The FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (CAT) is a diagnostic test designed to help institutions identify risks and gauge cybersecurity preparedness. The tool is primarily for financial and non-depository institutions, enabling organizations to make risk-driven security decisions informed by regular cybersecurity assessments and standardized risk...

The Department of Defense (DoD) introduced the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) in 2019. This framework outlined a series of security standards contractors must meet to win DoD contracts, so it’s a big concern for many companies. However, four years later, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification rollout has yet to take effect...

An Application Programming Interface (API) is an essential and ubiquitous software that allows the exchange of information between day-to-day applications and processes, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, universal profile login pages, and autonomous vehicles. APIs synchronize and maintain the data...

It’s no secret that the U.S. power grid is one of the main foundations of the nation’s economy, infrastructure, and daily way of life. Now that almost everything is digitized, it is hinging on it even more. We wouldn’t be able to use even most vending machines (not to mention cell towers or the internet) without a working electrical supply, and the...

The Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA or GLB Act), or financial modernization act, is a bi-partisan federal regulation passed in 1999 to modernize the financial industry. It repealed vast swathes of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and the Bank Holding Act of 1956, allowing commercial banks to offer financial services such as investments or insurance. It...

At the turn of the most recent century, the financial world was in a moment of unregulated growth, which lead to some serious corporate misdeeds in the United States. This presented the opportunity for two senators to enact a new law to ensure accurate and reliable financial reporting for public companies in the US. The result was the Sarbanes-Oxley...

The NSA has published a guide about how to mitigate against attacks involving the BlackLotus bootkit malware, amid fears that system administrators may not be adequately protected against the threat. The BlackLotus UEFI bootkit made a name for itself in October 2022, when it was seen being sold on cybercrime underground forums for $5,000. The news...

In the early days of computer networking, the idea of restricted permissions was shunned. Network administrators could access every system in the environment. In some extreme cases, a CEO would demand full administrative access to a network, thinking that this would protect against a rogue employee. As you can imagine, this set up a point of failure...

They say character isn’t gained in a crisis; it’s displayed in one. By the time the disaster hits, the time for preparation has passed. But what if you could go through that earth-shattering event beforehand so when the time came, you’d be ready? Well, in security, you can. And it's not called cheating – it's called Red Teaming. It’s done...

What Is an SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)? A software bill of materials (SBOM) is a comprehensive, structured inventory of all components, libraries, and dependencies used within a software product or application. It typically includes information about the names, versions, and licensing details of each component. SBOM plays a critical role in...

Today’s VERT Alert addresses Microsoft’s June 2023 Security Updates, which include a new release notes format. VERT is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expects to ship ASPL-1060 on Wednesday, June 14th. In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEs There were no in-the-wild or disclosed CVEs in the June Patch Tuesday drop. CVE Breakdown...

In April 2023, German artist Boris Eldagsen won the open creative award for his photographic entry entitled, Pseudomnesia: The Electrician. But, the confusing part of the event for the judges and the audience was that he refused to receive the award. The reason was that the photograph was generated by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool. It was...

If you mention data leakage to most people, they may think that it sounds like a problem for a plumber, but the phrase “data leak” has specific and troubling concerns for a business. Data leakage is a particular security threat, and there are many sources for data leaks. Data Breach Versus Data Leak Data breaches occur when an attacker from...

What is the SEC? Founded 85 years ago at the height of the Great Depression, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a clear mission: to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. Put simply, the SEC aims to protect US investors by maintaining a fair market. The SEC doesn’t work...

Tripwire's May 2023 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft. First on the patch priority list this month are patches for Microsoft Edge. These patches resolve elevation and security feature bypass vulnerabilities. Up next are 3 patches for Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, and Access that resolve remote code...

Jetpack, an extremely popular WordPress plugin that provides a variety of functions including security features for around five million websites, has received a critical security update following the discovery of a bug that has lurked unnoticed since 2012. Jetpack's maintainers, Automattic, announced on Tuesday that it had worked closely with the...

Not all Risks Become Threats Insider threats are an updated version of the wolf in sheep's clothing - the people we rely on to safeguard systems and data can sometimes be the ones who pose the greatest risk. From malicious actors to negligent employees, insider threats come in many forms and can have devastating consequences for organizations of...

Cybersecurity has risen to become a major concern for nearly every industry. With the constant stream of news about the escalating numbers of breaches, it is understandable that governments have taken a more active role by passing cybersecurity and privacy legislation. Some of the industries are not top of mind to many people. For example, few...

The Artificial intelligence (AI) based language model, ChatGPT, has gained a lot of attention recently, and rightfully so. It is arguably the most widely popular technical innovation since the introduction of the now ubiquitous smart speakers in our homes that enable us to call out a question and receive an instant answer. But what is it, and why...