Tag Archive for: Preparing

FBI’s Chris Wray warns Chinese hackers preparing to attack US infrastructure ‘to induce panic’

/in


FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Thursday that a hacking group linked to the Chinese government is waiting for the right moment to “deal a devastating blow” to U.S. critical infrastructure.

Wray delivered a keynote speech at the Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats in Nashville, and told national security and intelligence experts that the risks posed by the government of China to U.S. national and economic security are “upon us now.”

The director said a recent bureau investigation found that the Chinese government had gained illicit access to networks within America’s “critical telecommunications, energy, water, and other infrastructure sectors.”

“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has made it clear that it considers every sector that makes our society run as fair game in its bid to dominate on the world stage, and that its plan is to land low blows against civilian infrastructure to try to induce panic and break America’s will to resist,” Wray said — the FBI explained “these vital sectors—everything from water treatment facilities and energy grids to transportation and information technology—form the backbone of our society.”

“The fact is, the PRC’s targeting of our critical infrastructure is both broad and unrelenting,” he added. “It’s using that mass, those numbers, to give itself the ability to physically wreak havoc on our critical infrastructure at a time of its choosing,”

Wray said CCP-sponsored cyber actors “prepositioned” themselves to potentially mount cyber offenses against American energy companies in 2011—targeting 23 different pipeline operators, with Wray saying this helps understand current motivations.

“When one victim company set up a honeypot—essentially, a trap designed to look like a legitimate part of a computer network with decoy documents—it took the hackers all of 15 minutes to steal data related to the control and monitoring systems, while ignoring financial and business-related information, which suggests their goals were even more sinister than stealing a leg up economically,” he said.

The CCP also targeted critical infrastructure organizations through more…

Source…

Cybersecurity in the quantum era: Preparing for Q Day – News

/in


The concept of ‘Q Day’ refers to a hypothetical scenario where quantum computers become advanced enough to break most of the encryption that currently secures digital communications and data

Read more…


By Aditya Sinha

Computers, in their earliest forms, were met with a blend of awe and scepticism. A humorous anecdote that captures this sentiment involves a 1940s computer called ENIAC. When it was first unveiled, people were astounded by its size and complexity. Some joked that this massive machine, which required an entire room, would eventually evolve to become so advanced that every home in America would have one. The idea seemed ludicrous at the time; after all, who would need such a colossal, complex machine at home? This prediction, once a source of amusement, now underpins our reality.

…

Source…

Six steps for preparing a manufacturing organization for a ransomware attack

/in


In Q2 of this year, we observed that 70% of 177 alleged ransomware attacks that impacted industrial organizations were in the manufacturing sector. It’s really nothing new – in 2021 manufacturing became the industry most targeted by ransomware, and that trend continued throughout 2022 and 2023.

Many large companies began their manufacturing cybersecurity journey in 2017 following the WannaCry and NotPetya incidents. But many jumped right into technical solutions and neglected basic foundational elements of an operational technology (OT) security program.

Other small and medium-sized companies have not yet started their manufacturing security journey. Here we outline a step-by-step process for manufacturers that have not yet developed a manufacturing cybersecurity resilience program, and we also offer a double-check for large manufacturers to ensure that they haven’t overlooked some of the basics.

Step 1: Take care of the basics.

Manufacturers need to start with an asset management program. If the organization does not have one, it has two choices: if it can afford to buy technology specifically for OT asset management, buy it. If not, grab a spreadsheet and start an inventory of everything in the plant. At the same time, train employees in the plant on what they should do if a ransomware message appears. And have top leadership work with the legal team to determine if the company would pay the ransom – don’t wait until a crisis to research the details behind this complex decision.

Step 2: Put in fundamental protective measures.

While working on Step 1 also start putting some protective measures in place. Get the IT team involved (even if it’s outsourced) – they are an important partner in these activities. First, determine if there are any assets in the plants that are exposed to the internet, and if so, remediate. Second, vendors can spread malware from customer to customer, so put a process in place for vendors to securely access and transfer files to the plants. Finally, implement a secure remote access solution, including multi-factor authentication.

Step 3: Prepare for the worst.

While putting the fundamentals in place as well as some basic protective measures it’s…

Source…

How Useful Is Cyber Insurance When Preparing for a Ransomware Attack?

/in


Some Vendors Offer Warranties Along with Cyber Insurance Policies

Cyber insurance is a growing trend and, in many cases, an operational requirement. However, some healthcare organizations don’t have the resources to self-insure. For smaller organizations, there are still ways to reduce the cost of cyber insurance premiums. Tony Roberts, senior solutions engineer at CDW, notes that some third-party security providers, such as Rubrik, offer warranties that insurance companies recognize as extra assurance of an organization’s data protection strategy.

In April, Rubrik made two groundbreaking announcements about its ransomware warranties. In a press release, Rubrik noted, “With the rapid growth of cyberattacks, organizations share the same concern: ‘If we get hit by ransomware, can we recover?’”

The company’s response was to increase the value of warranty it offers as part of its cyber insurance policies. “Rubrik is confident in our data security solution and committed to a shared responsibility between customers and software vendors,” the release notes. “As such, we are putting more skin in the game by doubling our warranty to $10 million.”

In addition, Rubrik issued a separate press release to announce its partnership with Zscaler to offer a double extortion ransomware solution. “Rubrik’s integration with Zscaler Data Loss Prevention proactively identifies sensitive business data across enterprise, cloud and SaaS environments so that specific data protections can be implemented easily to prevent data loss,” the release noted. 

Read more in the CDW white paper “How to Increase Your Ransomware Recovery Capability.”

Some Larger Organizations Can Self-Insure Against Ransomware

While cyber insurance can help to defray the costs of a ransomware attack, it also can be a beacon to cybercriminals, indicating a willingness to pay the ransom the criminals intend to demand. In some cases, organizations might want to consider self-insuring to protect themselves in the event of a ransomware attack.

“Self-insurance basically becomes a line item in the budget,” explains Jason Cray, data protection strategist at CDW. “They budget and say, ‘We already pay…

Source…