Threats and vulnerabilities
Keeping up with the latest threats and vulnerabilities is a battle for any security pro. Get up-to-date information on email threats, nation-state attacks, phishing techniques, ransomware and malware, DDoS attacks, APTs, application vulnerabilities, zero-day exploits, malicious insiders and more.
Top Stories
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Conference Coverage
16 May 2025
RSAC Conference 2025
Follow SearchSecurity's RSAC 2025 guide for insightful pre-conference insights and reports on notable presentations and breaking news at the world's biggest infosec event. Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2025
News brief: AI security risks highlighted at RSAC 2025
Check out the latest security news from the Informa TechTarget team. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jul 2021
US government formally names China in Exchange Server hack
Beyond the Exchange Server hack, the White House's statement condemned China for its malicious cyber behavior and accused the country of government-affiliated ransomware attacks. Continue Reading
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News
15 Jul 2021
SonicWall warns of 'imminent' SMA 100/SRA ransomware attacks
SonicWall said that those who fail to update or disconnect their vulnerable SMA 100 and SRA devices are 'at imminent risk of a targeted ransomware attack.' Continue Reading
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Podcast
14 Jul 2021
Risk & Repeat: Breaking down the Kaseya ransomware attacks
Nearly two weeks after REvil ransomware hit hundreds of companies, Kaseya and its managed service providers are still assessing the damage from the supply chain attack. Continue Reading
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News
14 Jul 2021
Microsoft: Chinese threat actor exploited SolarWinds zero-day
Microsoft has observed DEV-0322, the threat actor exploiting the SolarWinds Serv-U zero-day, 'targeting entities in the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Sector and software companies.' Continue Reading
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News
07 Jul 2021
Microsoft posts emergency 'PrintNightmare' patch
The out-of-band patch release addresses a critical flaw that allowed threat actors to gain remote code execution on vulnerable Windows and Windows Server systems. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jul 2021
Kaseya ransomware attacks: What we know so far
REvil ransomware threat actors exploited a zero-day vulnerability to issue ransomware payloads disguised as legitimate software updates from Kaseya. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jul 2021
Kaseya: 1,500 organizations affected by REvil attacks
Approximately 50 managed service providers and up to 1,500 of their customers were compromised via a devastating supply chain attack on Kaseya by REvil ransomware actors. Continue Reading
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News
02 Jul 2021
Russia using Kubernetes cluster for brute-force attacks
The NSA warned that Russian state-sponsored hackers launched a new container-based campaign aimed at breaching networks and stealing essential data from multiple industries. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jun 2021
European police lay siege to hacker haven DoubleVPN
An international law enforcement operation shut down DoubleVPN, a Dutch-hosted service that had provided low-cost, underground anonymizing services to cybercriminals. Continue Reading
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News
29 Jun 2021
End users in the dark about latest cyberthreats, attacks
A study from IoT security vendor Armis shows many outside the IT community are unaware of growing threats, leaving a major gap in knowledge of basic security practices. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2021
SolarWinds hackers compromised Microsoft support agent
After placing information-stealing malware on a customer support agent's system, the Nobelium threat actors gained access to three Microsoft clients. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2021
DarkSide ransomware funded by cybercriminal 'investors'
New ransomware gangs, such as DarkSide, are receiving cryptocurrency investments from their peers and are poised to make life difficult for enterprises and law enforcement alike. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jun 2021
Namecheap refines strategy to fight malicious domains
Security researchers this month noted drastic improvements in the domain registrar's effort to respond to and mitigate reports of malicious and fraudulent sites. Continue Reading
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Podcast
23 Jun 2021
Risk & Repeat: US opens door for hacking back
This episode of the Risk & Repeat podcast discusses the growing pressure on the U.S. to respond to cyber attacks and if hacking back will be part of the plan. Continue Reading
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News
22 Jun 2021
COVID, gift cards and phony acquisitions top BEC attack trends
New research from Cisco Talos shows cybercriminals are still using the COVID-19 pandemic for BEC attacks to steal millions, but in slightly different ways. Continue Reading
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News
16 Jun 2021
Repeat ransomware attacks hit 80% of victims who paid ransoms
New research from Cybereason offers troubling findings for organizations that pay ransoms, from repeat attacks to corrupted data and faulty decryption tools. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jun 2021
Slilpp marketplace goes dark following government takedown
Slilpp, a massive dark web emporium for buying and selling stolen credentials, has been pulled offline by an international law enforcement takedown. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jun 2021
Cisco Talos: Exchange Server flaws accounted for 35% of attacks
More than one third of incidents recorded by Cisco Talos in the past three months were related to four Microsoft Exchange Server zero-days first revealed in March. Continue Reading
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News
03 Jun 2021
White House issues ransomware directive for businesses
The Biden administration aims to stem parade of ransomware infections, data thefts and massive payouts to cybercriminal groups with a list of security best practices. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 May 2021
Network reconnaissance techniques for beginners
In this excerpt of 'How Cybersecurity Really Works,' author Sam Grubb breaks down common network reconnaissance techniques used by adversaries to attack wired networks. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
27 May 2021
