Cybersecurity Expert

Article by Dennis Okpara, Chief Security Architect & DPO at IDEE GmbH Yes, there is hope for 2021, but the challenges of the “New Normal” are here to stay. CISOs have to prepare and start acting now, because cybersecurity and the IT-infrastructure will have to face threats that have only just started. The year 2020 was the year working from home lost its oddity status and became normality. Big names like Google and Twitter are planning long-term and hold out the prospect of working from home on a permanent basis. More than 60 percent of companies are trying the same and have implemented home office policies in 2020. But with great flexibility comes great responsibility: Everyone responsible for Cybersecurity and a secure IT infrastructure is now dealing with new challenges closing the last gaps and weak points when it comes to allowing access to company resources. Dennis Okpara, Chief Security Architect & DPO at IDEE GmbH, the specialist for secure identity access managemen...

Article by Beau Peters The movie industry is infamous for its loose depictions of hacking and cybersecurity. Hollywood often gets a lot wrong about hacking and digital protections, but what does it get right? The power of film in influencing the future of technology and the experts that create it is immense. Because of this, it is important to assess what the facts are versus movie fiction.  Here, we’ll explore the film industry’s portrayal of cybersecurity. Cybersecurity in Movies From WarGames to Blackhat, hacking and cybersecurity movies have glamorized the world of digital safety and the compromising of said safety. However, each Hollywood outing does so with varying levels of realism, typically embracing excitement over reality.  In the 1983 WarGames movie, a young hacker almost triggers World War 3 These portrayals have led to common tropes and views of the cybersecurity industry in their attempts to prevent and combat hacking attempts. Among these tropes are some of th...

Article by Tom Kellerman, Head of Cybersecurity Strategy, Rick McElroy, Head of Security Strategy and Greg Foss, Senior Cybersecurity Strategist, VMware Carbon Black Everything is different, and yet the same. As we look ahead to the cybersecurity landscape in the next 12 months, it is from a position no one predicted this time last year. Business operations have changed beyond recognition with most employees working from home in a transition that happened almost overnight. Stretched security teams have been challenged to rapidly deploy robust remote working facilities to maintain productivity. Most were writing the ‘pandemic playbook’ as they went along. Ironically, one of the few certainties of the situation was that cybercriminals would take advantage of disruption to escalate campaigns. In that sense, nothing changed, except that the opportunity was suddenly much greater. As a result, nine in ten security professionals surveyed by our Threat Analysis Unit said they were facing ...

Article by Adam Strange, Data Classification Specialist, HelpSystems In the digitally accelerated COVID-19 environment of 2021 what are the top data security trends that organisations are facing? Here is HelpSystems Data Classification Specialist, Adam Strange’s take on the outlook and trends for 2021. Ongoing Growth in Remote Working will Create Data Security Threats The far-reaching impact of COVID-19 includes the intensified threat of malicious cyber attacks as well as an escalating number of damaging data breaches across almost every sector of business. The rapid shift to remote working during the pandemic left many employers exposed to hackers and highlighted multiple examples of serious network and data vulnerabilities. For example, in a recent article, Infosecurity Magazine quotes research finding that attacks on the biotech and pharmaceutical industry alone rose by 50% in 2020 compared to 2019. And in the defence sector, The Pentagon is seeing a huge rise in cyber attacks thro...

On 13th December 2020, it came to light SolarWinds IT systems were compromised by hackers between March 2020 and June 2020. SolarWinds provides software to help organisations manage their IT networking infrastructure. The attackers exploited their SolarWinds IT access to covertly insert a vulnerability, coined 'Solorigate' or 'Sunburst', within the SolarWinds Orion platform software builds.  The following SolarWinds Orion versions are considered to be compromised.  Orion Platform 2019.4 HF5, version 2019.4.5200.9083 Orion Platform 2020.2 RC1, version 2020.2.100.12219 Orion Platform 2020.2 RC2, version 2020.2.5200.12394 Orion Platform 2020.2, 2020.2 HF1, version 2020.2.5300.12432 The vulnerability within these 'tainted' SolarWinds Orion versions permits an attacker to compromise the server on which the SolarWinds Orion product is installed and runs.  Given that SolarWinds is a popular network traffic monitoring product, thousands of organisations are said to be i...

Article by Nathan King, Director, Cyberis Vulnerability scoring has an important role in most enterprise threat and vulnerability management programmes because it provides multiple benefits to internal security teams when identifying any weaknesses. Additionally, it can also help verify control performance. The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is a free and open industry standard for assessing the severity of computer system insecurities and attempts to assign scores to them, allowing responders to prioritise their feedback and resources according to the threat. CVSS is an open industry standard for assessing the severity of computer system insecurities This system, among similar others, has gained widespread industry adoption because it is simple to understand and usually produces repeatable results. However, adopting such systems can also result in failures to detect, manage and respond to security defects. The main reason for this is that vulnerability scoring systems are...

