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How to comply with PCI DSS 4.0 while juggling day-to-day tasks

In our webinar, Insights for Navigating PCI DSS 4.0 Milestones , we discuss some of the challenges organizations face as they try to comprehend the new requirements of PCI DSS 4.0. One of the questions we commonly hear is, “How do we prepare for PCI 4.0 deadlines while still maintaining day-to-day operations?” The discussion involved David Bruce , our Head of Product Management, and guest experts...
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Q1 2023 Privacy: In for Another Wild Year

2023 started much the same as the year before , with state legislatures producing an impressive list of privacy-related bills in the U.S. Twenty-three states introduced comprehensive privacy legislation, with many more targeted privacy bills being considered as well. Iowa's governor signed the sixth comprehensive privacy law to close out the quarter. Internationally, things started rather slowly —...
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Beyond the firewall: How social engineers use psychology to compromise organizational cybersecurity

A Social engineering attack is the process of exploiting weaknesses in human psychology to manipulate and persuade others to perform in a way that is harmful. Prior to the digital age, criminals would carry out these attacks in person, in what was known as a confidence game. The perpetrators were referred to a “con men”, regardless of their gender. In the cybersecurity realm, these attacks are...
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Tripwire Products: Quick Reference Guide

Here at The State of Security, we cover everything from breaking stories about new cyberthreats to step-by-step guides on passing your next compliance audit . But today we’d like to offer a straight-forward roundup of Fortra's Tripwire product suite. Get to know the basics of Tripwire’s core solutions for file integrity monitoring (FIM), security configuration management (SCM), vulnerability...
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Akira ransomware - what you need to know

What is Akira? Akira is a new family of ransomware, first used in cybercrime attacks in March 2023. Akira? Haven't we heard of that before? Maybe you're thinking of the cyberpunk Manga comic books and movie that came out in the 1980s. Or perhaps you're thinking of an unrelated ransomware of the same name which emerged in 2017. Maybe that's it. So what's the scoop with the new Akira ransomware...
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Red Teaming: 4 Ways to Get the Best Value While Improving Your Security

What is Red Teaming? Red Teaming will always have similar concepts and strategies, but no Red Team endeavour is the same, and the meaning may change from one organization to another. Simply stated, Red Teaming is acting as an adversary within your own network to achieve a scenario or objective that a potential attacker can leverage or has value. A true Red Team objective should not be to achieve...
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Professional Services in the World of Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a critical concern for businesses of all sizes and industries. With the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, it's more important than ever to have a robust security strategy in place. However, many organizations lack the expertise or resources to manage their cybersecurity needs effectively. This is where professional services come in. What are Professional Services...
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VERT Threat Alert: May 2023 Patch Tuesday Analysis

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s May 2023 Security Updates , which include a new release notes format. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1055 on Wednesday, May 10th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs CVE-2023-29336 Up first this month is a vulnerability reported by Avast in Win32k. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated attacker to...
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How To Combine Cyber Resilience and Cybersecurity for Maximum Cyber Protection

Data breaches and cyberattacks have become worryingly commonplace in today’s digital world, and cybersecurity and cyber resilience are now crucial for every organization, small and large. These two strategies work together to protect data at different stages of a cyberattack. Ideally, organizations should rely on both to achieve maximum cyber protection. Cybersecurity refers to the measures taken...
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Cybersecurity for Small Businesses: How to Protect Your Company on a Budget

As a small business owner, you wear many hats. You're the CEO, the accountant, the salesperson, and the HR manager. With so much on your plate, cybersecurity might not be at the top of your priority list. But it should be. Small businesses are a prime target for cybercriminals, and a security breach can be devastating to your company's reputation and financial health. The good news is that there...
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Supply Chain Compromise: The Risks You Need to Know

This piece was originally published on Fortra’s AlertLogic.com Blog . Thinking about your own network isn’t enough to keep your business safe and profitable. As more buyers, sellers, and partners collaborate ever more closely across the world, supply chain IT risks are rising with no slowdown in sight. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, supply chain attacks surpassed malware...
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Tripwire Patch Priority Index for April 2023

Tripwire's April 2023 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft and Adobe. First on the patch priority list this month are patches for Microsoft Edge. These patches resolve over 15 vulnerabilities such as spoofing, type confusion, and use after free vulnerabilities. Up next are 3 patches for Microsoft Office, Word, and Publisher that resolve 4 remote code...
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An overview of the OSI model and its security threats

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is a conceptual framework developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO). It has been in use for over 40 years, and is cited in every computer network book. It is also a favorite resource for just about every cybersecurity exam. The OSI model is represented in seven layers that help us understand how communications between computer systems...
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Patch now! The Mirai IoT botnet is exploiting TP-Link routers

Businesses should patch their TP-Link routers as soon as possible, after the revelation that a legendary IoT botnet is targeting them for recruitment. The notorious Mirai botnet, which hijacks control of vulnerable IoT devices, is now exploiting TP-Link Archer AX21 routers to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The warning comes from security researchers and the US Government's...
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Cybersecurity – Change is coming and that’s a good thing

“The cyber economy is the economy” Those words were spoken by the US National Security Advisor way back in 2005, and it is remarkable to see how prescient they were. The economy is not only supported by the cyber world, but that world is entirely data driven. Data has become a primary focus, not just for regulatory fodder, but for business survival. Rethinking cyber risk for business...
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Cybersecurity in the Cloud: The Challenging Hurdles It Has To Overcome

Cloud Security Challenges Organizations embracing cloud environments must understand that cloud applications and services have become popular targets for cybercriminals. A few notable and inherent risks with cloud deployments include: API Vulnerabilities Unfortunately, API exploits are on the rise , costing organizations dearly. Whether it’s stolen data or denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, an API...
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3 Tips to Strengthen AWS Container Security

This piece was originally published on Fortra’s AlertLogic.com Blog . If you’re building an application, you want to ensure it’s reliable, consistent, and rapidly deployable in any cloud environment. That’s what containers are used for — packaging instructions into a digital object for reuse. Without them, you’ll struggle to run some application components from server to server. But when you...
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Allowlisting and Blocklisting: What you need to know

The phone rings, displaying "Potential Spam," warning of the possible downfall of accepting the call. We also have the option to set specific ringtones for the special people in our lives, so we audibly know immediately who’s calling. For other callers, like the once-a-year important call from our insurance or investment rep, we'll at least add their names so we can see when they ring. And, of...
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4 Lessons from Fortra’s Attack Surface Management Guide

Think of all the different points within your organization that provide access to information. That could be your website, the mobile version of your application, your Slack instance, and so much more. It’s a list that gets very long, very quickly. All of those endpoints, both physical and digital, make up the attack surface of your organization. Basically, each endpoint is an element that could...
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Charming Kitten targets critical infrastructure in US and elsewhere with BellaCiao malware

Iranian state-sponsored hacking group Charming Kitten has been named as the group responsible for a new wave of attacks targeting critical infrastructure in the United States and elsewhere. The group (who are also known to security researchers by a wide variety of other names including Mint Sandstorm, Phosphorous, Newscaster, and APT35) has been operating since at least 2011, making a name for...