Equifax Negotiates Potential $700 Million Breach Settlement

Mathew J. Schwartz • July 22, 2019

Credit reporting giant Equifax has negotiated a proposed settlement that could reach $700 million to resolve federal and state probes into its massive 2017 data breach, as well as a nationwide class action lawsuit. The company's total post-breach tab is likely to exceed $2 billion.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

FTC Reportedly Approves $5 Billion Facebook Fine

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Incident & Breach Response

Ex-NSA Contractor Harold Martin Hit With 9-Year Sentence

Akshaya Asokan • July 22, 2019

Former government contractor Harold Thomas Martin III has been sentenced to serve nine years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to stealing and retaining classified and secret files and data from U.S. government agencies, including the National Security Agency and CIA.

Governance

2.3 Billion Files Exposed Online: The Root Causes

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • July 22, 2019

Misconfigured file storage technologies and a lack of basic security controls are the root causes for the inadvertent online exposure of 2.3 billion files worldwide that contain personal information, including sensitive medical data, says Harrison Van Riper, a security researcher at Digital Shadows' Photon Research...

Endpoint Security

Researchers Trick Cylance Into Giving Malware a Pass

Jeremy Kirk • July 19, 2019

An Australian cybersecurity company says it tricked BlackBerry's Cylance Protect anti-virus product into believing that some of the most pernicious types of malware, including WannaCry and the SamSam ransomware, were benign programs.

Application Security

Tesla Vulnerability: A Bounty Hunter's Tale

Nick Holland • July 19, 2019

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report describes the accidental discovery of a Tesla software vulnerability. Also featured: an analysis of the latest ransomware trends and insights from former federal advisers Richard Clarke and Robert Knake on cyber resilience.

Phishing Scheme Targets Amex Cardholders

Akshaya Asokan • July 18, 2019

Researchers have uncovered a new type of phishing campaign that is targeting American Express card users. In these incidents, attackers are sending a hyperlink as part of a phony account update to access the victim's credentials and other account details, according to researchers at the security firm Cofense.

Cybercrime

Bulgarian Authorities Arrest Suspect in Massive Data Breach

Akshaya Asokan • July 17, 2019

Bulgaria's national cybercrime unit has arrested a 20-year-old local man for his alleged role in breaching the country's tax servers and exposing the financial details and other personal data of nearly 5 million citizens, according to news media reports.

Cybercrime as-a-service

Suspected Rubella Toolkit Mastermind Arrested

Scott Ferguson • July 17, 2019

A 20-year-old Dutch man suspected of creating the Rubella Macro Builder toolkit and distributing it on underground forums has been arrested by the Dutch National Police, which received assistance from McAfee. Rubella and other toolkits enable attackers to distribute malware through weaponized Office documents.

Active Defense & Deception

How Deception Technology Is Evolving

Nick Holland • July 17, 2019

Deception technology is becoming more sophisticated, enabling organizations to battle against emerging threats, says Alissa Knight, senior analyst at Aite Group, a research and advisory company.

Application Security

Security Flaw Exposed Valid Airline Boarding Passes

Mathew J. Schwartz • July 16, 2019

A vulnerability in global airline check-in software used by 500 airlines could have been exploited to download other individuals' valid boarding passes, potentially giving them access to restricted airport spaces, warns security expert David Stubley. The flaw in Amadeus travel software has now been fixed.

Application Security

How a Big Rock Revealed a Tesla XSS Vulnerability

Jeremy Kirk • July 16, 2019

Software vulnerabilities sometimes have an uncanny knack of revealing themselves, even when a bug hunter is looking someplace else. Sam Curry's probing eventually revealed a cross-site scripting flaw in a Tesla service, which netted him a $10,000 bounty.

Endpoint Security

Broadcom Reportedly Suspends Bid for Symantec

Scott Ferguson • July 15, 2019

Broadcom has reportedly suspended its effort to acquire Symantec after the two companies failed to agree on a price for the deal. The negotiations had been ongoing for several weeks.

Cybercrime

'Sea Turtle' DNS Hijackers Expand Reach

Jeffrey Burt • July 15, 2019

The group behind the Sea Turtle espionage campaign that was exposed in April is expanding its geographic reach and claiming new victims, according to researchers with Cisco's Talos unit.