This comes after more than 18 months of already helping the FBI stop cyberattacks Three young hackers went from believing they were “untouchable” to helping the FBI stop future cyberattacks. The trio of hackers behind the Mirai botnet — one of the most powerful tools used for cyberattacks — has been working with the FBI for more than a year, according to court documents filed last week. Now the government is recommending they be sentenced to continue assisting the FBI, instead of a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. “By working with the FBI, the defendants assisted in thwarting potentially devastating cyberattacks and developed concrete strategies for mitigating new attack methods,” US attorneys said in a motion filed Sept. 11. “The information provided by the defendants has been used by members of the cybersecurity community to safeguard US systems and the Internet as a whole.” Originally, a probation officer on the case recommended that all three defendants be sentenced to five years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. Because of the hackers’ help, prosecutors have asked that the community service requirement be bumped up to 2,500 hours, which would include “continued work with the FBI on cybercrime and cybersecurity matters.” The three defendants are set to be sentenced by a federal judge in Alaska. The sentencing plea Tuesday was earlier reported by Wired. Hacker rehab Governments have taken a new approach with young, first-offender hackers, in the hopes of rehabilitating them and recruiting them to help defend against future attacks. The UK offers an alternative called the “cybercrime intervention workshop,” essentially a boot camp for young hackers who have technical talent but poor judgment. The three defendants — Josiah White, Paras Jha and Dalton Norman — were between the ages of 18 and 20 when they created Mirai, originally to take down rival Minecraft servers with distributed denial-of-service attacks. DDoS attacks send massive amounts of traffic to websites that can’t handle the load, with the intention of shutting them down. Mirai took over hundreds of thousands of computers and connected devices like security cameras and DVRs, and directed them for cyberattacks and traffic scams. In one conversation, Jha told White that he was “an untouchable hacker god” while talking about Mirai, according to court documents. The botnet was capable of carrying out some of the largest DDoS attacks ever recorded, including one in 2016 that caused web outages across the internet. The three defendants weren’t behind the massive outage, but instead were selling access to Mirai and making thousands of dollars, according to court documents. Helping the FBI The three hackers pleaded guilty in December, but had been helping the government with cybersecurity for 18 months, even before they were charged. Prosecutors estimated they’ve worked more than 1,000 hours with the FBI — about 25 weeks in a typical workplace. That includes working with FBI agents in Anchorage, Alaska, to find botnets and free hacker-controlled computers, and building tools for the FBI like a cryptocurrency analysis program. In March, the three hackers helped stop the Memcached DDoS attack, a tool that was capable of blasting servers with over a terabyte of traffic to shut them down. “The impact on the stability and resiliency of the broader Internet could have been profound,” US attorneys said in a court document. “Due to the rapid work of the defendants, the size and frequency of Memcache DDoS attacks were quickly reduced such that within a matter of weeks, attacks utilizing Memcache were functionally useless.” According to US officials, the three hackers also last year helped significantly reduce the number of DDoS attacks during Christmas, when activity usually spikes. Along with helping the FBI, the three defendants have also worked with cybersecurity companies to identify nation-state hackers and assisted on international investigations. Jha now works for a cybersecurity company in California while also attending school. Dalton has been continuing his work with FBI agents while attending school at the University of New Orleans, and White is working at his family’s business. Prosecutors heavily factored their “immaturity” and “technological sophistication” as part of the decision. “All three have significant employment and educational prospects should they choose to take advantage of them rather than continuing to engage in criminal activity,” the court documents said. Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/hackers-behind-mirai-botnet-could-be-sentenced-to-working-for-the-fbi/
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Who’s hacking into UK unis? Spies, research-nickers… or rival gamers living in res hall?
