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There has been an significant increase in PYSA ransomware targeting education institutions in 12 U.S. states and the U.K., according to a joint Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) flash industry alert. 

As more people turn to their cellphones for news and information, there becomes an increased need to develop innovative alerts and warning applications (apps). These apps notify the public of a current or imminent event or disaster and provide the public with any necessary actions to keep citizens safe. The latest National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) Spotlight highlights the successful use of these apps in real-life scenarios across the United States and demonstrates how the NECP’s recommendations promote the development and adoption of new technologies that enhance communication capabilities.

The SolarWinds supply chain attack has, to date, impacted nine government agencies and as many as 100 private sector companies, according to some reports. By the time the full extent of the hack is known, it may be the most widespread security breach on record. But what does this mean for the organizations impacted and is it potentially insurable? In light of the massive cyberattack, we spoke to Seth Rachlin, Executive Vice President and Insurance Lead at Capgemini, to discuss the implications of this attack and the fast-growing cyber insurance market. 

Area 1 Security recently stopped a sophisticated Microsoft Office 365 credential harvesting campaign targeting C-suite executives, high-level assistants, and financial departments across numerous industries, including financial services, insurance, and retail. Further research and analysis of the activity revealed a much larger operation than originally discovered. This included several additional directly-related credential phishing campaigns that targeted the same industries and positions using sophisticated techniques and advanced phishing kits, to bypass Microsoft’s native email defenses and email authentication.  

It’s simple: If you are using a legacy ecosystem, your compliance is at risk. The fact that your security hasn’t yet been compromised is no evidence of your safety; it really is a case of it being quiet, too quiet. When it comes to security breaches, it’s not a question of if, but when. Whether your household or institutional architecture, the full value of security is only appreciated after disaster has already struck.

Nearly daily we see new stories of cybercriminals breaching security walls, stealing valuable data, and then holding it hostage in return for money. Companies risk exposing valued customer data as well as their own reputations, placing their credibility in disarray.

It’s all too common to see “fear appeals” used to motivate users to keep their guards up against the vast amount of cybercriminal activity that occurs online daily. The term FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) was originally coined in the 1970s in reference to IBM’s marketing technique of spreading scary rumors about a competitor’s new product. Ever since, it’s been a mainstay used by security practitioners to try to win budget and to scare employees into following the rules laid down by IT. As cybersecurity research Karen Renaud put it in a recent Wall Street Journal piece, “Companies often turn to a powerful emotion to get employees to be vigilant about cybersecurity. They scare them.”

Mimecast released an incident response report on their internal investigation of the SolarWinds supply chain attack. The investigation was supported by third-party forensics and cyber incident response experts at Mandiant, a division of FireEye, and in coordination with law enforcement to aid their investigation into this threat actor. 

The education space has become a major target for cybercriminals. In fact, CISA and the FBI recently issued a joint statement warning K-12 schools of worsening dangers in 2021 after a recent 57% spike ransomware attacks in the sector. So, how can teachers and students stay safe? Here, we speak with Kelvin Coleman, Executive Director, National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) about how educators and K-12 cybersecurity leaders can better protect students’ privacy during distance learning sessions.