Saturday Security Spotlight: Cyberwarfare and Cryptocurrency

By Jacob Serpa, Product Marketing Manager, Bitglass

Here are the top cybersecurity stories of recent weeks: —Cyberattacks deemed a top threat to society —Hackers target data around the world —Poor app designs threaten countries' infrastructure —Olympic Committee emails leaked by hackers —Half of UK firms fail to secure cloud —WiFi can be hacked to mine cryptocurrency

Cyberattacks deemed a top threat to society The World Economic forum recently released a report detailing the top threats to society. Cybersecurity concerns like cyberwarfare landed within the top three. The fact that these threats were paired with the likes of natural disasters highlights the growing dangers of our cloud-first society and serves as a reminder that organizations everywhere should adopt next-gen security solutions. Hackers target data around the world Dark Caracal, a cyberespionage group, has recently been linked to an extensive list of cybercrimes. In over twenty-one countries, the group used Pallas, its custom mobile spyware, to steal data from the mobile devices of healthcare workers, lawyers, reporters, members of the armed forces, and more. Poor app designs threaten countries' infrastructure Mobile applications used for critical infrastructure (water, electricity, etc.) are reported to contain numerous vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious parties. These SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) applications are often designed without adequate consideration for security, leaving nations vulnerable to attack. Olympic Committee emails leaked by hackers Self-proclaimed hacktivist group, Fancy Bears, has leaked email correspondences from within the International Olympic Committee (IOC). While the group claims to hold honorable intentions, their leaking of athlete medical records is believed to be a response to Russia's ban from the 2018 Winter Games. Half of UK firms fail to secure cloud A recent research report uncovered that only half of UK companies have security policies around data in the cloud. These statistics are particularly worrying in light of the approaching General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Public WiFi can be hacked to mine cryptocurrency A new study, CoffeeMiner, details how public WiFi networks can be used to mine cryptocurrency through connected devices. The research demonstrates the dangers of public WiFi for both individuals and their employers. Cybersecurity threats are constantly spreading and evolving. To learn about cloud access security brokers, solutions that protect data in the cloud, download the Definitive Guide to CASBs. Download the Definitive Guide to CASBs