How COVID impacts cybersecurity incidents
Many cybersecurity incidents have, unsurprisingly, become subject to the influence of COVID. According to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), more than 200 of 723 reviewed incidents qualify as being related to the pandemic. We’ve covered a fair bit in the past how phishing schemes exploit people’s worries over the virus to trick them… Read More
Hackers Hit Therapy Center for Patient Data
Pandemic-induced stress and anxiety are on a constant rise, according to all reports, and the demand for therapy has thus never been higher. Hackers are taking notice. In Finland, we now have reports of a psychotherapy center experiencing a data breach. Approximately 300 patients of the practice, which is operated by a company called Vastaamo,… Read More
Data security for kids and restaurants
Regulators in Europe are laying out fines for companies that come up short in data protection. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has recently hit British Airways for £20 million, over a data breach involving 400,000 customers. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, meanwhile, came into existence in 2018 and acts as the EU’s GDPR compliance regulator. During… Read More
Phishing scheme utilizes CAPTCHA against Microsoft users
Does anybody really like CAPTCHAS? Those little verification boxes on website login pages that ask you to check a box, or click on all the images with street lights…and then you do and somehow it still fails but if stick with it you can eventually log in, probably. Anyway, they are perhaps a necessary evil,… Read More
Cybersecurity Concerns for IoT and Healthcare
It honestly feels like most of the articles you find about data security, especially where pertaining to the Internet of Things (IoT), could easily begin with that famous Spider-Man quote about great power and responsibility. Because the IoT is capable of so many functions spread across vast global networks, it’s an apt adage. Always crucial… Read More
Ransomware attacks against sports and education
As the sports world gears back up again, it finds itself a target of ransomware, same as any other sector. ArbiterSports, which provides software to the NCAA and various other leagues and schools for referee management, announced a security incident involving ransomware this past July. The web applications that were affected here are responsible for… Read More
Genetic Data Protection and More Healthcare Breaches
More data breaches and privacy laws to hinder them are in the news this week. California continues to be proactive in this arena, as the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) is soon set to join CCPA in giving people more control over their data. In this case, the subject is biometric data: its collection, sale,… Read More
Back to School Cybersecurity Risks
As schools begin to reopen, many are adopting a hybrid format that blends online with traditional, in-person learning (that’s a weird thing to have to say). For those students engaging in the former, cyber risks will be more of an issue than they’ve ever had to deal with before. To that end, the FBI’s Portland… Read More
Legacy Workstations Security – What to do when you’re no longer supported
Operating on an old laptop? Have a bunch of old desktops in the office? In light of Microsoft ceasing support of Windows 7 last January, new security concerns revolve around protecting outdated desktops and laptops. This is pertinent whether people are still working remotely, if they’ve already begun returning to the office, or a combination… Read More
Exposed database affects millions of social media users
Everyone knows at this point, social media platforms draw cyber criminals like bears to honey…except these bears also have stingers. Mixed metaphors aside, it’s not surprising when a database with 235 million profiles gets exposed online. Containing accounts from Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube among others (many of which have had previous cybersecurity issues, to say… Read More