This undated photo shows students at the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang working on computers. (Image: Korean Central News Agency)

North Korean Threat Groups Steal Crypto to Pay for Hacking

Rashmi Ramesh • March 28, 2023

North Korean hackers are stealing cryptocurrency to fund operations under an apparent mandate from Pyongyang to be self-sufficient, threat intel firm Mandiant says. The regime probably expected its hackers to pay their own way before 2020, but the novel coronavirus pandemic exacerbated its demands.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Breach Roundup: Ferrari, Indian Health Ministry and the NBA

Latest

Critical Infrastructure Security

Lawmakers Urge CISA to Devise Better Measures of Performance

Michael Novinson • March 28, 2023

Lawmakers urged Director Jen Easterly to devise metrics that quantify how effectively the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency uses federal money to cut cyber risk. Rep. Dave Joyce wants CISA to more precisely measure the return on taxpayer spending given the agency's rising budget.

3rd Party Risk Management

Health Plan, Mental Health Provider Hit by GoAnywhere Flaw

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • March 28, 2023

Blue Shield of California is notifying more than 63,000 customers that their data was potentially exfiltrated in a compromise involving Fortra's GoAnywhere secure file transfer software and one of the health plan's covered mental health providers for minors.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Facebook Opposes Irish Data Watchdog's 265-Million-Euro Fine

Akshaya Asokan • March 28, 2023

Facebook is asking Ireland's High Court to quash a 265-million-euro fine levied by the country's data watchdog after the phone numbers of more than half a billion users appeared online. A user of the now-shuttered BreachForums in April 2021 posted data scraped from 533 million profiles.

Events

'Stronger Together' - Preview of RSA Conference 2023

Tom Field • March 28, 2023

"Stronger Together" is the theme of RSA Conference 2023. In an exclusive preview of the event, Linda Gray Martin and Britta Glade explain why that theme was selected - and what attendees can expect to see from sessions, speakers and sponsors when they attend the annual gathering in San Francisco.

API Security

Essential Steps to Building a Robust API Security Program

Anna Delaney • March 28, 2023

Recent high-profile breaches resulting from API attacks are "just the tip of the iceberg," said Gartner analyst Dionisio Zumerle. "What we have is a new way of exchanging information which is increasingly popular, and almost no organization has the recipe to secure that new way of communicating."

Cybercrime

Latitude Financial Admits 14M Customer Details Breached

Prajeet Nair • March 27, 2023

A hacking incident at Australian non-bank lender Latitude Financial affected a far greater number of individuals than initially disclosed, the company said Monday. It now estimates that its mid-March cybersecurity incident affected 14 million people although it has just over 2.8 million customers.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

TikTok Faces Further Bans in Europe

Akshaya Asokan • March 27, 2023

The French government imposed a ban on TikTok and other social media apps after concluding that "recreational apps" lack sufficient "levels of cybersecurity and protection of data to be deployed on administrative equipment," said Stanislas Guerini, the minister of transformation and public service.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

NY AG Hits Law Firm With $200K Settlement in Health Breach

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • March 27, 2023

A New York medical malpractice law firm will pay $200,000 and implement data security improvements to settle a HIPAA enforcement action by the state attorney general's office following a 2021 ransomware attack by LockBit. Law firm Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach paid the hackers $100,000 in 2021.

Finance & Banking

First Citizens CEO: We'll Preserve Strong SVB Bond With VCs

Michael Novinson • March 27, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank's new owner plans to double down on business with venture capital and private equity firms and the portfolio companies they serve. VC and PE-focused business accounts form the largest segment of the combined $143 billion loan portfolio of First Citizens and Silicon Valley Bank.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

US Limits Government Use of Advanced Smartphone Spyware

David Perera • March 27, 2023

The U.S. government limited its use of advanced surveillance software such as Pegasus through an executive order prohibiting agencies from buying licenses for spyware used by foreign governments to spy on dissidents. The order does not outright stop the government from purchasing spyware.

Cybercrime

Indian Police Charge Gang With Stealing 168M Citizens' Data

Jayant Chakravarti • March 27, 2023

Indian police busted six members of an alleged criminal gang that sold the personal data of 168 million Indian citizens, including defense personnel and government employees. Cyberabad Metropolitan Police Commissioner Stephen Raveendra called the operation a national security risk.

Finance & Banking

First Citizens-SVB Deal Gives Startups, VCs More Certainty

Michael Novinson • March 27, 2023

Cybersecurity startups that for decades turned to Silicon Valley Bank in a pinch will now find themselves working with a 125-year-old, North Carolina-based institution. First Citizens Bank has bought all Silicon Valley Bank deposits and loans from the FDIC, which rescued the bank after its collapse.