Cox discloses data breach after hacker impersonates support agent
Cox Communications has disclosed a data breach after a hacker impersonated a support agent to gain access to customers' personal information. Cox Communications, aka Cox Cable, is a digital cable provider and telecommunication company that provides internet, television, and phone services in the USA. This week, customers began receiving letters in the mail disclosing that Cox Communications learned on October 11th, 2021, that "unknown person(s)" impersonated a Cox support agent to access customer information. READ MORE...
Canadian charged with running ransomware attack on US state of Alaska
A Canadian man is accused of masterminding ransomware attacks that caused "damage" to systems belonging to the US state of Alaska. A federal indictment against Matthew Philbert, 31, of Ottawa, was unsealed yesterday, and he was also concurrently charged by the Canadian authorities with a number of other criminal offences at the same time. US prosecutors claimed he carried out "cyber related offences" - including a specific 2018 attack on a computer in Alaska. READ MORE...
Beware of ransomware attacks between Christmas and New Year's!
Darktrace reported that its security researchers discovered a 30% increase in the average number of attempted ransomware attacks globally over the holiday season in every consecutive year from 2018 to 2020 compared to the monthly average. The researchers also observed a 70% average increase in attempted ransomware attacks in November and December compared to January and February. READ MORE...
Hackers infect random WordPress plugins to steal credit cards
Credit card swipers are being injected into random plugins of e-commerce WordPress sites, hiding from detection while stealing customer payment details. With the Christmas shopping season in full swing, card-stealing threat actors raise their efforts to infect online shops with stealthy skimmers, so administrators ought to remain vigilant. The latest trend is injecting card skimmers into WordPress plugin files, avoiding the closely-monitored 'wp-admin' and 'wp-includes' core directories where most injections are short-lived. READ MORE...
Burned out workers are less likely to follow security guidelines
Workers in every industry are increasingly burned out, leading to apathy and a lower guard toward workplace security. To understand this burnout phenomenon, 1Password released a report based on a survey of 2,500 adults. The report explores how workforce burnout has opened businesses to attacks, with trends such as remote and hybrid work, the "Great Resignation" and, most surprisingly, significantly worse behavior by cybersecurity professionals as the driving forces behind this new threat to business success and longevity. READ MORE...
Newly Found Authentication Flaws Highlight Dangers of Coding From Scratch
Do-it-yourself is a great way to learn coding, but it's a risky way to tackle complex application problems that have scant room for error, such as authentication and encryption. A new vulnerability report by software-security firm Synopsys has reinforced that recurring software-development theme, with the disclosure of two flaws in the GOautodial call-center software suite. application programming interface (API) that routes requests to other files and does not correctly authenticate users. READ MORE...
SanDisk SecureAccess bug allows brute forcing vault passwords
Western Digital has fixed a security vulnerability that enabled attackers to brute force SanDisk SecureAccess passwords and access the users' protected files. SanDisk SecureAccess (now rebranded to SanDisk PrivateAccess) allows storing and protecting sensitive files on SanDisk USB flash drives. "SanDisk SecureAccess 3.02 was using a one-way cryptographic hash with a predictable salt making it vulnerable to dictionary attacks by a malicious user," Western Digital explained in a security advisory issued Wednesday. READ MORE...
- ...in 1883, physical trainer Joseph Pilates, creator of the exercise methods bearing his name, is born in Monchengladbach, Germany.
- ...in 1906, computer science pioneer and US Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, the inventor of the first machine-independent program compiler, is born in New York City.
- ...in 1953, actor and producer John Malkovich ("Dangerous Liasons", "Burn After Reading") is born in Christopher, IL.
- ...in 1960, the first episode of "Coronation Street", the world's longest-running television soap opera, is broadcast by the British ITV network.
