SBS CyberSecurity - In The Wild 158

In The Wild - CyberSecurity Newsletter Welcome to the 158th issue of In The Wild, SBS’ weekly CyberSecurity newsletter. The objective of this newsletter is to share threat intelligence, news articles that are relevant, new and updated guidance, and other information you may find helpful. Below, you will find some of the latest-and-greatest news stories, articles, videos, and links from the past week in cybersecurity. Some of the following stories have been shared by consultants, others by the SBS Institute, and others yet simply been found in the far corners of the Internet. We hope you find the following stories relevant, interesting, and – most of all – useful. Enjoy. [Blog]: Coronavirus - Time to Dust Off the Pandemic Preparedness Plan SBS Educational Resources As of February 11, 2020, the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak has infected 43,143 individuals in 28 countries, including 1018 deaths (only 2 deaths have occurred outside of China). While not yet considered a “pandemic” (a pandemic is defined as “an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population”), this new coronavirus is a disease outbreak that’s certainly worth monitoring. Read Here »   US Charges 4 Chinese Military Officers in 2017 Equifax Hack Krebs on Security The U.S. Justice Department today unsealed indictments against four Chinese officers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) accused of perpetrating the 2017 hack against consumer credit bureau Equifax that led to the theft of personal data on nearly 150 million Americans. DOJ officials said the four men were responsible for carrying out the largest theft of sensitive personal information by state-sponsored hackers ever recorded. Read Here »   The FBI Issues A Powerful $3.5 Billion Cybercrime Warning Forbes The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) "2019 Internet Crime Report." For everyone but those engaged in cybercrime, it makes for very difficult reading. Across that one year, the number of cybercrime complaints from both individuals and business organizations reached a staggering 467,361. The total cost of those reported crimes was even more mind-boggling: in excess of $3.5 billion. Read Here »   Ransomware Attacks Causing Cyber Insurance Rates to Go Through the Roof CPO Magazine After a brief lull, ransomware attacks have roared back as a major and persistent security problem in the past year. These attacks have become so frequent and so widespread that cyber insurance rates are spiking, with Reuters reporting some premiums increasing as much as 25% in price. Read Here »   Do you know which SBS Institute Certification Programs are coming up? Check out the Certification Calendar and share with your clients. Find Out Here! » Apple's Malware Problem is Getting Worse Vox Recode Think your Apple product is safe from malware? That only people using Windows machines have to take precautions? According to cybersecurity software company Malwarebytes’ latest State of Malware report, it’s time to think again. The amount of malware on Macs is outpacing PCs for the first time ever, and your complacency could be your worst enemy. Read Here »   Bluetooth LE Devices Impacted by SweynTooth Vulnerabilities ZDNet A team of academics from Singapore has published this week a research paper detailing a collection of vulnerabilities named SweynTooth that impact devices running the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol. More specifically, the SweynTooth vulnerabilities impact the software development kits (SDKs) responsible for supporting BLE communications. Read Here »   IRS Urges Taxpayers to Enable Multi-Factor Authentication Bleeping Computer The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Security Summit partners urged tax professionals and taxpayers today to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) in their tax preparation software products to defend against data theft. "Already, nearly two dozen tax practitioner firms have reported data thefts to the IRS this year," the IRS said. "Use of the multi-factor authentication feature is a free and easy way to protect clients and practitioners' offices from data thefts." Read Here »   5 Questions to Ask When You Need Help Finding Your Purpose Fast Company Mark Twain once said the two greatest days in a person’s life are the day they’re born and the day they discover why. Deep? Definitely. But let’s be honest: the first day is a somewhat passive experience. The second day, however, can feel like a lot of pressure. While some of us can quickly identify our purpose (in our careers, or otherwise), others may struggle to answer the question “Why am I here?” Read Here » 10 Other Interesting Links From This Week There were too many fantastic reads from this past weeks’ worth of cybersecurity and technology news, so here are a few additional quick-hit links for your reading pleasure:       Krebs on Security: A Light at the End of Liberty Reserve’s Demise?       Bleeping Computer: Microsoft Confirms Windows 10 KB4524244 Issues and Pulls the Update       The Hacker News: 500 Chrome Extensions Caught Stealing Private Data of 1.7 Million Users       ZDNet: Iranian hackers have been hacking VPN servers to plant backdoors in companies around the world       ZDNet: US Cyber Command, DHS, and FBI expose new North Korean malware       ars technica: Nasty Android malware reinfects its targets, and no one knows how       Dark Reading: DDoS Attacks Nearly Double Between Q4 2018 and Q4 2019       CPO Magazine: Companies With Data Privacy Practices Enjoy Big Financial Benefits       Dickinson Law: New Iowa Cybersecurity Legislation Offers Affirmative Defense to Orgs with Cybersecurity Program       threatpost: Microsoft Addresses Active Attacks, Air-Gap Danger with 99 Patches