Report fingers students and staff for academic cyber-attacks Who’s hacking into university systems? Here’s a clue from the UK higher education tech crew at Jisc: the attacks drop dramatically during summer break. A new study from Jisc (formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee) has suggested that rather than state-backed baddies or common criminals looking to siphon off academic research and personal information, staff or students are often the culprits in attacks against UK higher education institutions. The non-profit body, which provides among other things internet connectivity to universities, analysed 850 attacks in the 2017-18 academic year and found a consistent pattern that occurred during term time and the UK working day. Holidays brought with them a sharp reduction in attacks, from a peak 60-plus incidents a week during periods of the autumn term to a low of just one a week at times in the summer. It acknowledged that part of the virtual halt in summer may be down to cops and Feds cracking down on black hat distributed denial-of-service tools in the months prior, however. Jisc is perhaps better known among Reg readers for providing the Janet network to UK education and research institutions. Its data covered cyber-attacks against almost 190 universities and colleges and focused on denial-of-service and other large-scale infosec hits rather than phishing frauds and malware. Staff and students with a grudge or out to cause mischief are more credible suspects in much of this rather than external hackers or spies. More sophisticated hackers might be inclined to use DDoS as some sort of smokescreen. In a blog post, Jisc security operations centre head John Chapman admitted some of the evidence suggesting staff and students might be behind DDoS attacks is circumstantial. However, he pointed out evidence from law enforcement and detected cyber assaults supported this theory. For example, a four-day DDoS attack the unit was mitigating against was traced back to a university hall of residence – and turned out to be the result of a feud between two rival gamers. Whoever might be behind them, the number of incidents is growing. Attacks are up 42 per cent to reach this year’s 850; the previous academic year (2016-17) witnessed less than 600 attacks against fewer than 140 institutions. Matt Lock, director of solutions engineers at Varonis, said: “This report is another reminder that some of the biggest threats facing organisations today do not involve some hoodie-wearing, elusive computer genius.” Education is targeted more often than even the finance and retail sectors, according to McAfee research (PDF). Nigel Hawthorn, data privacy expert at McAfee, commented in March: “The kind of data held by universities (student records/intellectual property) is a valuable commodity for cyber criminals, so it is crucial that the security and education sectors work together to protect it. Source: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/17/cyber_attack_uk_universities/
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Who’s hacking into UK unis? Spies, research-nickers… or rival gamers living in res hall?
How to train your network: the role of artificial intelligence in network operations
With the help of machine learning and AI, software-defined networks could soon aid businesses with network management. A network that can fix and optimize itself without human intervention could become a reality soon – but not without some training. With the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence, software-defined networks can learn to help with network management by using operational data. Initial application of AI to WAN operations includes security functions such as DDoS attack mitigation as well as near real-time, automated path selection, and eventually AI-defined network topologies and basic operations essentially running on ‘auto-pilot’. Enhancing IT operations with artificial intelligence (AI), including configuration management, patching, and debugging and root cause analysis (RCA) is an area of significant promise – enough so that Gartner has defined the emerging market as “AIOps”. These platforms use big data and machine learning to enhance a broad range of IT operations processes, including availability and performance monitoring, event correlation and analysis, IT service management, and automation (Gartner “Market Guide for AIOps platforms,” August 2017). Gartner estimates that by 2022, 40 percent of all large enterprises will combine big data and machine learning functionality to support and partially replace monitoring, service desk and automation processes and tasks, up from five percent today. Limits of automation and policy for NetOps Given the traditional split between APM (application performance management) and NPM (network performance management), even the best network management tools aren’t always going to help trace the root cause of every application and service interruption. There can be interactions between network and application that give rise to an issue, or a router configuration and issue with a service provider that’s impacting application performance. Network operations personnel might respond to an incident by setting policies in the APM or NPM systems that will alert us when an unwanted event is going to happen again. The issue with policy-based management is that it is