Tag Archives: Cybersecurity

CISA warns U.S. businesses of potential Iranian cyber attacks

June 24, 2019 The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned U.S. businesses Saturday that Iranian cyber attacks are on the rise. The announcement follows a rise in tensions between Iran and the U.S. The cyber attacks, according to CISA Director Christopher C. Krebs, go beyond the typical data breach or account theft. … Continue reading "CISA warns U.S. businesses of potential Iranian cyber attacks" Read More

Florida cities have different experiences with ransomware

June 23, 2019 Two cities in Palm Beach County, Florida, now have experienced ransomware.More than a year separates the attacks, and the costs escalated considerably. The Village of Palm Springs, which is not getting much media attention for the ransomware attack it says it experienced in 2018, paid $1,200 in ransom. Its costs for recovery, according to the … Continue reading "Florida cities have different experiences with ransomware" Read More

Study finds workers emotionally attached to weak passwords

June 19, 2019 Have you encountered this person? They sit through your cybersecurity training at work, learn that their chosen passwords are weak, easily guessable, and put your network at risk. Yet they continue to use them. There’s a study out now that says these folks cling to their bad passwords for two reasons. One is that humans … Continue reading "Study finds workers emotionally attached to weak passwords" Read More

That new game on your phone? Make sure it’s not a bot

June 18, 2019 This is just a friendly reminder.If you download games onto your phone, and especially if you’re playing on an Android phone, make sure you haven’t downloaded a bot. BankerBots were a large problem in 2017, and Google made changes to its Play Store to strengthen security. But as we adapt, so do the criminals. that … Continue reading "That new game on your phone? Make sure it’s not a bot" Read More

Phishing “kits” – now available as template collections on the Dark Web

June 16, 2019 Hackers now sell collections of website templates that are near-perfect copies of brand websites, Akamai Technologies reports. The collections - and phishing "kits" - are coming out so fast new ones are developed within hours, a top company researcher says. Read More

Collections vendor the pathway for huge lab companies’ breach

June 6, 2019 A third-party billing collections vendor is behind the latest large data breach. American Medical Collection Agency, a vendor providing collections work for Quest Diagnostics and Lab Corp., had “unauthorized activity” on its web payment page between August 2018 and March 2019. Discovery of the breach began with a cybersecurity firm finding compromised payment cards tied … Continue reading "Collections vendor the pathway for huge lab companies’ breach" Read More

Tax preparers urged to tighten IT security

June 4, 2019 In the wake of CCH breach (plus Cetrom), Accounting Today last week urged its readers to address their data security before it was too late. Accounting Today also noted, in another article, that the Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress, recommended the IRS to improve its oversight of cybersecurity practices by tax preparers and … Continue reading "Tax preparers urged to tighten IT security" Read More

Title insurer faces lawsuit, NY state investigation over data security

June 1, 2019 Title insurer First American Financial Corp. is on the hot seat for having 885 million data files available without authentication to anyone with a web browser. The files going back to 2003 contained bank account numbers, social security numbers and financial and tax records, according to Bloomberg. The company saw its stock drop from $55.60 … Continue reading "Title insurer faces lawsuit, NY state investigation over data security" Read More

Ransomware surging this year, CNBC reports

May 29, 2019 Ransomware is returning as a major IT nightmare. CNBC reports that ransomware attacks are surging, up 500% this year after a lull last year.Just ask your local accounting firm or municipality. Can you afford to have your business or organization come to a complete halt? On Thursday, our CEO, Milton Bartley, will offer ways to … Continue reading "Ransomware surging this year, CNBC reports" Read More

Insurance Journal reports ransomware attacks ‘skyrocket’ Q1 2019

May 25, 2019 As Baltimore continues to struggle to recover from a ransomware attack, Insurance Journal reports ransomware attacks increased 105 percent, citing Beazley Breach Response Services. Criminals and rogue nations are using new generations of malware to attack large organizations. The attackers also are demanding higher ransom payments, the report notes. This doesn’t mean small and medium … Continue reading "Insurance Journal reports ransomware attacks ‘skyrocket’ Q1 2019" Read More

Retired FBI Agent Scott Augenbaum warns about email during talk in Louisville

May 23, 2019 Our friend Scott Augenbaum gave a great talk at today at the Louisville IT Symposium about cybersecurity and the relatively simple ways you can boost your protection against hackers. Our CEO, Milton Bartley, serves with Scott on the Middle Tennessee chapter of Infragard. We featured an interview of Scott in our February 2018 newsletter. In … Continue reading "Retired FBI Agent Scott Augenbaum warns about email during talk in Louisville" Read More

ImageQuest CEO speaks on protecting business value by reducing cyber risk

May 15, 2019 Our CEO, Milton Bartley, spoke on how to protect business value by reducing cyber risk at this morning’s monthly meeting of the Exit Planning Institute – Kentuckiana chapter in Louisville. Bartley shared how cybercriminals target smaller companies who are vendors for larger organizations because smaller companies are a pathway into the larger companies’ networks. Bartley … Continue reading "ImageQuest CEO speaks on protecting business value by reducing cyber risk" Read More