fake correspondence reported to HMRC’s official complaints email for phishing scams [email protected] - by members of the public in 2019 and 2018. Source: The Commentator

  A precision parts maker for space and defense contractors has confirmed a “cybersecurity incident,” which TechCrunch has learned was likely caused by ransomware. Visser Precision, a Denver, Colorado-based manufacturer, makes custom parts for a number of industries, including automotive and aeronautics. In a brief statement, the company confirmed it was “the recent target of a criminal cybersecurity incident, including access to or theft of data.” Source: Tech Crunch

  Railroad construction and maintenance firm Railworks Corp. has disclosed a ransomware attack that may have also resulted in the breach of personally identifiable information. The attack took place on Jan. 27 and email notifications were sent to those affected by the attack between Jan. 30 and Feb. 7. Data potentially stolen in the attack included names, addresses, driver license numbers, government-issued IDs, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other employee information. Those affected...

WordPress is, by far, the most widely used website building technology on the internet. According to the most recent statistics, more than 35% of all internet websites run on versions of the WordPress CMS (content management system).Due to its huge number of active installations, WordPress is a massive attack surface. Attempts to hack into WordPress sites are like a constant hum in the background of all internet traffic, going on at any given time. Source:...

Unfortunately, ransomware is impacting businesses of all sizes across the globe. This means that critical systems and applications are encrypted by malicious actors and will only be decrypted if a ransom is paid. This will effect all but the most prepared enterprises, and as recent reports show, even prepared businesses can suffer. Offline backups of business critical information can be make or break when it comes to mitigating a ransomware attack. However unfortunately, some backups...

The UK's cybersecurity agency has updated its guidance on what to do after a ransomware attack, following a series of incidents where organisations were hit with ransomware, but also had their backups encrypted because they had left them connected to their networks. Keeping a backup copy of vital data is a good way of reducing the damage of a ransomware attack: it allows companies to get systems up and running again without having to pay...

Data shows 73% are concerned about municipal ransomware threats but only 38% are trained on preventing these attacks. RSA CONFERENCE2020 - San Francisco - Nearly 75% of government employees are concerned about the potential for ransomware attacks against cities across the United States, but only 38% of state and local government workers are trained in ransomware prevention, according to a new report. Source: Dark Reading

  Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran has lost almost $400,000 to cybercriminals after her office recently fell victim to a phishing scam. The incident began last week when Corcoran's bookkeeper received an email regarding an invoice related to a real estate renovation. Corcoran explained why her bookkeeper didn't find the email to be suspicious to PEOPLE, saying: “I lost the $388,700 as a result of a fake email chain sent to my company. It was an...

  Microsoft just announced that it’s bringing its Defender anti-virus software to Android and iOS. Although details about how the app will work are still pretty scarce, it’s expected the software will offer similar functionality to its desktop counterpart. Microsoft Defender – previously called Windows Defender before the release of the Windows 10 November 2019 Update – aims to make devices more secure with real-time protection against viruses, malware and spyware across the web. Source:...

  Cybercriminals behind a recently observed phishing campaign used a clever ruse in the form of a bogus NortonLifelock document to fool victims into installing a remote access tool (RAT) that is typically used for legitimate purposes. The malicious activity has the hallmarks of a seasoned threat actor familiar with evasion techniques and offensive security frameworks that help install the payload. Source: Bleeping Computer