backwards looking. That’s because historical data is used to create into policies that should prevent something from happening again. Yet, policy is prescriptive; it doesn’t deal with unanticipated conditions. Furthermore, changes in business goals again more human intervention if there isn’t a matching rule or pre-defined action. On the whole, SD-WAN services represent an improvement over management of MPLS networks. Still, the use of an SD-WAN isn’t without its own challenges. Depending on the number of locations that have to be linked, there can be some complexity in managing virtual network overlays. The use of on-demand cloud services adds another layer of complexity. Without sufficient monitoring tools, problems can escalate and result in downtime. At the same time, adding people means adding cost, and potentially losing some of the cost efficiencies of SD-WAN services. AI is way forward for SD-WAN management What would AIOps bring to SD-WAN management? Starting with a programmable SD-WAN architecture is an important first step towards a vision of autonomous networking. Programmable in this case means API-driven, but the system also needs to leverage data from the application performance and security stack as well as the network infrastructure as inputs into the system so that we can move from simple alerting to intelligence that enables self-healing, managing and optimization with minimal human intervention. Monitoring all elements in the system in real time (or at least near real time) will require storing and analyzing huge amounts of data. On the hardware side, cloud IaaS services have made that possible. Acting on the information will require artificial intelligence in the form of machine learning. Use Cases for AI in SD-WAN There are a variety of ways to apply machine learning algorithms to large datasets from supervised to unsupervised (and points in between) with the result being applications in areas such as: Security, where unexpected network traffic patterns and patterns of requests against an application can be detected to prevent DDoS attacks. Enhancing performance of applications over the internet network with optimized route selection. Looking more closely at security as a use case, how would AI and ML be able to augment security of SD-WANs? While the majority of enterprises are still trying to secure their networks with on-premise firewalls and DDoS mitigation appliances, they are also facing attacks that are bigger and more sophisticated. According to statistics gathered by Verisign last year: DDoS attacks peaked at over 5Gbps approximately 25% of the time During Q3 2017, 29% of attacks combined five or more different attack types. Challenge : A multi-vector attack on an enterprise network has affected service availability in Europe. Response : Application of AIOps to the SD-WAN underlay can automate the response to the attack. Instead of manually re-configuring systems, the network can automatically direct traffic to different traffic scrubbing centers based on real-time telemetry around network and peering point congestion, mitigation capacity, and attack type/source. Because the system can process data from outside sources at speeds far beyond human ability to manage the network, the system can adjust traffic flows back to normal transit routes as soon as the attack subsides, saving money on the cost of attack mitigation. AI and ML in conjunction with a programmable SD-WAN are capable of responding more quickly and in more granular fashion than is possible with standard policy-based “automatic detection” and mitigation techniques. Where does AI in network go next? Although the industry is still in the early days of applying machine learning to networking, there are a number of efforts underway to keep an eye on. One is the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), founded by Facebook and telecom first firms such as Deutsche Telecom and SK Telecom, which now counts several hundred other companies as members. The TIP recently started collaborating on AI with an eye towards predictive maintenance and dynamic allocation of resources. Important groundwork for the project will include defining common dataset formats that are used to train systems. That work could lead to further sharing of data between network providers and web companies, offering the prospect of significant improvements to security and threat detection for enterprises and consumers. Further in the future, we might expect to see an AI designed network topology, combined with SDN control over resources. Networking will have moved from a paradigm of self-contained networks to a network ‘awareness’ overlay which enables coordinated, intelligent actions based on operator intention. Network engineers can put the system on ‘auto-pilot’ during everyday computing, and instead spend time orchestrating resources based on the goals of the business. Source: https://www.itproportal.com/features/how-to-train-your-network-the-role-of-artificial-intelligence-in-network-operations/
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How to train your network: the role of artificial intelligence in network operations
DDoS Attacks Increase in Size by 500%