3 steps to zero-day threat protection
Don't let a zero-day threat bring down your networks. Follow these three steps to prepare for the unknown and minimize potential damage. Continue Reading
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News
26 May 2021
Rowhammer reach extended for new attack method
Google researchers discovered a bit-flipping hardware trick can now be carried out across extra rows of transistors, circumventing protections against the attack technique. Continue Reading
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News
25 May 2021
Operational technology is the new low-hanging fruit for hackers
FireEye researchers say exposed and poorly guarded industrial systems are being increasingly compromised by low-skill hackers using entry-level exploit techniques. Continue Reading
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News
20 May 2021
U.S. officials discuss 2020 election security, misinformation
During an RSA Conference 2021 panel, the CISO for Maricopa County, Ariz., said misinformation posed a bigger challenge for election officials than actual cyberattacks. Continue Reading
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News
20 May 2021
Infosec experts: Threat landscape is worst in 60 years
Between an increasing sophistication seen in nation-state groups and a rise in ransomware that's affecting everyone, the threat landscape may be reaching a historic peak. Continue Reading
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News
19 May 2021
SentinelOne: More supply chain attacks are coming
At RSA Conference 2021, SentinelOne threat researcher Marco Figueroa discussed the implications of the SolarWinds attacks, which he called one of the biggest hacks ever. Continue Reading
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News
19 May 2021
SolarWinds CEO: Supply chain attack began in January 2019
SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna clarified earlier remarks from the company and said the massive supply chain attack was not the result of an intern's mistake. Continue Reading
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News
17 May 2021
Hackers turn Comcast voice remotes into eavesdropping tool
Guardicore researchers at RSA Conference 2021 manipulated the Xfinity XR11 voice controller to covertly record household conversations, raising concerns about IoT devices. Continue Reading
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News
12 May 2021
Hacker makes short work of Apple AirTag jailbreak
A security researcher discovered a jailbreaking method for Apple's new mobile locating tracking devices, which were introduced just last month. Continue Reading
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News
12 May 2021
Senate hearing raises questions about SolarWinds backdoors
U.S. Department of Commerce CISO Ryan Higgins said in a Senate committee hearing Tuesday that his department was one of first agencies to detect the systemic compromise. Continue Reading
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News
12 May 2021
DarkSide: The ransomware gang that took down a pipeline
DarkSide may be best known for the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, but the gang has hit dozens of organizations since last summer, presenting itself as a Robin Hood-type group. Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2021
Colonial Pipeline runs dry following ransomware attack
A vital U.S. oil supply was shut down to prevent a ransomware infection from spreading from corporate IT systems to more crucial operational technology systems. Continue Reading
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News
06 May 2021
US defense contractor BlueForce apparently hit by ransomware
The Conti ransomware operators demanded nearly $1 million in bitcoin during ransomware negotiations and threatened to publish the defense contractor's data on its leak site. Continue Reading
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News
06 May 2021
Dell patches high-severity flaws in firmware update driver
SentinelOne discovered the flaws in Dell's firmware update driver in December. There's no evidence that hackers have exploited the 12-year-old vulnerabilities. Continue Reading
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News
05 May 2021
Twilio discloses breach caused by Codecov supply chain hack
Twilio utilizes Codecov tools including the previously compromised Bash Uploader script. It said that a "small number" of customer emails were potentially exposed. Continue Reading
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News
05 May 2021
Researchers use PyInstaller to create stealth malware
Academic researchers say the application builder could be used to create undetectable attack bundles that bypass many widely used antimalware programs. Continue Reading
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News
04 May 2021
Qualys finds 21 vulnerabilities in Exim mail software
Qualys, which discovered the '21Nails' vulnerabilities, said that it did not see evidence of exploitation, but many vulnerabilities are 17 years old and at risk of being exploited. Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2021
Apple hurries out fixes for WebKit zero-days
Mac and iOS users are urged to patch their devices immediately for Apple WebKit flaws following reports of active exploits in the wild. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Apr 2021
SolarWinds puts national cybersecurity strategy on display
Biden imposed economic sanctions on Russia for its role in the SolarWinds cyber attack. Experts see the response as just one part of a larger national cybersecurity strategy. Continue Reading
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News
26 Apr 2021
Remaining Emotet infections uninstalled by German police
A German federal police action led to all infections of Emotet malware being uninstalled Sunday, following an international police takeover of Emotet infrastructure in January. Continue Reading
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Definition
23 Apr 2021
computer cracker
A computer cracker is an outdated term used to describe someone who broke into computer systems, bypassed passwords or licenses in computer programs, or in other ways intentionally breached computer security. Continue Reading
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News
22 Apr 2021
DOJ creates ransomware task force to combat digital extortion
An internal memo from the DOJ said the task force will 'bring the full authorities and resources of the Department' in order to confront the growing threat of ransomware. Continue Reading
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News
20 Apr 2021
The wide web of nation-state hackers attacking the U.S.