A roundup of UK focused Cyber and Information Security News, Blog Posts, Reports and general Threat Intelligence from the previous calendar month, November 2020. Manchester United FC remains impacted by a seemly major cyber-attack, which I covered in a blog post titled  The Multi-Million Pound Manchester United Hack . At this point, United have provided few details about their cyber-attack which has been impacting club's IT systems for well over a week. However, the UK media are widely reporting United's leaky IT defences was unable to prevent a ransomware attack and data theft.   London's Hackney Borough Council have also been tight-lipped about what they describe as " a serious cyber-attack "  which has impacted its service delivery to Londoners. Like United, this attack has all the hallmarks of a mass ransomware outbreak. Both Manchester United and Hacknet Council said they are working UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Man.Utd hit by ransomware, w...

Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about the Manchester City Billion Pound Hack , which explored cyberattacks within elite football. Now it is the turn of City big rivals Manchester United, after they reported their IT systems had been impacted by a cyber-attack , widely reported in the UK media as a cyber-extortion attack. In the last couple of years, cybercriminals have significantly ramped up efforts in targeting UK businesses with cyber extortion attacks, using ransomware malware and confidential data theft to leverage their victims into paying large ransom payments anonymously in Bitcoin. Many businesses have been quick to pay out ransoms after their operations ground to halt due to their IT systems being rendered unusable due to ransomware, and also to avoid dumping their confidential data on the internet by the cybercriminals.   In July 2020 the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) specially warned that cybercriminals were targeting UK sports teams with ransomwar...

Protecting lone workers is an issue that businesses may not have come across previously, especially those based in busy city centre office blocks pre-coronavirus. Yet with many thriving business districts deserted through a lockdown and not everyone able to work from home, it’s an issue more management teams are having to consider.    Firms could be inadvertently putting employees at risk of security, mental health/wellbeing and medical risk Here, Jonathan Fell of digital security provider Digital ID , outlines some of the ways to protect members of staff who find themselves lone working during lockdown number two. “Most businesses have got to grips with the challenges around managing teams remotely, but what about the needs of those employees who can’t or won’t work from home. In the following Government guidelines, firms could be inadvertently putting employees who need to stay office-based at risk in other areas – security, mental health/wellbeing and medical suitability be...

Article by Kristin Herman, a writer and editor at Ukwritings.com and Academized.com The term 'cybersecurity' has been tossed around lately. But although cybersecurity has been viewed as a saving grace for mobile devices, computers, etc. the topic is still cloaked in misconception. Things that might pop up, when it comes to cybersecurity, are: The idea of security Password strength Who cybersecurity threats target and affect If insurance will cover damages How effective an IT team actually is Cybersecurity “costs” What devices are most vulnerable to malware? However, as one side says one thing, while the other side contests it, it’s easy to get caught up in believing the wrong things. In fact, a lot of people get it all wrong. So, to understand the truth about cybersecurity, then check out this quick guide, which will cover seven of the most debunked myths about the subject matter: 1. “Physical Security and Cybersecurity are Two Different Things” “The truth is, physical securit...

Guest article by Andrea Babbs, UK General Manager at VIPRE Reliance on email as a fundamental function of business communication has been in place for some time. But as remote working has become a key factor for the majority of business during 2020, it’s arguably more important than ever as a communication tool. The fact that roughly 206.4 billion emails are sent and received each day means we’re all very familiar with that dreaded feeling of sending an email with typos, with the wrong attachment, or to the wrong contact. But this can be more than just an embarrassing mistake – the ramifications could, in fact, be catastrophic.  Check Please! Within the financial services, layered cybersecurity strategy is essential to keep sensitive information secure In particular, for the financial services industry that deals with highly sensitive information including monetary transactions and financial data, the consequences of this information falling into the wrong hands could mean the los...

Article by Paul German, CEO, Certes Networks A cyber threat could be lurking in any corner of an organisation’s infrastructure. The complex networks encompassing numerous smart and interconnected technologies make it easy for cybercriminals to hide, but much harder for them to be found. Yet, waiting for a cyber threat to make an appearance is far too dangerous; if left undetected, a cybercriminal could stay in an organisation’s network for years - and just think of the damage that could be caused. To combat this, threat hunting is now an essential component of any cybersecurity strategy. Rather than waiting for a hacker to make themselves known, threat hunting involves constantly and proactively searching for the threats hiding within a system, working on the assumption that a cyber hacker is ever-present and looking for signs of unusual activity before it even occurs. But how does threat hunting work in practice, and how can the approach ensure an organisation’s data is kept safe? Why...