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You are here: Home / Cybersecurity News of the Week / Cybersecurity News of the Week, August 25, 2019

August 25, 2019 by Stan Stahl Ph.D.

Cybersecurity News of the Week, August 25, 2019

SecureTheVillage — Upcoming Conferences

Los Angeles Cyber Lab Security Summit

Security Summit 2019 … Connecting the Community
Los Angeles Cyber Lab
September 17 – 18

Cybersecure SoCal 2019. Cybersecurity is a Team Sport.

Cybersecure SoCal 2019 Cybersecurity is a Team Sport!
… a joint presentation of SecureTheVillage and the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School’s CyRP Program
Register Now: Early Bird Registration $99 through Aug 31
Keynote Speaker: Ron Ross, Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His focus areas include cybersecurity, systems security engineering, and risk management.
October 17 8:00 am – 3:30 pm

Individuals at Risk

Cyber Privacy

I Visited 47 Sites. Hundreds of Trackers Followed Me: Earlier this year, an editor working on The Times’s Privacy Project asked me whether I’d be interested in having all my digital activity tracked, examined in meticulous detail and then published — you know, for journalism. “Hahaha,” I said, and then I think I made an “at least buy me dinner first” joke, but it turned out he was serious. What could I say? I’m new here, I like to help, and, conveniently, I have nothing whatsoever at all to hide. The New York Times, August 23, 2019

Hi, Alexa. How Do I Stop You From Listening In On Me?: Humans help train artificial intelligence, so someone may be listening to what you tell Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa. Here’s what to do if you have a problem with that. The New York Times, August 22, 2019

US phone carriers make empty, unenforceable promises to fight robocalls: All 50 states agree to let telcos keep doing what they’re already doing. ars technica, August 23, 2019

Identity Theft

This couple fought $25,000 in fraudulent credit-card charges after falling prey to identity theft — then things got even worse: Amy Wang and her husband spent hundreds of hours trying to straighten out their financial futures after falling prey to identity theft. Now she wants other would-be victims to learn from her experience. MarketWatch, August 24, 2019

Frank Abagnale, famous con man turned cybersecurity expert urges credit freezing: Con man turned Leonardo DiCaprio movie character turned cybersecurity expert, Frank Abagnale, talks with TechRepublic’s Karen Roby about the steps people can take to protect their identity. TechRepublic, August 19, 2019

Cyber Defense

14 Simple Strategies For Consumers To Avoid Cybercrime: In the past, many consumers considered that only businesses would be at risk of cybercrime. However, today’s cybercriminals target both businesses and individuals without restraint. Each time you log on to the internet or use some form of connected banking, you are exposing yourself to potential cybercrime. Forbes, August 23, 2019

Forced Password Reset? Check Your Assumptions: Almost weekly now I hear from an indignant reader who suspects a data breach at a Web site they frequent that has just asked the reader to reset their password. Further investigation almost invariably reveals that the password reset demand was not the result of a breach but rather the site’s efforts to identify customers who are reusing passwords from other sites that have already been hacked. KrebsOnSecurity, August 21, 2019

Take these 5 critical steps to protect yourself from cybercrime: High-profile data breaches at companies like British Airways and Marriott get a lot of media coverage, but cybercriminals are increasingly going after community groups, schools, small businesses, and municipal governments. Just in the Midwest, hospitals, libraries, voter registration systems, and police departments have fallen victim to one type of digital hijacking or another. Fast Company, August 17, 2019

Cyber Update

Hackers are actively trying to steal passwords from two widely used VPNs: Got Fortigate or Pulse Secure? Now would be a good time to make sure they’re patched. ars technica, August 24, 2019

Cyber Warning

IRS Warns Taxpayers of New Scam Campaign Distributing Malware: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued today a warning to alert taxpayers and tax professionals of an active IRS impersonation scam campaign sending spam emails to deliver malicious payloads. BleepingComputer, August 23, 2019

Cyber Humor

Information Security Management in the Organization

Cyber Defense

Should you block newly registered domains? Researchers say yes: 7 out of 10 newly registered domains (NDRs) are either malicious, suspicious or not safe for work, say Palo Alto Networks researchers, and advise organizations to block access to them with URL filtering. HelpNetSecurity, August 23, 2019

Cloud Security: Mess It Up and It’s on You: Jay Heiser of Gartner Says the Cloud Demands New Security Processes, Tools. BankInfoSecurity, August 22, 2019

Cyber Talent

How to Hire and Retain More Cybersecurity Professionals: The shortage of qualified IT security pros is well known, so businesses that want them need a creative approach. BizTech, August 21, 2019

Cybersecurity in Society

Cyber Crime

5 Indicted in Identity Theft Scheme That Bilked Millions From Veterans: The defendants obtained Social Security numbers and bank account information from a technician who worked for the military, the Justice Department said. The New York Times, August 23, 2019

Feds Charge 80 People Over Massive Online Fraud Conspiracy: A Japanese woman met a person online in March 2016 who said he was a U.S. Army captain based in Syria. NPR, August 23, 2019

Americans lost $143 million in online romance scams last year. That’s way more than any other reported fraud: Just this week, federal officials announced that they charged 80 people — including Nigerians based in Los Angeles — in businesses and romance scams worldwide. CNN, August 23, 2019

Breach at Hy-Vee Supermarket Chain Tied to Sale of 5M+ Stolen Credit, Debit Cards: On Tuesday of this week, one of the more popular underground stores peddling credit and debit card data stolen from hacked merchants announced a blockbuster new sale: More than 5.3 million new accounts belonging to cardholders from 35 U.S. states. Multiple sources now tell KrebsOnSecurity that the card data came from compromised gas pumps, coffee shops and restaurants operated by Hy-Vee, an Iowa-based company that operates a chain of more than 245 supermarkets throughout the Midwestern United States. KrebsOnSecurity, August 22, 2019