Cybersecurity experts weigh in on what it means to be a nation-state hacker, as well as the activities and motivations of the 'big four' countries attacking the U.S. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Apr 2021
Nation-state hacker indictments: Do they help or hinder?
While there are some benefits to filing criminal charges against nation-state actors, infosec experts say thus far, indictments haven't reduced cyber attacks. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Apr 2021
12 Microsoft Exchange Server security best practices
Exchange security has come under increased scrutiny since the recent exploitation of critical vulnerabilities. Review this list of activities to best protect your enterprise. Continue Reading
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News
07 Apr 2021
Cisco: Threat actors abusing Slack, Discord to hide malware
The threat intelligence vendor released a new report on how threat actors are increasingly abusing popular collaboration applications like Slack and Discord during the pandemic. Continue Reading
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Podcast
06 Apr 2021
Risk & Repeat: Recapping the Exchange Server attacks
This week's Risk & Repeat episode looks back at the Microsoft Exchange Server attacks, plus the questions and mysteries surrounding the ongoing threat. Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2021
CISA: APTs exploiting Fortinet FortiOS vulnerabilities
Three Fortinet FortiOS vulnerabilities that have been fully patched since last summer are being exploited by advanced persistent threat actors, according to the FBI and CISA. Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2021
Mysterious Hades ransomware striking 'big game' enterprises
CrowdStrike reported Hades is tied to Evil Corp, but Awake Labs discovered a possible connection to Hafnium, a Chinese nation-state group behind initial Exchange Server attacks. Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2021
Nearly 100,000 web shells detected on Exchange servers
Although Microsoft reported a decrease in the number of vulnerable Exchange servers, new research shows a large amount of malicious web shells hiding inside networks. Continue Reading
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News
19 Mar 2021
Acer hit by apparent attack from REvil ransomware group
Acer told SearchSecurity in a statement that it has 'reported recent abnormal situations observed to the relevant law enforcement.' However, it did not confirm a ransomware attack. Continue Reading
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News
17 Mar 2021
SolarWinds hackers stole Mimecast source code
The investigation into a stolen Mimecast-issued digital certificate is now complete, and the vendor said the initial intrusion was Sunburst malware in the SolarWinds Orion platform. Continue Reading
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Quiz
15 Mar 2021
Information security quizzes to test your cybersecurity smarts
Test your knowledge of everything cybersecurity, from network security to regulatory compliance, with our collection of information security quizzes. Continue Reading
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News
12 Mar 2021
DearCry ransomware impacting Microsoft Exchange servers
While only a small number of DearCry ransomware victims have been reported at this time, the infections have hit organizations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and beyond. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Mar 2021
After Oldsmar: How vulnerable is US critical infrastructure?
