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Your worst nightmare has come true: your business has been hacked! What do you do? Today, the Wall Street Journal published an article addressing this worst-case scenario with an insightful to-do list for companies facing a data breach.
While a breach will likely set a company back financially, there are steps a business can take to take to reduce the damage and prevent the event from having a long-lasting impact. The article calls for multiple steps. One in particular is to determine if the breach is still open – companies are warned not to assume that just because one infected computer has been cleaned up or removed the attack is over. The intruder could have taken control of multiple machines. Patrik Runald, Senior Security Research Manager at Websense is quoted in the article on this subject:
“Hackers often send data to so-called dynamic hosts that constantly change their Internet addresses. Most legitimate websites don't use this kind of addressing. If data are still being sent to these types of addresses, it's a possible sign that a breach is still happening.” – Patrik Runald, Websense
The Wall Street Journal cites the Identity Theft Resource Center, which reports that last year, 662 organizations publicly disclosed data breaches. However, the actual number is likely much higher than that, since not all hacking incidents are disclosed. With all of the major security breaches we’ve seen in the last year, it is impossible to ignore the need for organizations to tighten up their security strategy. Cybercrooks are using every possible vector to penetrate your networks and traditional security solutions just don’t cut it. Find out how to protect your organization from the latest targeted attacks here.
CIO just released an article featuring Websense on best practices for securing your iPhone and iPad in light of the recent iOS vulnerability, Jailbreakme.com 3.0.
Jailbreakme.com 3.0, operates by exploiting a vulnerability in the PDF reader. All users have to do to install the jailbreak is to click on an app-like button – within a few seconds, their phones are opened up to apps outside of Apple’s approval.
Websense security research manager Stephan Chenette is featured in the article –he argues that the danger lurking beneath this jailbreak is that a hacker could easily reverse engineer it to install malicious code through the browser or email attachment.
“Then the attacker could gain full control of the iPhone, iPad or other iOS device and install everything from a keylogger to a full-blown bot… This isn’t just limited to iPhones; iPad users need to be on the lookout, too.” –Stephan Chenette, Websense Security Labs Research Manager
Stephan’s four tips for iPhone and iPad users to stay safe are also highlighted in the article:
1. Don’t download files from suspicious or non-trustworthy websites.
2. Don’t click on links from unknown or untrusted Web sites or suspicious links from trusted sources (including sites like Google Search).
3. Don’t open email attachments from unknown or suspicious emails from trusted sources. Your friend's email account may have been hacked.
4. As soon as Apple issues a patch, apply it! Many consumers don't patch regularly or do so after it's too late.
Read more about the latest iOS vulnerability at the Security Labs blog.
Today, in a Reuters article, Websense® Senior Security Research Manager Patrik Runald discusses how hackers have revealed a bug in Apple iOS software. The security flaw was discovered today when a popular jailbreaking site (www.jailbreakme.com) released a code for Apple customers to modify their device’s operating system.
In the article, Runald warns that this code could be a major security downfall: cybercriminals could easily download the code, reverse engineer it to find a hole in iOS security and then quickly build malware in a matter of days. The creator of the jail-breaking code, Comex, agrees that the code would not be difficult to reverse engineer.
"If you are a malicious attacker, it is fairly doable.” –Patrik Runald, Senior Security Research Manager
Apple’s iOS software runs on the millions of iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches sold around the world – any security flaw to iOS holds the potential to create some major damage. Reuters quotes Runald warning that once the device is infected, hackers could do anything they want, including stealing passwords, documents and emails.
Reuters reports that Apple is currently developing a software update to circumvent any potential threats.
In the meantime, learn how to protect your organization from mobile security threats here.
Read a Websense Security Labs™ report on a past jailbreak-related security threat here.
IT Pro recently released a story on the risks posed by Google’s recent implementation of Instant Pages, a new service that may unintentionally introduce a new twist in the saga of ongoing SEO poisoning.
The article excerpts Websense Security Labs’ Dan Hubbard blog post on how Google’s Instant Pages may add a new and dangerous angle to the drive-by infection process of SEO poisoning. Normally, with traditional malicious pages that pop up in a Google search, users are still provided with the escape route of avoiding clicking on a suspicious-looking link. However, with the new Instant Search, Hubbard is quoted for raising an important question:
“With the pages being pre-fetched in the background, can a user be exploited by simply searching, without even clicking the link?” –Dan Hubbard, Websense CTO
It is a very likely possibility. Remember, the threat landscape is constantly evolving and often positive innovation can also open the door for malicious innovation. Learn how to protect your organization from modern threats with the most modern security here. Read about the latest SEO poisoning discovered by the Websense Security Labs here.
