General Elections to Have Increased Cyber Security

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In light of the Russian hacking scandal that placed a dark cloud over the United States 2016 Presidential election, political party heads are receiving recommendations on how to protect their parties from cyber attacks. The National Cyber Security Centre, gave brief overviews to the potential threats and case studies on recent attacks to help reduce risks and respond it an attack should occur. In my opinion, I feel as if this should have already been a priority. These actions seem a lot more reactive to recent events, and if these precautions were in place already, there may not be a scandal to talk about.

Source Article: msn.com

Someone Could Still Have Access to That "New" Home or Car

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Buying a new car or home with smart technology can be a wonderful experience, but what if they weren't technically new. There have been reported cases where the previous owners of cars or smart device homes still had remote access. This means if you purchased a "new" car or smart home someone else could unlock your doors, turn up your thermostat or start your car without keys. This is a growing concern as we rely more on smart devices to make our lives easier, not cause a security risk. Always make sure to have all smart devices and car features fully reset, and change passwords immediately. You never know who still may be in charge.

Source Article: nbcnews.com

AIG to Offer Personal Cyber Security Insurance

 

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In a move that they hope will pay off, AIG will offer security insurance plans to individual clients. It seems AIG is looking to cash in on those individuals afraid of having their personal security information stolen or their bank accounts compromised. No doubt they will be targeting high income people with a lot more to lose than your average Joe. I think this is a good move, as the chance of becoming a victim of a cybercrime increases, the more you have to lose. Only time will tell if AIG is successful with this new direction of cyber security insurance coverage.

Source Article: Fortune.com

Your Private Information up for Sale

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Apparently Congress does not care about your online privacy protection, or should I say a large majority Republican Congress. The current online broadband privacy protection policy has been repealed, which means we have been sold out by the very people we (wait not me, I'm independent), voted into office. The already rich beyond their wildest dreams, internet service providers will have free reign, to sell all of our private data to the highest bidder if this law is signed by the President. From a cyber security perspective this also means that with more information out there to be sold and exploited, cybercriminals will be looking to hack and steal as much of this information as possible. This is a sad time in our country that our privacy would come second to the interests of big businesses looking to add another zero to their profits. 

Source Article: us news.com

Has The U.S. Become The Land of No Privacy?

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On Wednesday March 9th, James Comey, the Director of the FBI , stated that absolute privacy is something we no longer have in the United States. He went on to say that some day the government could request details of private conversations with spouses, attorneys, or even clergy members, and that no place in America is out of judicial reach. This statement coming from the Director of the FBI is a very alarming one. As Americans, privacy is something that is of the upmost importance, and for Comey to make a statement like this tells me that no matter who you are, nothing you do is private anymore.

Source Article: usnews.com

Suspects Charged in The Yahoo Hacking Case

Four suspects have been charged by the United States in the Yahoo hacking case. Of the four suspects, two of them are members of the Russian Federal Security Service, and the other two are criminal hackers. One of the hackers, Karim Baratov, has been arrested in Canada, but the other three, Dmitry Dokuchaev, Igor Sushchin, and Alexsey Belan remain at large. The claim is that Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin, of the RFSS, hired and directed criminal hackers to obtain sensitive information in the United States and other places. Although these indictments have come down, all suspects are said to be innocent until proven guilty.

Source Article: U.S.News.com

Symantec Aims to Help Cybersecurity Startups

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Symantec announced the creation of a new venture arm that will assist cybersecurity startup companies. This venture will not just contribute funds to these startups, but also help to reduce expenses that will allow them to speed up their time to market. Symantec has also promised to grant access to their integrated cyber defense and digital safety technology to get them started. This venture is huge for many startup companies, as they help with the fight against cyberterrorism. This will give them opportunities to create their products more efficiently and get them to market faster. This move by Symantec shows their dedication to cybersecurity and  how much they are willing to invest to fight this ever growing problem.