Following the highly publicized breach of a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Fla., industrial security experts discuss the state of critical infrastructure risk in 2021. Continue Reading
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News
09 Mar 2021
Microsoft Exchange Server attacks: What we know so far
More details continue to emerge since last week's disclosure of zero-day vulnerabilities and attacks on Microsoft Exchange Server, including the broad range of potential victims. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Mar 2021
Explore 5 business email compromise examples to learn from
Gift cards are for gifts, never for payment. Explore real-world examples of business email compromise to learn common attack patterns and red flags. Continue Reading
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News
03 Mar 2021
Accellion FTA attacks claim more victims
More details have emerged about the Accellion FTA attacks since the December disclosure, including possible threat groups behind the breach and a growing list of victims. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Mar 2021
Technical controls to prevent business email compromise attacks
Technical controls are at the heart of preventing successful business email compromise attacks. Learn about those and extra considerations to keep your business secure. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Mar 2021
3 ransomware distribution methods popular with attackers
To prevent cyber attacks, understanding how they work is half the battle. Explore the most common ransomware distribution methods in this excerpt of 'Preventing Ransomware.' Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Mar 2021
Malware researcher speculates on the future of ransomware
Abhijit Mohanta, author of 'Preventing Ransomware,' opines on the future of ransomware and discusses why this attack is favored among cybercriminals. Continue Reading
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News
24 Feb 2021
Dragos: ICS security threats grew threefold in 2020
A new report highlights the challenges facing ICS vendors today, including practices that are geared toward traditional IT and not designed for ICS security. Continue Reading
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News
22 Feb 2021
Chinese APT used stolen NSA exploit for years
Check Point's report details how a zero-day exploit credited to a Chinese nation-state threat group "is in fact a replica of an Equation Group exploit code-named 'EpMe.'" Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Feb 2021
SolarWinds fallout has enterprise CISOs on edge
As investigators uncover more about the massive SolarWinds hack, enterprise CISOs' concerns about digital supply chain security grow. Continue Reading
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News
17 Feb 2021
Wide net cast on potential Accellion breach victims
While Accellion fixed the zero-day vulnerability within 72 hours and said the breach affected 'less than 50 customers,' the attack's impact has expanded two weeks after the disclosure. Continue Reading
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Podcast
17 Feb 2021
Risk & Repeat: SolarWinds and the hacking back debate
This week's Risk & Repeat podcast looks at a recent '60 Minutes' episode that discussed the possibility of the U.S. government hacking back in response to the SolarWinds attacks. Continue Reading
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Quiz
17 Feb 2021
Malware quiz: Test your knowledge of types and terms
Malware trends are constantly evolving, but older techniques are still often used in cyber attacks today. Test your knowledge of existing and emerging threats in this malware quiz. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 Feb 2021
Use business email compromise training to mitigate risk
Effective BEC training can prevent scams designed to exploit the brain's automatic responses. It starts by teaching employees to slow down and make the unconscious conscious. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Feb 2021
Using content disarm and reconstruction for malware protection
Content disarm and reconstruction is a modern approach to removing malicious code from files, key to detecting and thwarting successful phishing and malware attacks. Continue Reading
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News
09 Feb 2021
Florida city's water nearly poisoned in TeamViewer attack
The intruder increased the quantity of sodium hydroxide in the water from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million briefly before a water plant operator fixed it. Continue Reading
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News
09 Feb 2021
Ninety percent of dark web hacking forum posts come from buyers
Positive Technologies built a picture of dark web hacking forums via data from the 10 active forums and over 8 million users, though the veracity of such posts remains unclear. Continue Reading
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News
08 Feb 2021
Microsoft, SolarWinds in dispute over nation-state attacks
The latest investigation updates from SolarWinds and Microsoft offer differing views on how nation-state threat actors compromised SolarWinds' environment. Continue Reading
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News
04 Feb 2021
SolarWinds Office 365 environment compromised
SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna said nation-state threat actors first compromised a single email account and later gained access to the company's Orion platform environment. Continue Reading
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News
02 Feb 2021
SonicWall confirms zero-day vulnerability on SMA 100 series
After testing NCC Group's findings, SonicWall 'confirmed their submission as a critical zero-day in the SMA 100 series 10.x code, and are tracking it as SNWLID-2021-0001.' Continue Reading
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News
25 Jan 2021
SonicWall breached through 'probable' zero-day vulnerabilities
SonicWall's internal systems were breached, and the company is investigating its Secure Mobile Access (SMA) 100 series, a remote access product for SMBs, as a possible vector. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jan 2021
FBI warns against vishing attacks targeting enterprises
Though the FBI vishing warning references attacks that began in December 2019, the alert is reminiscent of the Twitter social engineering attacks that took place last July. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jan 2021
SolarWinds confirms supply chain attack began in 2019
SolarWinds and CrowdStrike published updates Monday that added new information for the timeline of the supply chain attack and how threat actors first gained access. Continue Reading
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Podcast
08 Jan 2021
Risk & Repeat: SolarWinds attacks come into focus
This week's Risk & Repeat podcast discusses the fallout from the SolarWinds backdoor attacks as new victims and additional information have come to light. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jan 2021
The SolarWinds attacks: What we know so far
The SolarWinds attacks have left a massive impact on security, tech and the world at large, and events are still unfolding nearly a month after the initial disclosure. Continue Reading
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News
05 Jan 2021
10 of the biggest cyber attacks of 2020
Here is a list of 10 of the largest cyber attacks of a pandemic-dominated 2020, including several devastating ransomware incidents and a massive supply chain attack. Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Jan 2021
Ransomware 'businesses': Does acting legitimate pay off?