In a recent article, the Financial Times highlights the evils that come along with the benefits of social networking. While social networks connect millions of people around the world, they simultaneously provide an easily-exploited platform for cybercriminals to operate on. This article calls attention to the imminent dangers of over-sharing personal information via Facebook, and then proceeds to describe criminal social media tactics in other digital spheres like email and Twitter.
The Financial Times highlights Websense® for the discovery of a Twitter scam in the days surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden. The scam worked to lure unsuspecting users to a phishing site to capture their login information.
“OMG CNN confirmed they found Osama alive still!!” was one of the hundreds of malicious tweets posted every second that played on the public’s fascination of the death of Osama bin-Laden. The tweets were accompanied by a malicious link using Bit.ly (a link shortening service), making it difficult for users to discern whether the link was legitimate or not.
Remember from our 2010 Threat Report, searching for breaking trends and current news represents a higher risk (22.4%) than searching for objectionable content (21.8%). We urge you to take extra precautions when searching for hot-button topics on the web. You never know if you’re going to click on a malicious link masked by a legitimate site name – it could put you and your entire organization at risk. When in doubt, run suspicious-looking links through AceInsight.com – it’s a free service from Websense that you can use any time to scan URLs for malicious content.
The Canadian Press just published a new article highlighting a recent Websense® report on cyber security in Canada. According to the report, Canada has become a hotbed for cybercrime as hackers move away from servers in China and Eastern Europe. Canada is now second on the list of countries hosting the most phishing sites, in addition to becoming sixth worst on Websense’s overall list for hosting all cybercrime attacks (as opposed to 13th from last year).
"That doesn't mean the bad guys are in Canada, it doesn't mean the affected users are in Canada, but it means the Canadian infrastructure is being used to attack against someone in the world.” –Patrik Runald, Websense senior manager of security research
Basic precautions cannot prevent the harmful effects of attacks on this scale: most of the time network administrators can’t even tell that there’s malicious content hiding on their servers. The Canadian Press article calls attention to the Websense Security Labs™2010 Threat Report, which reports that almost 80% of cybercrime scams are on compromised legitimate web servers.
"The attacks we're tracking today are so advanced they're really hard to find unless you know exactly what you're looking for."—Patrik Runald
These findings raise an important issue: older, more traditional forms of web security do not stand a chance against such modern, blended threats. Learn about advanced ways to protect your organization here.
The National Post just released an article highlighting a Websense® report on a surge in criminal activity on Canadian servers. In the past year, the number of .ca servers hosting phishing sites increased by 319% in addition to a 53% increase in automated hacking networks. Websense turned its attention to the state of Canadian cyber security after major attacks were made against two Canadian federal government departments back in February. The results have been a surprise to many: Canada is the world’s sixth largest source of overall cybercrime, a giant leap from 13th place back in 2010. The main reason for this sudden surge in cybercrime north of the border? Websense argues that hackers are most likely shying away from the US due to a series of big cyber crackdowns, like the recent “Coreflood” botnet shutdown by US law enforcement officials. While the trend seems ominous for Canada, Fiaaz Walji, the Canada country manager for Websense, is positive about Canada’s ability to mitigate these threats. “A country like Canada is more apt to share this information and do something about it… Compare that to other countries that sweep it under the carpet.” – Fiaaz Walji Read the Websense report here.
The National Post just released an article highlighting a Websense® report on a surge in criminal activity on Canadian servers. In the past year, the number of .ca servers hosting phishing sites increased by 319% in addition to a 53% increase in automated hacking networks. Websense turned its attention to the state of Canadian cyber security after major attacks were made against two Canadian federal government departments back in February. The results have been a surprise to many: Canada is the world’s sixth largest source of overall cybercrime, a giant leap from 13th place back in 2010.
The main reason for this sudden surge in cybercrime north of the border? Websense argues that hackers are most likely shying away from the US due to a series of big cyber crackdowns, like the recent “Coreflood” botnet shutdown by US law enforcement officials.
While the trend seems ominous for Canada, Fiaaz Walji, the Canada country manager for Websense, is positive about Canada’s ability to mitigate these threats.
