Threat actors launched a cyberattack against the Texas Office of Court Administration, the IT provider for many Texas courts, and encrypted their computer systems with ransomware, leaving those systems useless. Cognizant, which has a large presence in Dallas-Fort Worth and is one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated providers of information technology services for other companies, was hit with ransomware with losses currently estimated between $50 million and $70 million.
New research has found that while most consumers are taking necessary security precautions to protect their online accounts, businesses may not be doing enough to protect their information – inadvertently driving sales to competitors that can.
Two-fifths (40%) of consumers hold business leaders personally responsible for ransomware attacks businesses suffer, according to global research from Veritas Technologies.
Today the world is focusing on the health and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, cybercriminals are taking advantage of the rampant fear and uncertainty people are experiencing.
Honda's global operations have been hit with a ransomware attack. The company said earlier that the attack had affected operations at several facilities, as well as both customer service and financial services operations.
There has been a 400 percent increase in attempted hacks since February 2020 coinciding with a period when the maritime industry turned to greater use of technology and working from home due to the Coronavirus pandemic, according to Israeli cybersecurity specialist Naval Dome.
According to a report from Cisco, 5G’s faster broadband (10 to 20 times faster than 4G) will enable 12 billion mobile-ready devices and IoT connections by 2022 compared to 9 billion in 2017. While this is great news for the rising number of smart device users globally, the increased connectivity can be taxing for IoT security. The combination of higher bandwidth and lower latency is a double-edged sword. While it enables new, exciting use cases like Vehicle-to-Vehicle and telemedicine, it is critical to not lose sight of the fact that it expands the scope of security threats, such as ransomware and botnets, among others.
Although the ransomware plague took a nosedive in terms of the victim count years ago, it’s still alive and kicking. It used to home in on any computers indiscriminately, but at some point, the malicious actors realized they could squeeze a lot more profit out of the enterprise than out of individual users. This shift made businesses the most coveted target for ransomware operators.