Source Article: ZDNet

New York State Adopts New Cybersecurity Regulations

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The state of New York has put in place new regulations for financial companies that will require them to create and maintain cybersecurity programs set to specific standards. These regulations will go into effect on March 1st for insurance companies, banks, and other financial service institutions. Some of the requirements of these new regulations will be for these companies to inspect the security of third party vendors and maintain a program that is well funded and staffed, supervised by qualified management, and reported on periodically to upper management. Other stipulations include implementing an incident response plan, setting minimum standards for technology systems, access controls, encryption, and the perversion of data. These new regulations are a huge step in the right direction for addressing the risk of cyberattacks and putting measures in place for preventing them. Other states around the country should adopt new regulations, just like New York, to update any cybersecurity regulations they may have in place to keep up with the growing threat of cyberattacks.

Source Article: eSecurity Planet

The Warnings Keep Coming

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Last week, Yahoo continued to notify its users that their accounts may have been compromised ranging from 2015 - 2016. After investigation, Yahoo has linked the attacks to what they call "forged cookies" which allows the attackers to access user accounts without re-entering any passwords. Because of the data breach, Verizon will look to purchase Yahoo's websites, email , and mobile services at a discount to give themselves financial wiggle room in case any lawsuits come down because of the hack. I haven't used my Yahoo email in years, but I did receive an email because of the hack. With so many other services from Google, Microsoft, and Apple I feel that Yahoo is past its prime. Because of this, I wonder why Verizon would still want to purchase Yahoo. What is their motivation even after this catastrophic breach? 

Source Article: CNBC

Giving up a Password for Security

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For many of us, giving up a password is a no-no. But what if the government told you to do so. For people who want to visit the United States, they may be asked to give up their social media password. Now I'm all for security, and making sure that anyone who comes into the country has no intentions to do harm. But I wonder how far should the government go to keep us safe. As Americans we have privacy laws to protect us, but for those outside the states, these laws don't apply. I'm torn on this issue. What do you think? Should the government be asking for peoples social media passwords as requirement to visit the US?

Source Article: CNBC

Your Personal Data May Not be Your Own

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Most people understand that once you connect to the internet, your at risk for your personal data being tracked or even hacked. But how many of us are thinking about this while were working out, driving our car, or watching TV. It's easy to forget about our data when were not using a device to shop, or pay bills but our personal data is still being stored on these other devices. This fact leaves us vulnerable  to data breaches because we let our guard down and feel like the data from our fitness tracker, car, or refrigerator isn't important. All personal data should be important to us, but the scary part is none of it may belong to us.

Source Article: cnet

Running Out of Password Ideas? Use Your Heart!

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So, how many of us have had the dilemma? Sitting in front of your PC, entering your personal information and then you come to the dreaded question. Password? We definitely don't want to reuse another password, but should it be something similar? Maybe another good password backwards, or possibly use a fingerprint option.   

Creating a strong password that we can remember can be a daunting task. But there could be another option on the way. Researchers are looking into an option where you would be able to use your heartbeat to encrypt your personal information. Now this is mainly geared toward medical records where patients would be outfitted with wearable technology to record data that can be sent to their doctors. But if this can be successful, this could be an option for data encryption on more than just medical information.

Source Article: Computer World

A Thorough Response Plan is Always Good!

Its always nice to see the Department of Homeland Security making an effort to stay updated in how to respond to cyber attacks. With their latest update, the DHS wants to emphasize how all agencies, (private sector and government), play a large role in building and implementing a systemic plan for a  response to critical infrastructure attacks. Unity seems to be the theme as the DHS wants everyone to be on the same page in their response to any type of attack whether it be "minor" or "significant".

I feel this is another good step in the right direction that shows how much the country needs to be unified when it comes to cyber attacks. Every government and private sector agency should be using the same playbook when it comes to a response from an attack. Everyone's personal and private information depend on it.

Source Article: Health IT Security

The Only Way to Catch a Hacker is RED Handed?

With all of the reports in news lately pertaining to Russia’s involvement in the hacking of the 2016 presidential election, one can only wonder if it can be fully proven unless they are caught in the process. President-elect Donald Trump seems to think that’s the only way to catch a cyber criminal. Now we have all heard the saying, “if there’s smoke then there’s fire”, and I am someone who believes this is true 99% of the time. I can’t help but wonder if this is really true.

With any cyber-attack there are some evidence that can be traced back to the source, and because of the may offenders are caught and prosecuted. Which makes me wonder why a man who is about to become the President of the United States would be so naive to make such a comment.

Source Article: Huffington Post