A new study found that most Americans are uninformed about cybersecurity threats and how to appropriately protect their data. Meanwhile, nation-state hackers are reportedly exploiting vulnerabilities in VPNs and synthetic identity fraud continues to grow more prevalent.
In addition to threats from attackers who are looking to exploit the data of the average citizen, many security experts anticipate seeing an uptick in attacks on the 2020 general election. Increasingly, security awareness is becoming critical to protecting who we are as individuals and as a democracy.
From the US to Ireland, Russia, China and Venezuela, this week’s news highlighted cybersecurity threats around the world. If you missed any of the headlines, here’s a quick roundup to help keep you in the know.
Oct. 11: After a ransomware attack crippled three Alabama hospitals last week, the DCH Health System announced that the hospitals are again accepting patients.
Oct. 10: Major technology companies, including IBM and McAfee, are at the forefront of a new endeavor to, “provide interoperability and data-sharing across several cybersecurity products and companies,” with the new Open Source Cybersecurity Alliance. The Senate is also coming together in a bipartisan effort to establish a federal supply chain information sharing plan.
Oct. 10: Security researchers are again invited to Hack the Army in the second round of the Army’s bug bounty competition.
Oct. 9: Honda has endeavored into its first acquisition of a start-up company with smartphone app developer, Drivemode.
Oct. 9: In a report on the cybersecurity risks of 5G networks, leaders in the EU warned that Europe could see increased cyberattacks from some non-EU state-backed threat groups.
Oct. 8: According to The New York Times, “Western security officials have now concluded that these operations, and potentially many others, are part of a coordinated and ongoing campaign to destabilize Europe, executed by an elite unit inside the Russian intelligence system skilled in subversion, sabotage and assassination.”
Oct. 8: In order to comply with US sanctions on countries in Latin America, Adobe announced its plans to suspend the accounts of all Venezuelan customers.
Oct. 7: The espionage trial of Hao Zhang, the Chinese professor alleged to have stolen mobile phone and electronic device technology from US companies is underway with the prosecution reportedly having built a strong case against the defendant.
Oct. 7: The investigation conducted by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission of whether Facebook and Twitter had violated the EU’s privacy regulations has moved to the decision-making phase. Many suspect the social media platforms will be hit with hefty fines.
Oct. 6: Consumers are reportedly growing more concerned about being the victims of a cyberattack, with good reason. An enterprise suffering a data breach is not the only threat. According to Wired, we also need to be weary of the rogue USB, zombie accounts, bogus online quizzes and more.