Cyber Defense

California’s Cybersecurity task force leads charge to defeat hackers: In the wake of recent crippling cyberattacks like Texas towns’ ransomware scare and the Capital One invasive data breach, some states are taking action. Fox, August 21, 2019

Know Your Enemy

For Sale on Cybercrime Markets: Real ‘Digital Fingerprints’: Two cybercrime marketplaces are helping fraudsters to automate the sometimes arduous task of trying to impersonate legitimate customers of eBay, Amazon, Netflix, online banks and other sites. BankInfoSecurity, August 22, 2019

The Rise of “Bulletproof” Residential Networks: Cybercrooks increasingly are anonymizing their malicious traffic by routing it through residential broadband and wireless data connections. Traditionally, those connections have been mainly hacked computers, mobile phones, or home routers. But this story is about so-called “bulletproof residential VPN services” that appear to be built by purchasing or otherwise acquiring discrete chunks of Internet addresses from some of the world’s largest ISPs and mobile data providers. KrebsOnSecurity, August 19, 2019

National Cybersecurity

China Tops List of U.S. Cybersecurity Agency’s Top Risks: A newly created U.S. cybersecurity agency said Thursday that China represents the greatest strategic risk to the U.S., and as a result, the agency’s top operational priority is reducing the risks from Chinese compromises to the global supply chain, including emerging 5G technology. Insurace Journal, August 23, 2019

CISA Chief Unveils Vision for Federal Cybersecurity: The Homeland Security Department’s cyber chief on Thursday countered the notion that every civilian agency should be responsible for managing their own digital risks and said federal leaders are considering ways to centralize those operations. NextGov, August 22, 2019

A Major Cyber Attack Could Be Just as Deadly as Nuclear Weapons, Says Scientist: People around the world may be worried about nuclear tensions rising, but I think they’re missing the fact that a major cyberattack could be just as damaging – and hackers are already laying the groundwork. Science Alert, August 18, 2019

Cyber Freedom

We must treat cybersecurity as a public good. Here’s why: Soon your fridge will be able to buy your food on Amazon, having noticed what you liked on Facebook and Instagram. Cybersecurity is crucial for this to happen; to make sure that, while our food preferences are being noted, our identity is not stolen, credit cards not cloned, and our devices are not tampered with by malicious actors out to steal data or modify a machine’s behaviour. As the Fourth Industrial Revolution progresses and the integration and interaction of different technologies is used to improve individual and environmental wellbeing, cybersecurity will be ever more important. World Economic Forum, August 22, 2019

Cyber Government

When Ransomware Cripples a City, Who’s to Blame? This I.T. Chief Is Fighting Back: Brian A. Hawkins Googles his name and last employer and winces. The New York Times, August 22, 2019

Ransomware Attacks Are Testing Resolve of Cities Across America: HOUSTON — At the public library in Wilmer, Tex., books were checked out not with the beeps of bar code readers but with the scratches of pen on notebook paper. Out on the street, police officers were literally writing tickets — by hand. When the entire computer network that keeps the small town’s bureaucracy afloat was recently hacked, Wilmer was thrown into the digital Dark Ages. The New York Times, August 22, 2019

Ransomware attacks are an expensive threat to city and state governments. They won’t ebb anytime soon: Hackers have scored big payoffs to unlock email, phones and public records across the country. The Washington Post, August 20, 2019

Cyber Miscellany

Alleged “snake oil” crypto company sues over boos at Black Hat [Updated]: Crown Sterling seeks damages after attendees disrupt “controversial” talk on prime prediction. ars technica, August 23, 2019

California Passed the Country’s First Law to Prevent Genetic Biohacking: Genetic engineering technologies are quickly becoming mature and cheap enough for people to start using them in their own homes. That’s got scientists and officials worried, and California has now passed the first bill aimed at restricting the sale of home gene therapy kits. Singularity Hub, August 19, 2019

SecureTheVillage Calendar — Register Now

Plain Speaking on Cybersecurity Program 3: SecuringTheHuman: Growing the Community
Los Angeles Cyber Lab / SecureTheVillage Summertime Lunch Series
August 28 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

For the C-Suite: Managing Your Company’s Information Security & Privacy Risk
Culver City Chamber of Commerce
August 29 @ 8:00 am – 11:30 am

Webinar: SecureTheVillage September Webinar
Cybersecurity: Board Responsibilities. Board Leadership.
Host: Stan Stahl, Ph.D., SecureTheVillage Founder and President|
Stan’s Guest: Bob Zukis, CEO and Founder, Digital Directors Network
September 5 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Cyber Crisis. Protecting Our Identities. Securing Our Economy. Preserving Our Freedoms.
A Presentation for Citizens. … Hosted by the Santa Barbara Rotary Club.
Program Speaker: Stan Stahl, Ph.D., Founder and President, SecureTheVillage, President and co-founder, Citadel Information Group.
September 6 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Security Summit 2019 … Connecting the Community
Los Angeles Cyber Lab
September 17 – 18

Webinar: SecureTheVillage October Webinar
October 3 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Cybersecure SoCal 2019 Cybersecurity is a Team Sport!
… a joint presentation of SecureTheVillage and the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School’s CyRP Program
Register Now: Early Bird Registration $99 through Aug 31
Keynote Speaker: Ron Ross, Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His focus areas include cybersecurity, systems security engineering, and risk management.
October 17 8:00 am – 3:30 pm

Filed Under: Cybersecurity News of the Week

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