A Rootkit is a malicious program composed of malware that is created to provide prolonged root-level or privileged-level access to a computer. It remains hidden in the computer system while maintaining control of the system remotely. Rootkits have the ability to steal data, eavesdrop, change system configurations, create permanent backdoors,...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s March 2023 Security Updates. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1046 on Wednesday, March 15th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-24880 Up first this month is a publicly disclosed and exploited vulnerability impacting Windows SmartScreen. SmartScreen...

If you were to poll the folks in a typical office about which aspect of the infamous CIA Triad was most important to them, you would likely get different answers from different people. While confidentiality, integrity, and availability are all important and serve to function together, for the sake of fun, what if you had to choose one factor as the...

If you blinked, you might have missed it… On October 25th 2022, the new standard for the Information Security Management System, ISO27001 was released. Without fuss, and without fanfare. But, to quote a famous movie, “There was a great disturbance in the force.” ISO27001 is possibly one of the world's best-known standards for Information...

The number of direct physical attacks on U.S. power grids soared 77 percent last year to 163, a record-high, according to the US Energy Department. Reliable electricity is essential to the convenience of modern life, and also functions as a crucial contribution to America’s economy and level of comfort. Yet citizens take it for granted, rarely...

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued new requirements for airport and aircraft operators who, they say, are facing a "persistent cybersecurity threat." The agency's new directive compels the aviation industry to improve their defences against malicious hackers and cybercriminals, just days after Preisdent Biden announced...

APIs will continue to drive business and accelerate digital transformation this year to the extent that nearly no other technology can; according to the 19th Developer Economics survey by Slashdata, almost 90% of all developers use APIs. This makes them a target for attackers who aren’t afraid to engage in any tactic, especially tried-and-true...

I logged into one of my online accounts today, and the entire interface was different. At first, I checked to make sure that I was actually on the correct site. Once I confirmed that, I just accepted that the company who runs the software made changes that would improve the performance and functionality of the software. Once I logged in, I noticed...

Business email compromise (BEC) is a dangerous type of email spoofing that targets businesses, aiming to damage them in some way. Overall, BEC “is one of the most financially damaging online crimes,” according to a joint Cybersecurity Advisory by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal...

Is your security tool an island? Does it do its singular task with little more to offer than what it says on the package? Too many security offerings behave as singular entities, forcing you to constantly perform task switching to complete a job. If you are using a robust tool, then you may not be taking full advantage of its capabilities. Many...

Malware as a Service is the unlawful lease of software and hardware from the Dark Web to carry out cyber attacks. The threat actors who use this service are provided with botnet services and technical support by the MaaS owners. This service opens doors to anyone with minimal computer skills to use and distribute pre-made malware. The data that is...

Tripwire's February 2023 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft. First on the patch priority list this month is a patch for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint that resolves a security feature bypass vulnerability. Next are patches for Microsoft Edge that resolve 15 vulnerabilities, including remote code...

Willie Sutton, the criminal who became legendary for stealing from banks during a forty year career, was once asked, "Why do you keep robbing banks?" His answer? "Because that's where the money is." However, today there's a better target for robbers today than banks, which are typically well-defended against theft... Cryptocurrency wallets. ...

The key to protecting your digital life Even those who consider themselves well educated about security threats - and do everything they have been taught to do - can still end up as a victim. The truth is that with enough time, resources, and skill, anything and anyone can be successfully attacked. This is why it is important to make it as time...

Deepfakes are forged images, audio, and videos that are created using Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning technologies. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), deepfake videos are increasing at an annual rate of 900%, and recent technological advances have made it easier to produce them. VMware states that two out of three...

Security threat actors are becoming smarter, and their attacks more devious. Staying ahead of cybercriminals and vulnerabilities is the only way to defeat the attackers at their own game. If you want to protect your organization from cyber threats, then you need to think like an attacker. Operational security, also known as OPSEC, is a discipline...

Governments play a key role in the continued operation of society. While getting a speeding ticket or paying taxes may not be anyone’s favorite thing to do, they contribute to the government’s ability to protect its citizens while maintaining its infrastructure and services. Cybersecurity is critical for all organizations and government agencies,...

OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot has been a phenomenon, taking the internet by storm. Whether it is composing poetry, writing essays for college students, or finding bugs in computer code, it has impressed millions of people and proven itself to be the most accessible form of artificial intelligence ever seen. Yes, there are plenty of fears about how the...

A ransomware outfit is advising its victims to secretly tell them how much insurance they have, so their extortion demands will be met. As security researchers at Varonis describe, a new strain of the HardBit ransomware has taken the unusual step of asking targeted companies to spill the beans of whether they have cyber insurance (and the terms of...

Organizations are progressively moving towards a predominantly cloud-based computing environment. What this means is that essentially all of their back-end infrastructure, systems, and client-facing applications can be accessed and distributed through the cloud. Modern cloud computing goes a step further than simply being present in a virtual...