According to the Q2 2018 Threat Report , Nexusguard ’s quarterly report, the average distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack grew to more than 26Gbps, increasing in size by 500%. The research looked at the same period last year and found that the maximum attack size quadrupled to 359Gbps. Evaluating thousands of worldwide DDoS attacks, researchers reportedly gathered real-time attack data from botnet scanning, honeypots, ISPs and traffic moving between attackers and their targets. Data analysis led researchers to attribute the stark surge to IoT botnets and Satori malware exploits, one of many variants of the Mirai malware. “Due to the increase in IoT-related malware exploits and the rampant growth of large-scale DDoS attacks, research conclusions point to the continued use of IoT botnets. Cyber-attacks hit the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as cryptocurrency-related businesses, maximizing revenue loss,” Nexusguard wrote in a press release . Additionally, attacks on the Verge Network (XVG) resulted in a significant loss of 35 million XVG tokens. “The biggest zero-day risks can stem from various types of home routers, which attackers can exploit to create expansive DDoS attacks against networks and mission-critical services, resulting in jumbo-sized attacks intended to cripple targets during peak revenue-generating hours,” said Juniman Kasman, chief technology officer for Nexusguard. “Telcos and other communications service providers will need to take extra precautions to guard bandwidth against these super-sized attacks to ensure customer service and operations continue uninterrupted.” Nexusguard analysts advise communications service providers (CSPs) and other potentially vulnerable operations to augment their preparedness so that they are able to maintain their bandwidth, especially if they lack full redundancy and failover plans in their infrastructures. CSPs and vulnerable organizations that enhance bandwidth protection will be better positioned to stay ahead of the surging attack sizes. “In the quarter, increasingly large attacks (a YoY average-size increase of 543.17%) had a severe impact on Communication Service Providers (CSP),” the report said. “Serving as a link between attack sources and victim servers and infrastructures, CSPs bear the burden of the increasing size of traffic, irrespective of its source or destination. As such, Internet service is degraded.” Source: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ddos-attacks-increase-in-size-by/
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DDoS Attacks Increase in Size by 500%
Edinburgh Uni Hit by Major Cyber-Attack
The website of Edinburgh University was still down at the time of writing after the institution suffered a major cyber-attack during its Freshers’ Week. A university spokesman told the Edinburgh Evening News that it has “rigid measures in place” to protect IT systems and data. “Our defenses reacted quickly and no data has been compromised,” he added. “We will continue to work with our internet service provider, [national cybercrime investigators] and with other universities to prevent these network attacks in future.” The main ed.ac.uk site was still down on Thursday morning, nearly 24 hours after the first reports of an attack went online. That would indicate a serious DDoS attack. Jisc, the UK non-profit which runs the super-fast Janet network for research and educational institutions, released a statement claiming that a “number of universities” have been targeted this week and adding that the number of DDoS attacks on them “typically increases at this time of year, when students are enrolling at, or returning to university.” “While Jisc is responsible for protecting connections to the Janet Network for its members (colleges, universities and research centres), members are responsible for protecting their own cyberspace,” it added. “However, Jisc also provides DDoS threat intelligence to its community and provides advice to members affected by cyber-attacks on how to deal with the problem and minimize the impact.” Ironically, Edinburgh University was praised by the government this year for carrying out cutting-edge cybersecurity research. It is one of 14 Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research, backed by the £1.9bn National Cyber Security Strategy. DDoS attacks grew by 40% year-on-year in the first six months of 2018, according to new figures from Corero Networks. The security firm claimed that attacks are becoming shorter — with 82% lasting less than 10 minutes — and smaller, with 94% under 5Gbps. However, one in five victims are hit with another attack within 24 hours, the report revealed. Source: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/edinburgh-uni-hit-by-major-cyber/
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Edinburgh Uni Hit by Major Cyber-Attack
DDoS attacks and mobile fraud are surging in 2018
