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In our June review of the biggest IS incidents, we will explore recent incidents where one single click has stopped the operations of an entire company, sales managers provided hackers with client information, and data from the largest companies was leaked.

SNOWLEAK

What happened: Snowflake, the largest cloud service provider, fell prey to a cyber attack.

How it happened: Unidentified actors attacked Snowflake and obtained data on the company’s customers. The exact number of victims is still unknow

This is a transcription of our interview with Greg Edwards, CEO at Cryprostopper.

You can watch the full video interview here. Make sure to subscribe to our Risk Management Show via iTunes, Spotify or other major podcast apps. Just search using the keyword "Risk Management Show" inside your favorite app so that when interviews will start rolling in, you receive your notifications or podcast will download straight to your phone.

Boris: Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to our interview with

Riviera Beach, a city in Florida, has agreed to pay a $600,000 ransom to hackers who attacked its network.

This week, the City Council voted to pay the demands after coming up with no other option to meet the demands of the hackers. It seems that the hackers got access to the system when a staff member clicked on a link in an email, which uploaded malware to the network. The malware disabled the city’s email system, direct deposit payroll system and 911 dispatch system.

According to Rose Anne Brow

Virtually all cyber exposure programs today are directed at addressing the cyber exposures an organization faces from its own resources and activities and from outside sources. This is necessary but not sufficient.

Why? Because most organizations also face secondary cyber exposures that they are neither aware of nor prepared to address. For example, many organizations do not manage, or own their own properties but inhabit facility space managed by someone else. That someone, generally a building

Now that vacation time is over in the Northern Hemisphere. Did you relax? Unwind? Clear your mind?

Well I sure hope so because the cyber predators have been setting new clickable traps, and sending devious emails to greet you on your return. Also, in your absence cyber predators continued to launch millions of attacks daily across the globe. And many involve ransomware.

The emergence of ransomware is simple to explain. It can be obtained free or easily made. It has a high success rate and generate

I created these steps, collected from various sources and personal experience, to provide you with guidance on what you should be doing to prevent, detect and respond to ransomware and other malicious software attacks. Hope you find it useful. If you would like more information I suggest you take our course on managing cyber exposures at the Global Risk Academy http://globalriskacademy.com/p/the-definitive-guide-to-cyber-exposure-management

These five steps are a good beginning.

1. Scan your envir

As the latest major hack, code named Petya, gets dissected the picture is getting clearer. Especially when combined with the information in the latest Verizon DBIR report. Link here.

What this means is that if you updated your Microsoft operating system in a timely manner you are safe, as it appears that Petya is exploiting a vulnerability in Windows that was patched months ago and the virus was transmitted via a malicious email attachment¹. Unfortunately many organizations have a ‘patch process’

Last week, news broke of a global ransomware attack that has struck individuals and companies around the world. In the wake of the attack, which has affected computers in 150 countries, many companies are wondering 1) if they’re going to be hit and 2) what they can do to protect themselves.

The WannaCry ransomware attack still isn’t over, and we’ll see over the coming weeks what the final numbers are. It’s not too late to improve preventative measures for the next wave, which will likely be smart

For more than four years, malware has been posing as legitimate software and infecting industrial equipment across the globe.

The malware, which looks just like the Siemens control gear software, has affected at least seven plants in the US. According to security experts, the malware was specifically designed to attack this industrial equipment, but what it does is not totally known. It is only described as a type of “crimeware.”

The malware was first hinted at in 2013, but at that time, it was no

In June, 2015, it was revealed by an anonymous source that the Office of Personnel Management was hacked. This office, which administers civil service, is believed to have been the target of the Chinese government. This is one of the largest hacks in history involving a federal organization.

