Tag Archive for: Aware

Hospital for Sick Children says it’s ‘aware’ of online statement offering free decryptor

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Toronto

The Hospital for Sick Children says it is aware of an online statement from a ransomware group that offers a decryptor to restore systems impacted by a mid-December cybersecurity incident.

Ransomware group has offered a decryptor to restore systems affected by cybersecurity incident

The Canadian Press ·

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids Hospital) at the end of November 2022. SickKids says it’s aware of an online statement from a ransomware group that offers a decryptor to restore systems impacted by a cybersecurity incident. (Michael Wilson/CBC)

The Hospital for Sick Children says it is aware of an online statement from a ransomware group that offers a decryptor to restore systems impacted by a mid-December cybersecurity incident.

Canada’s largest pediatric health-care centre said in a news release issued Sunday evening that the statement includes “an offer of a free decryptor” after some of its systems were impacted by a ransomware attack on Dec. 18.

The hospital says it has engaged “third-party experts to validate and assess the use of the decryptor” mentioned in the statement.

The hospital had said after the attack that it had delayed lab and imaging results and it could lead to longer wait times, noting that some of its systems could be offline for weeks.

The hospital had said at the time that it was unable to provide details about the nature of the attack, calling it an “active and ongoing incident.”

SickKids said in the Sunday statement that it has restored “over 60 per cent of priority systems” as of Jan. 1 and has not made a ransomware payment.

It said there is no evidence to date that personal information was affected by the attack.

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Lesser-Known Cyber Threats That You Should Be Aware of in 2023

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Following major cyber attacks in 2020 and 2021 and concerns over data privacy and security, cybersecurity solutions will continue gaining importance in 2023. Here’s a look at some prominent cyber security trends in 2022 and some of the more obscure cyber threats that you may not have heard of so far.

According to a report from INTERPOL, the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted cybercriminals’ focus from small businesses and individual targets to large multinational corporations, government organizations, and public infrastructure. As organizations worldwide opt for remote operations, cybercriminals plan to leverage the resulting security vulnerabilities for malicious objectives.

According to the report, some of the more common cyber threats following the pandemic include online scams, ransomware, data harvesting malware, phishing, DDoS, misinformation, and the widespread use of malicious domains.

See More: The Top Cybersecurity Trends to Be Aware of in 2023

Uncommon But Deadly Cyber Threats You Should Be Aware of in 2023

During crises like pandemics,  recessions, and wars, organizations must enhance their ability to detect intrusions while minimizing potential vulnerabilities that cybercrime actors can exploit. Cyber security is not a concern for the IT department alone. Every team member in an organization needs to be aware of potential cracks that cybercriminals can slip through. The following, albeit not very common, are potentially damaging to any business:

Cryptojacking

Cryptojacking is widely known as a cyberattack where criminals use their victim’s computing devices to generate cryptocurrency without the knowledge or consent of the device owner. This type of crime typically happens if the victim downloads malicious scripts onto their system. 

This is one of the more benign types of cybercrimes, as the only thing impacted is the victim’s computing power, harming the device’s performance. On the other hand, the enormous power requirement for crypto mining can potentially result in massive energy costs and problems with organizational productivity if left unchecked.

Slow device performance, overheating, frequent system crashes, and high…

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Aware teams with MFA provider to fight ransomware, makes $2.5M strategic investment

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Aware teams with MFA provider to fight ransomware, makes $2.5M strategic investment

Aware has formed a partnership with Miracl, which provides multi-factor authentication through a single step, and made a $2.5 million investment in its new partner’s parent company Omlis Limited, as it seeks to apply its biometrics to minimizing risk from data breaches and ransomware.

The partnership is expected to enable Aware to extend its cloud-based biometric authentication to customers in financial services and other industries to protect against data breaches and ransomware, through a mutual reseller agreement, according to the announcement. Miracle contributes risk management functionality to Aware’s solutions portfolio, and makes its “adaptive authentication” services more varied to fit specific customer needs.

“Data breaches and ransomware are continuing to wreak havoc on enterprises, and recent high-profile attacks like the Colonial Pipeline are reminders of the escalating threats we continue to face,” says Bob Eckel, chief executive officer and president of Aware. “In many cases, government agencies are calling on organizations to pursue multifactor authentication (MFA) to enhance their security. To date, many defenses against cybercrimes have relied on zero knowledge trust, which has several disadvantages; or traditional passwords, which are prone to login errors and irritating reset requirements. With MFA that incorporates biometrics, organizations can now have unprecedented protection and user privacy without the risks or frustrations of other approaches. This technology we now have available is an important and effective tool against these sorts of attacks.”

The partners can sell each other’s technologies and integrate them into their own product lines under the agreement, which will allow them to bring passwordless login products to market quickly.

Miracl gains access to Aware’s affordable, high-performance biometrics to provide a more extensive range of authentication capabilities along with its flagship authentication and transaction-signing solution, Miracl Trust.

“Ransomware attacks have increased more than 150 percent between the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period the previous year. MFA is…

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List of Most Popular Phone Scams to be Aware of

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Phone scammers continue to call citizens in Logan and Champaign County and the surrounding area requesting personal information. Law enforcement reminds the public DO NOT give out these details over the phone. Anyone receiving these types of calls should call the Bellefontaine Police Department at 599-1010 (if you live in the city) or the Logan County Sheriff’s Office at 599-3333 (county residents).

So how do you recognize a phone scam?

Phone scams come in many forms, but they tend to make similar promises and threats or ask you to pay in specific ways. Here’s how to recognize a phone scam.

THERE IS NO PRIZE
The caller might say you were “selected” for an offer or that you’ve won a lottery. But if you have to pay to get the prize, it’s not a prize.

YOU WON’T BE ARRESTED
Scammers might pretend to be law enforcement or a federal agency. They might say you’ll be arrested, fined, or deported if you don’t pay taxes or some other debt right away. The goal is to scare you into paying. Actual law enforcement and federal agencies won’t call and threaten you.

YOU DON’T NEED TO DECIDE NOW
Most legitimate businesses will give you time to think their offer over and get written information about it before asking you to commit. Take your time. Don’t get pressured into deciding on the spot.

THERE’S NEVER A GOOD REASON TO SEND CASH OR PAY WITH A GIFT CARD
Scammers will often ask you to pay in a way that makes it hard for you to get your money back — by wiring money, putting money on a gift card, prepaid card, cash reload card or using a money transfer app. Anyone who asks you to pay that way is a scammer.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WON’T CALL TO CONFIRM YOUR SENSITIVE INFORMATION
It’s never a good idea to give out sensitive information like your Social Security number to someone who calls you unexpectedly, even if they say they’re with the Social Security Administration or IRS.

Examples of Common Phone Scams
Any scam can happen over the phone. But here are some popular angles phone scammers like to use:

IMPOSTER SCAMS
A scammer pretends to be someone you trust — a government agency like the Social Security Administration or the IRS, a family member, a love interest, or…

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