Two separate reports have detailed the biggest threats to businesses this year Two separate reports have highlighted the mounting threat of DDoS and mobile fraud attacks, demonstrating the shifting security landscape and the need for businesses to adapt their security policies. Corero Network Security’s DDoS report revealed attacks were up 40% year-on-year, with 77% of them lasting ten minutes or less and 63% less than five minutes. Companies that have experienced an attack have a one in five chance of finding themselves under siege less than 24 hours after the first. The most common type of DDoS attack on organisations is low volume strikes, with 4% less than 5Gbps. However, the number of high-volume attacks (over 10Gbps) have more than doubled over the last year, suggesting they will rise in intensity in the coming period. “Organisations are dependent on the Internet as a means to conduct business and deliver consumer/citizen services,” Corero’s CEO Ashley Stephenson said. “Any event that affects this ability to function will have a significant impact on that business. “With Internet resilience coming down to a fraction of a second, it’s easy to see why DDoS attacks are considered one of the most serious threats to Internet availability today resulting in damage to a brand’s reputation, customer trust and revenue.” ThreatMetrix’s investigation into mobile threats revealed that mobile attacks in the US have risen by 44% year-on-year (24% worldwide), as criminals take advantage of mobile usage to complete digital transactions such as mobile banking and purchasing. Additionally, it noted that because 85% of social media and dating site activity happens on mobile, these are becoming targets for hackers. Now, a third of all fraud-related activities originate from mobile devices, which although highlights the need for mobile security, suggests desktop is still the less secure platform. Device spoofing is the biggest threat to financial services, while mule networks and bot attacks are on the rise. ThreatMetrix explained large retailers are the biggest targets as criminals attempt to break into user accounts and steal payment information. “Mobile is quickly becoming the predominant way people access online goods and services, and as a result, organisations need to anticipate that the barrage of mobile attacks will only increase,” said Alisdair Faulkner, Chief Identity Officer at ThreatMetrix. “The good news is that as mobile usage continues to increase, so too does overall customer recognition rates, as mobile apps offer a wealth of techniques to authenticate returning customers with a very high degree of accuracy.” He added that the key vulnerability in the mobile atmosphere is during the app registration and account creation step. To prevent criminals from breaking into the system using this security hole, businesses must use global intelligence that can uncover their true digital identity, with information compiled from the various places customer information is available on. Source: http://www.itpro.co.uk/security/31906/ddos-attacks-and-mobile-fraud-are-surging-in-2018
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DDoS attacks and mobile fraud are surging in 2018
DDoS attack frequency grows 40%, low volume attacks dominate
The frequency of DDoS attacks have once again risen, this time by 40% year on year, according to Corero Network Security. While frequency has increased, the duration of attacks decreased with 77% lasting ten minutes or less, of which 63% last five minutes or less. Perhaps more concerning is that, having faced one attack, one in five organisations will be targeted again within 24 hours. “With Internet resilience coming down to a fraction of a … More ? The post DDoS attack frequency grows 40%, low volume attacks dominate appeared first on Help Net Security .
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DDoS attack frequency grows 40%, low volume attacks dominate
September 2018 Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes actively exploited zero-day
Microsoft’s September 2018 Patch Tuesday has brought fixes for a little over 60 security vulnerabilities, 17 of which are critical and one is being actively exploited in the wild. The software giant has also released two advisories: one detailing the vulnerabilities it plugged in Adobe Flash and the other announcing that the company is still working on an update for CVE-2018-5391, a Windows denial of service vulnerability against the IP stack dubbed “FragmentSmack”. (The advisory … More ? The post September 2018 Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes actively exploited zero-day appeared first on Help Net Security .
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September 2018 Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes actively exploited zero-day
A Scoville Heat Scale For Measuring Cybersecurity
The Scoville Scale is a measurement chart used to rate the heat of peppers or other spicy foods. It can also can have a useful application for measuring cybersecurity threats. Cyber-threats are also red hot as the human attack surface is projected to reach over 6 billion people by 2022. In addition, cyber-crime damage costs are estimated to reach $6 trillion annually by 2021. The cybersecurity firm RiskIQ states that every minute approximately 1,861 people fall victim to cyber-attacks, while some $1.14 million is stolen. In recognition of these alarming stats, perhaps it would be useful to categorize cyber-threats in a similar scale to the hot peppers we consume. I have provided my own Scoville Scale-like heat characterizations of the cyber threats we are facing below. Data Breaches: According to Juniper Research, over The Next 5 Years, 146 Billion Records Will Be Breached. The 2017 Annual Data Breach Year-end Review (Identity Theft Resource Center) found that 1,946,181,599 of records containing personal and other sensitive data that have been in compromised between Jan. 1, 2017, and March 20, 2018. The true tally of victims is likely much greater as many breaches