Fileless malware attacks, which were recently discovered in the networks of at least 140 banks, telecoms and governments, account for about 15% of known attacks today and have been around for years in different forms."Fileless malware attacks are becoming much more common and circumvent most of the endpoint protection and detection tools deployed today," Gartner security analyst Avivah Litan said.A recent discovery of fileless malware was reported on Wednesday by researchers at Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs. The attackers have not been identified and "attribution [is] almost impossible," according to Kaspersky.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Fileless malware attacks, which were recently discovered in the networks of at least 140 banks, telecoms and governments, account for about 15% of known attacks today and have been around for years in different forms."Fileless malware attacks are becoming much more common and circumvent most of the endpoint protection and detection tools deployed today," Gartner security analyst Avivah Litan said.A recent discovery of fileless malware was reported on Wednesday by researchers at Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs. The attackers have not been identified and "attribution [is] almost impossible," according to Kaspersky.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
IT managers disagree with chief executives over who is responsible for a cyber security breach, according to a survey released Thursday.The survey -- of a group of 221 chief executive officers and other C-level executives and another group of 984 IT decision makers -- found that each group largely believes the other group is responsible in the event of a breach.In the survey, 35% of C-level respondents said IT teams would be responsible in a breach, while 50% of IT leaders think that responsibility rests with their senior managers.Also, IT managers estimate a single cyber attack will cost their business nearly twice what top-level executives estimate. The IT managers put the cost of a single attack at $19 million, compared to the C-suite estimate of about $11 million.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
IT managers disagree with chief executives over who is responsible for a cyber security breach, according to a survey released Thursday.The survey -- of a group of 221 chief executive officers and other C-level executives and another group of 984 IT decision makers -- found that each group largely believes the other group is responsible in the event of a breach.In the survey, 35% of C-level respondents said IT teams would be responsible in a breach, while 50% of IT leaders think that responsibility rests with their senior managers.Also, IT managers estimate a single cyber attack will cost their business nearly twice what top-level executives estimate. The IT managers put the cost of a single attack at $19 million, compared to the C-suite estimate of about $11 million.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of the trickiest parts of proving the value of emerging smart city technology is showing how city residents could benefit from data being picked up by sensors located on light poles and along streets.On Tuesday, officials in Kansas City, Mo., took steps to connect how such real-time data gathered by sensors provides benefits to its citizens.City officials unveiled an online interactive map for the public that shows available parking, traffic and KC Streetcar locations in real time with data gathered from 122 video sensors along a two-mile segment of Main Street in the downtown.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of the trickiest parts of proving the value of emerging smart city technology is showing how city residents could benefit from data being picked up by sensors located on light poles and along streets.On Tuesday, officials in Kansas City, Mo., took steps to connect how such real-time data gathered by sensors provides benefits to its citizens.City officials unveiled an online interactive map for the public that shows available parking, traffic and KC Streetcar locations in real time with data gathered from 122 video sensors along a two-mile segment of Main Street in the downtown.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
BlackBerry on Tuesday announced a new line of business to provide developers with a secure, cloud-based, mobile communications platform for texting, voice, video and file sharing.Developers can insert these capabilities into their existing custom apps and services using the new BBM Enterprise SDK (software developer kit), BlackBerry said. The SDK will be sold as a per-user license on a subscription basis to developers, including those employed at enterprises, and to independent software vendors (ISVs).BlackBerry didn’t say what the licenses would cost, but did say the cost would be affordable, especially compared to communications products from competitors that usually charge on a usage basis for texts, voice and video calls. The SDK will be available worlwide later in February for apps running on iOS and Android.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Quebecois city of Montreal has long been known as a hotbed of creativity -- home of Cirque du Soleil and a hub for companies in the online gaming and special effects industries, not to mention its place as a financial and trade capital.Creativity played a key role when the city of 2 million (with 4 million regionally) competed against other municipalities globally to win the 2016 title of Intelligent Community of the Year.And now that commitment to creativity is spurring the city to explore a range of unique new smartphone apps and other startup-generated initiatives that leverage sensors, data collection and analysis, and machine learning to deal with snow removal, ever-increasing traffic and other municipal challenges.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
AT&T will launch its first 5G wireless service in Indianapolis and Austin later this year, offering theoretical top speeds of 400Mbps or higher, the company said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