Ransomware gangs such as Maze have portrayed themselves almost like penetration testing firms and referred to victims as 'clients.' What's behind this approach? Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Dec 2020
What is bloatware? How to identify and remove it
Unwanted pre-installed software -- also known as bloatware -- has long posed security threats for computers and other devices. Here are strategies for how to detect bloatware and uninstall the potential threat. Continue Reading
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News
23 Dec 2020
Security measures critical for COVID-19 vaccine distribution
The COVID-19 vaccine supply chain is already under attack, which comes as no surprise to experts. The biggest potential threats, however, are still to come. Continue Reading
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News
21 Dec 2020
SolarWinds backdoor infected tech giants, impact unclear
Reports that technology giants were also affected by the SolarWinds backdoor malware have been confirmed by several major vendors, though there's no evidence they were breached. Continue Reading
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Podcast
18 Dec 2020
Risk & Repeat: SolarWinds backdoor shakes infosec industry
This week's Risk & Repeat podcast discusses the latest developments around the devastating SolarWinds backdoor attacks, which impacted several U.S. government agencies. Continue Reading
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News
17 Dec 2020
Microsoft, FireEye create kill switch for SolarWinds backdoor
The kill switch follows several other moves Microsoft made against the malware, including the removal of digital certificates and quarantining the malware in Windows Defender. Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2020
SolarWinds struggles with response to supply chain attack
Security researchers discovered the Orion DLL component containing the backdoor used was still present in updates on SolarWinds' website as recently as Monday night. Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2020
SolarWinds breach highlights dangers of supply chain attacks
While the scope of the breach is still unknown, the cyber attack on SolarWinds shows what can happen when sophisticated attackers target just one link of a software supply chain. Continue Reading
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News
14 Dec 2020
SolarWinds backdoor used in nation-state cyber attacks
Nation-state hackers conducted a supply chain attack on SolarWinds and planted a backdoor in software updates issued to customers such as FireEye and various government agencies. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Dec 2020
Technology a double-edged sword for U.S. election security
Technologies were weaponized to undermine the 2020 U.S. presidential election, but IT systems have also helped to identify fraud and verify results in a hotly contested election. Continue Reading
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News
09 Dec 2020
FireEye red team tools stolen in cyber attack
While no zero-day exploits were included in the red team tools, FireEye released detection rules and known vulnerabilities to help organizations defend themselves. Continue Reading
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News
08 Dec 2020
New Microsoft Teams RCE vulnerability also wormable
In his GitHub post, researcher Oskars Vegeris discussed Microsoft classifying the vulnerability as 'Important' rather than 'Critical,' despite it being exploitable via RCE. Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2020
New IBM encryption tools head off quantum computing threats
IBM rolled out a series of cloud-based services that improve hybrid cloud users' cryptographic key protection, in part to future-proof incursions by quantum computers. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
03 Dec 2020
The challenge of addressing the IT and security skills gap
In the first of a two-part series, Jonathan Meyers examines the issues surrounding the security skills gap that companies must contend with due to limited budgets, training and more. Continue Reading
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News
03 Dec 2020
Updated Trickbot malware threatens firmware security
Despite recent takedown efforts, the operators behind the malicious botnet are back with a new module called 'TrickBoot' that detects UEFI/BIOS firmware vulnerabilities. Continue Reading
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News
01 Dec 2020
Online education vendor K12 hit with ransomware, pays ransom
A spokesperson for K12 told SearchSecurity that based on the current status of the investigation, the attack did not affect student devices or school networks. Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2020
Sophos: Ransomware 'heavyweights' demand sky-high payments
Sophos principal research scientist Chet Wisniewski explains the presence of 'weight classes' in ransomware and offers his thoughts on its future. Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2020
CrowdStrike: Ransomware hit 56% of organizations in last year
A new survey from CrowdStrike revealed more than half of 2,200 respondents' organizations were hit with a ransomware attack at least once in the past 12 months. Continue Reading
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Podcast
13 Nov 2020
Risk & Repeat: 2020 election security in review
This week's Risk & Repeat podcast looks back at the 2020 election, which was free of major cyber attacks or hacks but has seen a rise in disinformation campaigns online. Continue Reading