go unreported. According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans (65%) have already personally experienced a major data breach. On the Scoville scale, data breaches, by the nature of their growing exponential threat can be easily categorized at a “Ghost Pepper ” level. Malware: According to Forrester Research’s 2017 global security survey, there are 430 million types of malware online—up 40 percent from just three years ago. The Malware Tech Blog cited that 100,000 groups in at least 150 countries and more than 400,000 machines were infected by the Wannacry virus in 2017, at a total cost of around $4 billion. Malware is ubiquitous and we deal with it. It is a steady “Jalepeno Pepper” on the scale. Ransomware: Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that ransomware damage costs will rise to $11.5 billion in 2019 with an attack occurring every 14 seconds. According to McAfee Lab’s Threat Report covering Q4 2017, eight new malware samples were recorded every second during the final three months of 2017. Cisco finds that Ransomware attacks are growing more than 350 percent annually. Experts estimate that there are more than 125 separate families of ransomware and hackers have become very adept at hiding malicious code. Ransomware is scary and there is reason to panic, seems like a ”Fatali Pepper.” Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): In 2016, DDoS attacks were launched against a Domain Name System (DNS) called Dyn. The attack directed thousands of IoT connected devices to overload and take out internet platforms and services. The attack used a simple exploit of a default password to target home surveillance cameras, and routers. DDoS is like a “Trinidad Pepper” as it can do quick massive damage and stop commerce cold. DDoS is particularly a frightening scenario for the retail, financial. and healthcare communities. Phishing: Phishing is a tool to infect malware, ransomware, and DDoS. The 2017 Ponemon State of Endpoint Security Risk Report found that 56% of organizations in a survey of 1,300 IT decision makers identified targeted phishing attacks as their biggest current cybersecurity threat. According to an analysis by Health Information Privacy/Security Alert, 46,000 new phishing sites are created every day. According to Webroot, An average of 1.385 million new, unique phishing sites are created each month. The bottom line it is easy anyone to be fooled by a targeted phish. No one is invulnerable to a crafty spear-phish, especially the C-Suite. On the Scoville Scale, Phishing is prolific, persistent, and often causes harm. I rate it at the “Habanero Pepper” level. Protecting The Internet of Things : The task of securing IoT is increasingly more difficult as mobility, connectivity and the cyber surface attack space grows. Most analysts conclude that there will be more than 20 billion connected Internet devices by 2020. According to a study conducted in April of 2017 by The Altman Vilandrie & Company, neary half of U.S. firms using The Internet of Things experienced cybersecurity breaches. Last year, Symantec noted that IoT attacks were up 600 percent. Analysts predict 25 percent of cyber-attacks in 2020 will target IoT environments. Protect IoT can be the “ Carolina Reaper” as everything connected is vulnerable and the consequences can be devastating. Lack of Skilled Cybersecurity Workers : Both the public and private sectors are facing major challenges from a dearth of cybersecurity talent. As companies evolve toward digital business, people with cybersecurity skills are becoming more difficult to find and more expensive for companies to hire and keep . A report out from Cybersecurity Ventures estimates there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2021. A 2017 research project by the industry analyst firm Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG ) and the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) found that 70 percent of cybersecurity professionals claimed their organization was impacted by the cybersecurity skills shortage. On the Scoville Scale, I rate the skills shortage as a “Scotch Bonett,” dangerous but perhaps automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence can ease the pain. Insider Threats: Insider threats can impact a company’s operational capabilities, cause significant financial damages, and harm a reputation. The IBM Cyber Security Index found that 60% of all cyber- attacks were carried out by insiders. And according to a recent Accenture HfS Research report 69% of enterprise security executives reported experiencing an attempted theft or corruption of data by insiders over one year. Malicious insider intrusions can involve theft of IP, social engineering; spear-phishing attacks, malware, ransomware, and in some cases sabotage. Often overlooked, insider threats correlate to a “Red Savina Habanero.” Identity Theft : Nearly 60 million Americans have been affected by identity theft, according to a 2018 online survey by The Harris Poll. The reason for the increased rate of identity fraud is clear. As we become more and more connected, the more visible and vulnerable we become to those who want to hack our accounts and steal our identities. We are often enticed via social media or email phishing. Digital fraud and stealing of our identities is all too common and associated closely to data breaches, a “Chocolate Habanero.” Crypto-mining