There are ghosts in the machine.Not the poetic kind. I mean literal, running-code-with-root-access kind. The kind that was set up ten years ago by an admin who retired five jobs ago. The kind that still wakes up every night at 3:30 a.m.; processes something no one remembers, and then quietly vanishes into the system logs. Until, of course, something goes wrong—or someone takes advantage of it...

APWG's Q4 2024 Phishing Activity Trends Report, published March 19th, revealed that more than eight in ten Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks last quarter were sent by attackers favoring Google's free webmail service. By comparison, only 10% used Microsoft's free email web app, Outlook.com.The report, published quarterly, is a product of the phishing incidents reported to the APWG annually by...

Cyber incidents are always going to be present. Regardless of whether you’re working for a startup or a corporation, malicious software can target you and your business. This is why it’s important to work closely with cybersecurity incident response teams and have such protocols in place.The lifecycle of a cybersecurity incident starts way before it happens with good preparation. However, the...

Ransomware is no longer in its heyday. Evolving, AI-driven cybersecurity tools and global law enforcement efforts have seen to that. But that doesn’t mean ransomware is no longer a threat. In fact, in some ways, the danger is greater than ever. While ransomware attacks are less common than they used to be, the consequences of those that succeed are more severe. Earlier this year, the Ponemon...

Compliance is a “ticket to entry” for businesses today, and information security risk management (ISRM) makes sure organizations hang on to their ticket. In this blog, we’ll review how ISRM helps organizations not only get compliant but stay compliant.And how Tripwire makes that process automatic.Compliance is a Core Cost of Doing Business TodayWithout adhering to industry-standard data privacy...

Cybersecurity threats are no longer a matter of "if" but "when." While companies invest heavily in technical defenses, one important aspect often gets overlooked — communication.How an organization communicates during a cybersecurity incident determines the speed and effectiveness of its response, as well as the level of trust it maintains with stakeholders.Here, we’ll walk through the...

In today’s dynamic IT environments, securing and maintaining the integrity of your systems is critical. Fortra’s Tripwire Enterprise is a robust tool designed to help organizations ensure compliance and security by continuously monitoring the configuration and behavior of their IT assets.When deploying Tripwire, a common question arises: should you prioritize monitoring applications, operating...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s February 2025 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1143 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEsCVE-2025-21391A vulnerability in Windows Storage could lead to elevation of privilege, however, it is important to note that this would not give complete access to the file...

Data breaches continue to cost organizations millions of dollars each year, with costs rising steadily. According to IBM's 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach has surged to $4.88 million globally, reflecting the increasing complexity and sophistication of cyberattacks. In the United States, this figure is even higher, averaging $9.8 million per breach, and the...

The Turkish government is proposing a controversial new cybersecurity law that could make it a criminal act to report on data breaches. The new legislation proposes penalties for various cybersecurity-related offences. But they key one which has people concerned is this:"Those who carry out activities aimed at targeting institutions or individuals by creating the perception that there has been a...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s January 2025 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1139 as soon as coverage is completed.In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEsCVE-2025-21333The first of three Hyper-V vulnerabilities this month is a heap-based buffer overflow that leads to privilege escalation to SYSTEM. Microsoft has reported this...

While Exponential Organizations (ExOs) are transforming industries beyond the tech space, that doesn’t mean that they are not susceptible to an increasing number of cyber threats. As ExOs harness innovative and cutting-edge technologies to drive transformative growth, the ability to respond effectively and proactively to cyber incidents becomes increasingly vital. Recent statistics from the 2024...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s December 2024 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1136 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEsCVE-2024-49138The only vulnerability that has been publicly disclosed and exploited this month is CVE-2024-49138, a vulnerability in the Windows Common Log File System...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s November 2024 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1132 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEsCVE-2024-43451A vulnerability that allows for NTLMv2 hash disclosure has been both publicly disclosed and actively exploited. According to Microsoft, only minimal...

DDoS attacks have become an annoyance most companies assume they may have to deal with at some point. While frustrating, minor website disruptions from small-scale hacktivist campaigns rarely create substantial business impacts. However, a particularly insidious DDoS spinoff has emerged over the past decade – one aimed at blackmail.This evolutionary milestone stems from what's called Ransom DDoS ...

We all know that it is a question of when you will be compromised and not if you will be compromised. It is unavoidable. The goal of CIS Control 17 is to ensure that you are set up for success when that inevitable breach occurs. If an organization is neither equipped nor prepared for that potential data breach, they are not likely to succeed in responding to the threat.Key TakeawaysOne takeaway...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s October 2024 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1127 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEsCVE-2024-43573A vulnerability in the Windows MSHTML Platform has seen active exploitation attacks against a spoofing vulnerability. Based on the CWE that Microsoft selected...

Phishing is a malicious attempt to deceive individuals into divulging sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, or other personal data. These attacks are typically carried out by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in electronic communications. Phishing can take many forms and has evolved to become more sophisticated, making it imperative for individuals and...

The upcoming election has brought up conversations about the security of our voting infrastructure. While recent developments have somewhat shifted attention toward more visceral threats such as "death threats against county clerks, polling-place violence, and AI-fueled disinformation," the protection of voting machine security is still a pressing concern.Securing electronic voting infrastructure...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s September 2024 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1123 as soon as coverage is completed. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2024-38217Windows uses the Mark of the Web (MoTW) to identify files downloaded from the Internet. This is done by setting the NTFS Zone.Identifier alternate Data...