A recent IDC survey found 84% of U.S. consumers are concerned about the privacy of their personal information, with 70% saying their concern is greater today than it was a few years ago.These concerns of consumers should also alarm businesses: Consumers are willing to switch to another bank, medical center or retailer if they feel their personal information is threatened, the survey found."Consumers can exact punishment for data breaches or mishandled data by changing buyer behavior or shifting loyalty," said Sean Pike, an analyst at IDC, in a statement. The survey, released last week, polled 2,500 U.S. consumers about their privacy concerns across four verticals: Financial services, healthcare, retail and government.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A recent IDC survey found 84% of U.S. consumers are concerned about the privacy of their personal information, with 70% saying their concern is greater today than it was a few years ago.These concerns of consumers should also alarm businesses: Consumers are willing to switch to another bank, medical center or retailer if they feel their personal information is threatened, the survey found."Consumers can exact punishment for data breaches or mishandled data by changing buyer behavior or shifting loyalty," said Sean Pike, an analyst at IDC, in a statement. The survey, released last week, polled 2,500 U.S. consumers about their privacy concerns across four verticals: Financial services, healthcare, retail and government.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Victims who were burned by Samsung Galaxy Note7 devices that overheated or exploded won't soon forget, but Samsung clearly wants to move beyond the disaster and the recall of all 3 million of its Note7 smartphones.After months of investigations, the South Korean company on Monday formally blamed short-circuiting in batteries by two battery manufacturers as the cause for overheating.In some cases, batteries were missing insulating tape around battery components or electrodes were damaged and bent. Some welding defects in some of the second wave of batteries by a different battery maker also caused short-circuiting.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
New technology such as low-cost video motion sensors and low-power, wide-area wireless networks are now driving smart-city pilot projects to reduce energy used by buildings and to cut traffic delays.While the promise of these innovations is great, that doesn't make it any easier to get city bureaucracies, local businesses and citizens on board to adopt the tech."There are a lot of pain points in cities with traffic congestion and housing needs, and also a lot of technology delivering results. The challenge is working with organizations and changing mindsets and building up awareness of what's possible with internet of things technology and low-power, wide-area networks," said Jamie Cudden, smart city program manager with the city of Dublin, Ireland, in an interview.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cybersecurity and staffing upgrades at the Internal Revenue Service appear to be in store, assuming Steven Mnuchin is confirmed as Treasury Secretary in the new Trump Administration.Mnuchin, a former CIO and executive vice president for Goldman Sachs, told senators in a five-hour confirmation hearing on Thursday that he is "very concerned about the lack of first-rate technology at the IRS" as well as staff cuts in recent years. Mnuchin is expected to be confirmed, and would likely work with Trump to pick the next IRS director.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cybersecurity and staffing upgrades at the Internal Revenue Service appear to be in store, assuming Steven Mnuchin is confirmed as Treasury Secretary in the new Trump Administration.Mnuchin, a former CIO and executive vice president for Goldman Sachs, told senators in a five-hour confirmation hearing on Thursday that he is "very concerned about the lack of first-rate technology at the IRS" as well as staff cuts in recent years. Mnuchin is expected to be confirmed, and would likely work with Trump to pick the next IRS director.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Fraud attempts on digital retail sales jumped 31% from Thanksgiving to Dec. 31 over the previous year, according to a survey of purchasing data from ACI Worldwide.The fraud increase was based on hundreds of millions of online transactions with major merchants globally. Also, the number of e-commerce transactions grew by 16% for the same period, ACI said.Some of the fraud attempts came from the use of credit card numbers purchased in underground chat channels, ACI said.“Given the consistent and alarming uptick in fraudulent activity on key dates, merchants must be proactive in their efforts to identify weak spots and define short and long-term strategies for improved security and enhanced customer experience,” said Markus Rinderer, senior vice president of platform solutions at ACI.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Fraud attempts on digital retail sales jumped 31% from Thanksgiving to Dec. 31 over the previous year, according to a survey of purchasing data from ACI Worldwide.The fraud increase was based on hundreds of millions of online transactions with major merchants globally. Also, the number of e-commerce transactions grew by 16% for the same period, ACI said.Some of the fraud attempts came from the use of credit card numbers purchased in underground chat channels, ACI said.“Given the consistent and alarming uptick in fraudulent activity on key dates, merchants must be proactive in their efforts to identify weak spots and define short and long-term strategies for improved security and enhanced customer experience,” said Markus Rinderer, senior vice president of platform solutions at ACI.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Many analysts and business leaders believe there is a severe need for qualified cybersecurity professionals in the U.S., something that has caught the eye of at least one key congressman.U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Wednesday said more needs to be done to address the cybersecurity labor shortage.[To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page.]"I agree 110% that we need to strengthen the workforce" of cybersecurity professionals, McCaul said during a meeting with reporters at the National Press Club.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Many analysts and business leaders believe there is a severe need for qualified cybersecurity professionals in the U.S., something that has caught the eye of at least one key congressman.U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Wednesday said more needs to be done to address the cybersecurity labor shortage.[To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page.]"I agree 110% that we need to strengthen the workforce" of cybersecurity professionals, McCaul said during a meeting with reporters at the National Press Club.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security said Wednesday his top priority in 2017 will be to push for creation of a cybersecurity agency within the Department of Homeland Security.
“DHS needs focus and resources, and they are doing a decent job, but could be doing a lot better with the help of Congress,” said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) in comments to reporters at the National Press Club. “It’s not a Republican or Democratic issue.” Ed Schipul
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Matt Hamblen