“A country like Canada is more apt to share this information and do something about it… Compare that to other countries that sweep it under the carpet.” – Fiaaz Walji
Read the Websense report here.
The Globe and Mail released an article today highlighting a surprising new “virtual haven” for cybercriminals to operate their scams – Canada. The article draws from a recent study made by the Websense®Security Labs™, which ranks Canada as the 6th most likely country to host malicious servers (a huge jump from being ranked 13th last year).
“Canada is moving up in what I call our Top Ten Badness list” – Patrik Runald, senior manager of security research at Websense
The study found that websites engaged in a scam called “phishing” – a ploy where hackers use email to guile people into giving away personal information or passwords – tripled in the past year in Canada. Another type of malware that command-and-control other machines (Botnets) increased by 50%.
The U.S. still remains number one for cyber threats followed by France, Russia, Germany and China. However, the United States has recently upped its cyber law enforcement game, which could be pushing cyber crooks north of the border. Canadian domains are also less likely to be severely scrutinized by security software, leaving Canadian consumers more vulnerable to phishing attacks.
This unexpected surge of cybercrime hosted in Canada raises some big security challenges for both the public and private sector – learn more about how to protect your organization here.
In a recent blog post on CNET, Elinor Mills warns readers of how a major news event like Osama bin Laden’s death has provided an avenue of profit for online scammers. Within hours of the first breaking news, scams and malicious links on Facebook began to rear their ugly heads alongside malware that popped up on sites that were primed and optimized to be in web searches related to bin Laden’s death.
Mills highlights Websense® Security Labs™ research that was conducted on recent attacks surrounding bin Laden’s death. The Labs discovered that a Pakistan-based tweeter who was live-tweeting the U.S. raid garnered over 60,000 followers and as a result of his surge in popularity, found his blog compromised by malicious attacks.
Patrik Runald, senior manager of security research at Websense Security Labs was quoted in the article:
“Visitors to the blog would not immediately have noticed anything as the malware was installed as a drive-by download without the visitor having to do anything.”
Hm. Does this strike you as reminiscent of Lizamoon just earlier last month? Remember, even the most popular sites can fall to malicious attacks at any time. Huge news like the bin Laden death have only made it easier for hackers to find their way to high-traffic sites that may not have the proper protection from modern security threats.
Stay cautious when browsing the web for information, particularly when the topic is a big one. It’s best to know before you go – check out AceInsight.com to make sure that you’re not putting you or your organization’s information at risk.
In a new post on All Things Digital, writer Arik Hesseldahl bemoans the cyber consequences of tweeting while witnessing historical events. Hesseldahl refers to the unfortunate hacked site of Sohaid Atha, who live-tweeted descriptions of the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden without even really knowing what was going on. While it wasn’t a specific individual who launched the attack, an automated process kicked in as a result of locating a surge in traffic to Atha’s site. Hesseldahl recounts his interview with Patrik Runald, Websense® Security Labs™ Senior Manager. “ Patrik Runald, a Websense security researcher, said that sometime overnight, the increase in attention on Atha’s Twitter feed, which contains a link to his blog, R____l.com, was compromised and was as of this morning serving up malware.” In addition to this attack, there’s some malvertising appearing on Facebook in regards to Osama bin Laden’s death, promising bogus footage of his death. Users are warned to stay away from clicking on these links. Want to find a way to protect yourself on Facebook? Scan it with Defensio.
In a new post on All Things Digital, writer Arik Hesseldahl bemoans the cyber consequences of tweeting while witnessing historical events. Hesseldahl refers to the unfortunate hacked site of Sohaid Atha, who live-tweeted descriptions of the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden without even really knowing what was going on. While it wasn’t a specific individual who launched the attack, an automated process kicked in as a result of locating a surge in traffic to Atha’s site.
Hesseldahl recounts his interview with Patrik Runald, Websense® Security Labs™ Senior Manager.
“ Patrik Runald, a Websense security researcher, said that sometime overnight, the increase in attention on Atha’s Twitter feed, which contains a link to his blog, R____l.com, was compromised and was as of this morning serving up malware.”
In addition to this attack, there’s some malvertising appearing on Facebook in regards to Osama bin Laden’s death, promising bogus footage of his death. Users are warned to stay away from clicking on these links. Want to find a way to protect yourself on Facebook? Scan it with Defensio.