Slowly, the motivation behind the hacking is being understood. At first, it seemed obvious, the stolen data being personally identifiable information, which is what was taken can be used for new account fraud

Think about hackers breaking into accounts. If you think they need top-notch computer skills, you would be wrong. These days, instead of requiring skills behind a keyboard, hackers generally rely on strategy…specifically a strategy called social engineering. This means that hackers don’t have to be technical, but they DO have to be clever and crafty because they are essentially taking advantage of people and “tricking” them into giving information.

There are four main ways that hackers use social

Several hours ago, infosec expert Derek Knight found a brand new Locky virus variant spreading out email messages that simulate an Internet service provider (ISP) alert declaring that SPAM has been identified originating from the PC.

After the initial examination of this Locky build, other researches from the Malware Hunter Team spotted that Locky had additionally altered the file extension for locked data to .aesir. This latest extension remains to be connected with the Norse mythology, with ear

Ransomware thieves sure know how to pick their victims—institutions that store loads of highly critical data that they need on a daily basis, that without—even just 24 hours without—can have crippling effects. This form of cybercrime is growing by leaps and bounds.

Recently a ransomware attacker struck the network of the University of Calgary. An article at arstechnica.com says that the institution’s IT experts have made some headway in isolating the ransomware infection and making some restorati

If your computer password contains the name of your dog, your favorite vacation spot, and an easy-to-remember numerical sequence, then you are breaking some basic rules of password safety. Even though “BusterBermuda789” might seem impenetrable to you, this is a password security experts say is vulnerable.

Here are five things to know about passwords:

• A long, strong password goes a long way in helping prevent hacking.
• Every account should have a different password.
• A hacker’s password-cracking softwa

A ransomware attack is when your computer gets locked down or your files become inaccessible, and you are informed that in order to regain use of your computer or to receive a cyber key to unlock your files, you must pay a ransom. Typically, cybercriminals request you pay them in bitcoins.

The attack begins when you’re lured, by a cybercriminal, into clicking a malicious link that downloads malware, such as CDT-Locker. Hackers are skilled at getting potential victims to click on these links, such

Yes, believe it or not, ransomware has become such a booming business for thieves, that these cyber thugs even provide bona fide customer service departments to guide their victims!

When ransomware infects your computer, it holds your files hostage; you can’t access them—until you pay the hacker (usually in bitcoins). Once paid, the crook will give you a decryption “key.” Sometimes the fee will go up if you don’t pay by a deadline. Fees may a few to hundred to several hundred dollars to way more

Cyber criminals have been attempting to extort money from individuals and companies for many years, and the latest attempt to take advantage of others is by using Ransomware as a Service, or RaaS.

A ransomware virus infects a computer when a user clicks a link and unknowingly download a malicious file. The ransomware virus then encrypts the computer’s files and promises to render them useless unless the victim pays a ransom. The cost varies greatly and groups sending these out can bring in hundre

No bones about it, 2016 is sure to see some spectacular, news-chomping data breaches, predicts many in infosec. If you thought 2015 was interesting, get your seatbelt and helmet on and prepare for lift off…

Wearable Devices

Cyber crooks don’t care what kind of data is in that little device strapped around your upper arm while you exercise, but they’ll want to target it as a passageway to your smartphone. Think of wearables as conduits to your personal life.

Firmware/Hardware

No doubt, assaults on fi

So, who’s on your holiday gift list this year? That list is a lot longer than you think; consider all the names of hackers that have not yet appeared on it. Scammers will do whatever it takes to get on your holiday gift list! Here’s how to keep these cyber thieves out of your pocket:

• Before purchasing from a small online merchant, see what the Better Business Bureau says and also search Google for reviews.
• If you see an unexpected e-mail allegedly from a retailer you shop at, don’t open it. Scamme

It sounds almost like science fiction, even in this cyber age: A thief hacks into your computer and encrypts your files, meaning, scrambles the information so you can’t make sense of any of it. He demands you pay him a big fat payment to “unlock” the encryption or to give you the “key,” which is contained on the thief’s remote server.

You are being held ransom. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has sent out a warning to both the common Internet user and businesspeople about this ransomwar