Even before the EMP Commission report, utilities have been trying to harden their infrastructure against the multitude of threats they face. EMP attacks, cyber threats, and even physical attacks like the one in Metcalf, California in 2014 are situations that power stations must prepare for. But at The National Interest, Constance Douris writes that power […]
DHS Monitoring New Cyber Attack that Rivals WannaCry Ransomware in Scope
At least six countries have been hit by a new cyber attack since Tuesday. The attack could rival the WannaCry ransomware attack in its damage done. NPR’s Bill Chappell and Colin Dwyer report: In the U.S., Department of Homeland Security spokesman Scott McConnell says the agency is “monitoring reports of cyber attacks affecting multiple global […]
Hack Threat: America’s Wind Power Vulnerable
For two years, researchers from the University of Tulsa have been exposing vulnerabilities in one of America’s fastest growing power sources, wind turbines. Mostly unsecured, these wind turbines have become an increasingly larger part of America’s energy supply, and with little effort, the researchers were able to penetrate and commandeer their operations. Andy Greenberg writes […]
Are You Ready for a Frightening Malware Attack on the U.S. Power Grid?
Last year, Ukrainians were subject to a crippling power outage thanks to some malware that had infected the systems of power company Ukrenergo. If you’ve been reading Richardcyoung.com for very long, you’ve been warned about the vulnerabilities of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Between the possibilities of an EMP attack, or cyber attacks, unsecured SCADA […]
Is North Korea Behind the WannaCry Hack?
A Google researcher named Neel Mehta has discovered a common bit of code shared by the WannaCry attack and an older program known as Contopee. The earlier program was used by Lazarus, a hacking group believed to be tied to the North Korean government. Andy Greenberg writes at WIRED that the evidence is still thin, […]
It’s Like Tomahawk Missiles Getting Stolen
On Sunday, Microsoft’s chief counsel, Brad Smith, wrote on the company’s blog that the NSA’s hoarding of software vulnerabilities, and then having them stolen was similar to having some Tomahawk missiles stolen. Both scenarios can cause chaos and untold damage. Today the world is living through the consequences of the NSA’s best security tools getting […]
Is That New App on Your Android Phone Opening the Door to Hackers?
Researchers at the University of Michigan have found gaping holes in Android app security. The problem is known as open port backdoors, and even some very popular apps are affected by the problem. The flaw could be used to gain access to your contacts, security credentials, photos and even to take control of your device. […]
Identity Fraud on the Rise: Here’s Fidelity’s Customer Protection Guarantee
Identity fraud is on the rise as reported here in the Wall Street Journal. More consumers became victims of identity fraud last year than at any point in more than a decade despite new security protections implemented by the credit-card industry, a report released Wednesday said. Some 15.4 million U.S. consumers were victims of identity […]
Russian Speaking Countries Maintain the Largest Malware Marketplace
The Wall Street Journal digs into a fast-growing worldwide Cybercrime issue. Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre supported 131 successful cyber operations last year, up from 72 operations in 2014, the agency said in a new report. Enterprising malware designers provide their tools to a vast criminal network…. There is evidence, in some cases, of a forensic […]
Hackers Build First Ever Autonomous System to Find & Patch Software Vulnerabilities
It currently takes security specialists on average 312 days to discover software vulnerabilities. It can take weeks, months, and sometimes years for these vulnerabilities to be fixed across all exposed systems. That leaves plenty of time for malware, ransom-ware, and other malicious software to exploit these vulnerabilities and maximize damage. The Cyber Grand Challenge was designed to […]