Content by Scott Ferguson

Marriott Suffers Another Massive Data Breach

Scott Ferguson  •  March 31, 2020

Hotel giant Marriott, which in 2018 disclosed that it had suffered one of the worst data breaches in history, is now warning that it suffered a new breach earlier this year that exposed personal details - although not payment card information - for 5.2 million customers.

Phishing Campaigns Leverage Latest COVID-19 Themes

Scott Ferguson , Apurva Venkat  •  March 31, 2020

With the U.S. and other nations adopting economic stimulus packages as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, fraudsters are now using the promise of government checks as phishing lures to spread banking Trojans, according to a pair of new security research reports.

FBI Shutters Alleged Russian Cybercriminal Forum

Scott Ferguson  •  March 25, 2020

The FBI this week seized the domain of Deer.io, which federal authorities describe as a clearinghouse for stolen data and cybercriminal services operating from Russia. The alleged administrator of the now-shuttered site has been arrested and charged.

Hackers Targeted World Health Organization

Scott Ferguson , Apurva Venkat  •  March 24, 2020

A hacking group targeted the World Health Organization earlier this month with an apparently unsuccessful spear-phishing campaign designed to harvest credentials as the United Nations organization was grappling with the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Should Location Data Be Used in Battle Against COVID-19?

Ishita Chigilli Palli , Scott Ferguson  •  March 20, 2020

The Trump administration is reportedly in talks with tech companies, including Facebook and Google, to explore whether it's possible to use real-time location data from smartphones to support efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. But some privacy advocates are raising concerns about such tracking efforts.

Uncertain Markets May Drive Cybersecurity Consolidation

Scott Ferguson  •  March 17, 2020

With U.S. stock markets suffering their worst day since 1987 on Monday, most technology firms took a hit as Wall Street continues to be rattled by the COVID-19 crisis. Experts predict this will drive fresh waves of consolidation and M&A in the cybersecurity market, as well as growth in hot areas.

Cybersecurity Sector Faces Reckoning After Coronavirus Hits

Scott Ferguson  •  March 10, 2020

Wall Street has been hit by the twin threats of the new coronavirus as well as oil prices plummeting, with the Dow dropping 2,000 points on Monday for its worst day in 12 years. Amidst fears that a recession could tank the global economy, some experts still see upsides for the cybersecurity sector.

CISA's Krebs: 2016 US Elections Were Cyber 'Sputnik' Moment

Scott Ferguson  •  February 25, 2020

The 2016 U.S. presidential election served as a wake-up call for lawmakers and the public about the threat that cyberattackers can pose to the country's democracy, CISA Director Christopher Krebs said at the RSA 2020 conference. Election security and ransomware remain his agency's two biggest concerns.

RSA President Rohit Ghai on 'The Human Element'

Scott Ferguson  •  February 25, 2020

While the cybersecurity industry has increasingly focused on the roles artificial intelligence and machine learning can play in thwarting attacks, the humans behind the algorithms remain both points of strength and weakness, says RSA President Rohit Ghai, who keynoted the RSA 2020 conference on Tuesday.

Next Cloud Security Challenge: Containers and Kubernetes

Scott Ferguson  •  February 25, 2020

The increasing use of containers and orchestration tools, such as Kubernetes, are driving demand for new cloud security and application deployment processes, according to research from the Cloud Security Alliance presented Monday at the RSA 2020 conference.

US, UK Blame Russia for Cyberattack in Country of Georgia

Scott Ferguson  •  February 21, 2020

U.S. and U.K. officials are blaming the Russian military for launching an October 2019 cyberattack on the country of Georgia that crippled at least 2,000 government, news media and court websites over the course of one day.

Dell to Sell RSA to Private Equity Firm for $2 Billion

Scott Ferguson  •  February 18, 2020

Dell Technologies has agreed to sell its RSA security division to private equity firm Symphony Technology Group in an all cash deal worth more than $2 billion, the companies announced Tuesday. The news comes on the eve of the annual RSA Conference in San Francisco, which starts Monday.

Unpatched VPN Servers Hit by Apparent Iranian APT Groups

Scott Ferguson  •  February 18, 2020

Unpatched Fortinet, Palo Alto and Pulse Secure VPN servers, as well as Citrix gateways, continue to be targeted by hackers, who are exploiting critical flaws to install backdoors inside corporate networks. Security firm ClearSky warns that apparent Iranian APT attackers are the latest to join the fray.

RSA Conference 2020: ISMG Spotlights Security Leaders

Scott Ferguson  •  February 14, 2020

Information Security Media Group, a premier media partner at the annual RSA Conference, will conduct over 200 video interviews at this year's event with cybersecurity thought leaders, executives, CISOs and sponsors.

RSA 2020: The Show Must Go On

Scott Ferguson  •  February 13, 2020

While public health concerns over the spread of the coronavirus are leading to the cancellation of some international events, the RSA Conference 2020 will proceed as scheduled in San Francisco Feb. 24-28.