In 1971, Ray Tomlison developed the first email service while working at The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This development changed how we communicated. However, even though this was an exceptional tool, it was not very user-friendly, requiring users to have specific software installed on their computers. In 1996, Sabeer Bhatia founded Hotmail, making it the first web-based email messaging service. Exactly one year after Microsoft acquired Hotmail, I opened my first email account.

Supply chain attacks are a serious and growing threat to businesses across all industries. However, these attacks pose an even greater risk for manufacturers in critical infrastructure sectors. One pernicious form of supply chain attack is spoofing, where attackers impersonate legitimate suppliers to sneak malicious code or components into products. Research shows that 2023 had the highest number (2769 in the US alone) of entities affected by supply chain spoofing.

Most people remember the iconic movie Terminator, in which the cyborg T-800 was dispatched back in time from the year 2029 with the mission to eliminate Sarah Connor. She was destined to give birth to the future leader of the human resistance against machines, thus threatening their dominance. If Sarah were killed, humanity's fate would be sealed, and the earth would succumb to the rule of machines.

A wave of cheap, crude, amateurish ransomware has been spotted on the dark web - and although it may not make as many headlines as LockBit, Rhysida, and BlackSuit, it still presents a serious threat to organizations.

Alexandre Dumas's timeless novel "The Three Musketeers" immortalized the ideal of unyielding solidarity, the enduring motto "All for one and one for all." In the face of ever-evolving threats in the digital realm, the European Union echoes this spirit with its landmark Cyber Solidarity Act.

Tech leaders taking cybersecurity seriously is something of a double-edged sword. While it’s undoubtedly good that organizations are waking up to the genuine threat cyberattacks pose, it’s depressing that they must siphon off so many resources to protect themselves rather than using them for growth and innovation.

Budgetary and resource constraints play a huge role in cyberattacks on smaller organizations. Amidst a strained global economy, many under-resourced organizations like non-profits, local governments, and hospitals struggle to keep their heads above water - they simply don't have the funds to invest in cybersecurity.

In 2023, companies lost about $4.45 million on average because of data breaches. As cyber threats advance, securing endpoints is more important than ever. An advanced Host-based Intrusion Detection System (HIDS) provides a sturdy remedy to improve endpoint security. By monitoring and examining system responses and device status, HIDS identifies and tackles nefarious behaviors that are often overlooked by conventional defenses.

As businesses transition to hybrid and multi-cloud setups, vulnerabilities arising from misconfigurations and security gaps are escalating, attracting attention from bad actors. In response, the US National Security Agency (NSA) issued a set of ten recommended mitigation strategies, published earlier this year (with support from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on six of the strategies).

The experience of seeing a doctor has transformed dramatically, thanks in part to the emergence of telemedicine. This digital evolution promises convenience and accessibility but brings with it a host of cybersecurity risks that were unimaginable up until a few years ago. The unique cybersecurity challenges facing telemedicine today underscore the importance of adopting stringent security measures to protect the sanctity of this vital service.

I’m always surprised – and a little disappointed – at how far we have to go before supply chain cybersecurity gets the respect and attention it deserves. I sat down this week with a new client who wanted some help addressing several internal issues surrounding their IT systems. When I asked them about their relationship with the supplier – essentially, how was their supply chain cybersecurity? - their response was not only worrying but, unfortunately, quite typical.

Police have successfully infiltrated and disrupted the fraud platform "LabHost", used by more than 2,000 criminals to defraud victims worldwide. A major international operation, led by the UK's Metropolitan Police, has seized control of LabHost, which has been helping cybercriminals create phishing websites since 2021 to steal sensitive information like passwords, email addresses, and bank details.

Cybersecurity has always been a complex field. Its adversarial nature means the margins between failure and success are much finer than in other sectors. As technology evolves, those margins get even finer, with attackers and defenders scrambling to exploit them and gain a competitive edge. This is especially true for AI.

Generative AI has exploded in popularity across many industries. While this technology has many benefits, it also raises some unique cybersecurity concerns. Securing AI must be a top priority for organizations as they rush to implement these tools. The use of generative AI in manufacturing poses particular challenges. Over one-third of manufacturers plan to invest in this technology, making it the industry's fourth most common strategic business change.

Security configurations are an often ignored but essential factor in any organization’s security posture: any tool, program, or solution can be vulnerable to cyberattacks or other security incidents if the settings are not configured correctly. Staying on top of all of these security configurations can be a daunting responsibility for security or IT teams to focus on, which is where security configuration management (SCM) comes in.

In the first quarter of every year, organizations around the world release reports summing up data breach trends from the previous twelve months. And every year, these reports say broadly the same thing: data breach numbers have gone up again. This year is no different. Or is it?

The number of endpoints in an organization often exceeds the number of employees. Managing these often disparate entities is more than a full-time job. Moreover, keeping them secure is equally difficult, yet securing all of your endpoints against cyber threats has become paramount for organizations worldwide. A common oversight that undermines these security efforts is the misconception about data volume versus the necessity for comprehensive data collection.

A relatively new strain of ransomware called DragonForce has making the headlines after a series of high-profile attacks. Like many other ransomware groups, DragonForce attempts to extort money from its victims in two ways - locking companies out of their computers and data through encryption, and exfiltrating data from compromised systems with the threat of releasing it to others via the dark web.

Let’s start the second quarter of the year with boosting our security posture by adopting two-factor authentication methods on our accounts to make them more secure. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an identity and access management security method that requires two forms of identification to access resources and data.

In an era where data breaches and privacy concerns are increasingly shaping global discourse, India's proactive stance on data protection is noteworthy. Introducing the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 marks a significant milestone in India's legislative landscape. This groundbreaking Act fortifies individual data privacy rights and aligns India with global cybersecurity and data protection standards, setting a new benchmark for regulatory compliance.

In today's digital landscape, it is important for organizations to depend upon the tools they use for cybersecurity. Large businesses can employ many security solutions, practices, and policies that must combine to create a robust and layered security strategy. While many of these tools are important and necessary, organizations often don't use them to their full potential. With any security tool or platform, it is important to understand its features beyond the most basic functions.

Security and compliance – a phrase often uttered in the same breath as if they are two sides of the same coin, two members of the same team, or two great tastes that go great together. As much as I would like to see auditors, developers, and security analysts living in harmony like a delicious Reese’s cup, a recent gap analysis that I was part of reminded me that too often, the peanut butter and chocolate sit alone on their own separate shelves.

Google has issued a security advisory to owners of its Android Pixel smartphones, warning that it has discovered someone has been targeting some devices to bypass their built-in security. What makes the reported attacks particularly interesting is that traditional cybercriminals may not be behind them, but rather "forensic companies" exploiting two vulnerabilities to extract information and prevent remote wiping.

In any organization, unrestricted access to systems and resources poses significant security risks. Recent cybersecurity events have shown that attackers will target any organization of any size. The most common attack vector is through unauthorized access to a legitimate account, often preceded by a phishing technique. To protect against unauthorized access, it's essential to establish rules and policies for authenticating and authorizing users.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF) was published in 2014 for the purpose of providing cybersecurity guidance for organizations in critical infrastructure. In the intervening years, much has changed about the threat landscape, the kinds of technology that organizations use, and the ways that operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) work and interact.

On an ordinary day, you're casually surfing the web and downloading some PDF files. The document icons seem pretty legitimate, so you click without a second thought. But, to your surprise, nothing happens. A closer look reveals that what you believed to be a harmless PDF was, in fact, an executable file. Panic sets in as your settings lock up, and even accessing the task manager becomes impossible. Unknown pop-ups invade your screen, telltale signs of malware execution.