and Theft : Crypto poses relatively new threats to the cybersecurity ecosystem. Hackers need computing power to find and “mine” for coins and can hijack your computer processor while you are online. Hackers place algorithm scripts on popular websites that people innocently visit. You might not even know you are being hijacked. Trend Micro disclosed that Crypto-mining malware detections jumped 956% in the first half of 2018 versus the whole of last year. Also, paying ransomware in crypto currencies seems to be a growing trend. The recent WannaCry and the Petya ransomware attackers demanded payment in bitcoin. On The Scoville Scale, it’s still early for crypto and the threats may evolve but right now a “Tabasco Pepper.” Potential Remedies: Cybersecurity at its core essence is guided by risk management: people, process, policies, and technologies. Nothing is completely invulnerable, but there are some potential remedies that can help us navigate the increasingly malicious cyber threat landscape. Some of these include: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Automation and Adaptive Networks Biometrics and Authentication Technologies Blockchain Cloud Computing Cryptography/Encryption Cyber-hygiene Cyber Insurance Incident Response Plans Information Threat Sharing Managed Security Services Predictive Analytics Quantum-computing and Super-Computing And … Cold Milk The bottom line is that as we try to keep pace with rising cybersecurity threat levels, we are all going to get burned in one way or another. But we can be prepared and resilient to help mitigate the fire. Keeping track of threats on any sale can be useful toward those goals. Chuck Brooks is the Principal Market Growth Strategist for General Dynamics Mission Systems for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. He is also Adjunct Faculty in Georgetown University’s Graduate Applied Intelligence program. Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2018/09/05/a-scoville-heat-scale-for-measuring-cybersecurity/#15abda233275
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A Scoville Heat Scale For Measuring Cybersecurity
Brit teen arrested for involvement in DDoS attack on ProtonMail
George Duke-Cohan was recruited by criminal group Apophis Squad A 19-YEAR-OLD MEMBER of hacking group Apophis Squad has been arrested by British cops. George Duke-Cohan from Watford, who uses the aliases ‘7R1D3N7?, ‘DoubleParalla’ and ‘optcz1?, was identified after the criminal group launched a series of DDoS attacks on Swiss-based encrypted email and VPN provider ProtonMail in June. Writing on the ProtonMail blog, CEO Andy Yen said that a team of security researchers had assisted the firm in investigating those responsible for the attacks. “Our security team began to investigate Apophis Squad almost immediately after the first attacks were launched. In this endeavour, we were assisted by a number of cybersecurity professionals who are also ProtonMail users,” he said. “It turns out that despite claims by Apophis Squad that federal authorities would never be able to find them, they themselves did not practice very good operational security. In fact, some of their own servers were breached and exposed online.” Yen did not go into details about how Duke-Cohan was ‘conclusively’ identified, save to say that “intelligence provided by a trusted source” played a part. The group attacked ProtonMail in June, apparently on a whim, but the attacks intensified after CTO Bart Butler responded to a tweet from the group, saying “we’re back you clowns”. Apophis Squad also attacked Tutanota, another encrypted email provider. Users of ProtonMail email and VPN services saw them briefly disrupted, but “due to the efforts of Radware, F5 Networks, and our infrastructure team, we were able keep service disruptions to a minimum,” Yen said. As a member of Apophis Squad, Duke-Cohan was also involved in making hoax bomb threats to schools and colleges and airlines which saw 400 educational facilities in the UK and USA evacuated and a United Airlines flight grounded in San Francisco in March. He pleaded guilty in Luton Magistrates Court to three counts of making bomb threats and is due to appear before Luton Crown Court on September 21 to face further charges. He also faces possible extradition to the US. Marc Horsfall, senior investigating officer at the National Crime Agency said: “George Duke-Cohan made a series of bomb threats that caused serious worry and inconvenience to thousands of people, not least an international airline. He carried out these threats hidden behind a computer screen for his own enjoyment, with no consideration for the effect he was having on others.” Duke-Cohan’s parents have said he was “groomed” by “serious people” online through playing the game Minecraft. Apophis Squad is thought to be based in Russia. ProtonMail’s Yen said other attackers have also been identified and the authorities notified. “We will investigate to the fullest extent possible anyone who attacks ProtonMail or uses our platform for crime. We will also cooperate with law enforcement agencies within the framework of Swiss law,” he said. Source: https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3062293/brit-teen-arrested-for-involvement-in-ddos-attack-on-protonmail
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Brit teen arrested for involvement in DDoS attack on ProtonMail