Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

Real-World Application Security: Top 10 Threats

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 30, 2018

As the head of DevSecOps at Intuit, Shannon Lietz tracks the real-world tactics, techniques and procedures hackers use against her organization. She's cataloged the top 10 application security attack techniques being used against Intuit, which differ markedly from the OWASP top 10.

Cybercrime Se Habla Español: Inside the Underground

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 30, 2018

Hacking is a global phenomenon, says Liv Rowley, an intelligence analyst at Flashpoint who's been tracking the rise, fall and mysterious reappearance of Cebolla Chan 3.0, the Latin American region's top Spanish language hacking forum.

Threat Watch: Ransomware, Cryptocurrency Mining and More

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 27, 2018

What are the top cybersecurity threats and trends on security experts' radar? McAfee's Raj Samani and Steve Povolny discuss Olympic Destroyer malware, cryptocurrency mining, the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook scandal and more.

Countdown to GDPR Enforcement: Deadline Looms

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 27, 2018

In this edition of the ISMG Security Report: Privacy watchdogs in the EU begin enforcing GDPR in less than 30 days; are organizations ready? Also, a look at the top 10, real-world online threats facing business and financial software firm Intuit.

Police Seize Webstresser.org, Bust 6 Suspected Admins

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 26, 2018

Police have taken down Webstresser, a leading stresser/booter service tied to 4 million on-demand DDoS attacks, which could be used for as little as $15 per month. Six of the site's administrators have been arrested, as have some of the site's top users, authorities say.

Thailand Seizes 'Hidden Cobra' Command-and-Control Servers

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 25, 2018

The Thai government has seized servers used to run the so-called GhostSecret cyber espionage campaign that targets organizations in the finance, healthcare and critical infrastructure sectors - and beyond. McAfee suspects the attacks are being launched by "Hidden Cobra" - a hacking group tied to North Korea.

Toolkit Generates Malicious Office Macro Malware

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 25, 2018

Are you a fraudster craving an easy way to generate Microsoft Office documents with embedded malicious macros designed to serve as droppers that install banking Trojans onto a victim's PC? Say hello to a toolkit that debuted in February called Rubella Macro Builder.

Cryptocurrency Heist: BGP Leak Masks Ether Theft

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 25, 2018

An attack spoofed internet routing information, resulting in anyone who visited MyEtherWallet.com - a free, open source web app for storing and sending ether-based tokens - instead being routed to an attacker-controlled site, leading to an estimated $320,000 in losses.

SunTrust: 1.5 Million Clients' Details Potentially Stolen

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 24, 2018

Great news: "SunTrust to offer free identity protection ... at no cost on an ongoing basis." Of course, nothing comes for free, at least for 1.5 million customers of the Atlanta bank, whose personal details may have been sold to criminals by a former employee.

Atlanta's Ransomware Cleanup Costs Hit $2.6 Million

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 24, 2018

The city of Atlanta's ransomware outbreak cleanup and response tab has hit $2.6 million after a March attack froze corporate servers, employees' PCs and resident-facing portals. Some security experts say the breach response funds would have been put to better use preventing the outbreak in the first place.

Vulnerability Management: Why the Problem Can't Be Solved

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 24, 2018

One measure of why it's so difficult for organizations to keep their software patched and better secured: Of the nearly 20,000 unique vulnerabilities in 2,000 products cataloged last year, only half involved Microsoft, Adobe, Java, Chrome or Firefox software, says Flexera's Alejandro Lavie.

Workforce Development: Reducing Barriers to Entry

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 24, 2018

What can be done to address the shortage of personnel to fill the ever-expanding roster of cybersecurity jobs - from entry-level positions through the CISO role? (ISC)2's John McCumber describes organizational and governmental efforts to lower barriers to entry and build tomorrow's workforce.

How Account Takeovers Subvert Victims' Social Networks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 24, 2018

Attackers rarely bother with technical sophistication when easy social engineering schemes, such as "hacking" a victim's social network and using it against them, can give them what they want, says Markus Jakobsson, chief scientist at the cybersecurity firm Agari.

How to Battle Credential Stuffing Attacks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 24, 2018

To combat credential stuffing and other types of rising attacks, organizations need data - and lots of it - to feed machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to better detect these types of high volume attacks, says Shape Security's Dan Woods.

UK Teen Sentenced for 'Cyber Terrorizing' US Officials

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 23, 2018

British teenager Kane Gamble has been sentenced to serve two years in a youth detention center after he admitted to targeting U.S. officials - including hacking former CIA Director John Brennan's personal AOL email account - as well as dumping personal details for 20,000 FBI employees.