Author Archives: Jeff Peters

Top Dark Web Markets: TheRealDeal, Paranoia and Zero-Day Exploits

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In trying to demystify the Dark Web, we’ve talked about the customer-friendly features of markets, the hand-holding nature of cybercrime-as-a-service, and the secure payment options that can protect anonymous buyers. As we turn our attention to the exploit-centric TheRealDeal Market, it gives us a chance to examine an aspect of the Dark Web that isn’t so rose-colored:… Read More Continue reading Top Dark Web Markets: TheRealDeal, Paranoia and Zero-Day Exploits→

Podcast: DNC Fallout Continues, LastPass Exploit Discovered and Bitcoin is Not Real Money

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A new episode of the SurfWatch Cyber Risk Roundup has been posted, Episode 77: DNC Fallout Continues, LastPass Exploit Discovered and Bitcoin is Not Real Money: The fallout from the breach at the Democratic National Committee continued as WikiLeaks published more information and Julian Assange vowed that there was more to come. UK Telecom O2 became… Read More Continue reading Podcast: DNC Fallout Continues, LastPass Exploit Discovered and Bitcoin is Not Real Money→

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Supply Chains and Third-Parties Continue to Cause Data Breaches

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When putting together our recent Mid-Year 2016 Cyber Risk Report, the SurfWatch Labs team began by trying to answer one crucial question: with numerous cybercrime events across thousands of organizations this year, is there a central theme that emerges from all of that data? In 2014, the data was dominated by a seemingly endless string of… Read More Continue reading Supply Chains and Third-Parties Continue to Cause Data Breaches→

Podcast: Pokemon Go Tops Cybercrime Targets, GOP Unveils Cyber Platform and Other Risk Trends

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A new episode of the SurfWatch Cyber Risk Roundup has been posted, Episode 76: Pokemon Go Tops Cybercrime Targets, GOP Unveils Cyber Platform and Other Risk Trends: The popular Pokemon Go was this week’s top trending cybercrime target following several incidents including DDoS attacks that disrupted service. DDoS attacks against the U.S. Congress, Philippines Government… Read More Continue reading Podcast: Pokemon Go Tops Cybercrime Targets, GOP Unveils Cyber Platform and Other Risk Trends→

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Cybercrime is Increasingly Interconnected, Says New SurfWatch Labs Report

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The first half of 2016 is over, and SurfWatch Labs analysts have spent the past few weeks sifting through the huge amount of cybercrime data we collected — totaling tens of thousands of CyberFacts across more than 3,400 industry targets — in order to identify threat intelligence trends to include in our mid-year 2016 report. “If anything,” the report notes, “the stories behind these… Read More Continue reading Cybercrime is Increasingly Interconnected, Says New SurfWatch Labs Report→

Costs of Data Breaches Rising, But Its Not All Bad News

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It should come as no surprise, but data breaches are costly for organizations. Each stolen record containing sensitive or confidential information costs an organization an average of $158, according to the 2016 Ponemon Cost of Data Breach Study released last month. That price more than doubles – to $355 – when looking at a highly… Read More Continue reading Costs of Data Breaches Rising, But Its Not All Bad News→

More Financial Institutions Fall Victim to SWIFT Attacks

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In late June, reports surfaced of an unnamed Ukrainian bank having $10 million stolen, adding to the growing list of cyber-attacks leveraging SWIFT, the messaging system used by financial institutions around the world. “At the current moment, dozens of banks (mostly in Ukraine and Russia) have been compromised, from which has been stolen hundreds of millions of… Read More Continue reading More Financial Institutions Fall Victim to SWIFT Attacks→

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Top Dark Web Markets: HANSA, Piracy and Exit Scams

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HANSA Market is the third most popular dark web market this year, according to data from SurfWatch Labs. It’s a new and growing market focused on the security of its users. Previously in this series we’ve talked about Alpha Bay and the problem of stolen credentials and Dream Market and the cybercrime-as-a-service model. As we turn… Read More Continue reading Top Dark Web Markets: HANSA, Piracy and Exit Scams→

Podcast: Healthcare Leaks, POS Breaches, and Latest Malware and Legal News

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A new episode of the SurfWatch Cyber Risk Roundup has been posted, Episode 75: Healthcare Leaks, POS Breaches, and Latest Malware and Legal News: Several large healthcare databases have been put up for sale on the dark web, and the actor behind the leaks is promising more. Point-of-sale breaches made headlines this week at Hard… Read More Continue reading Podcast: Healthcare Leaks, POS Breaches, and Latest Malware and Legal News→

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The “IT Middle Class” and the Growing Skills Gap

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One of the cyber challenges that has long faced organizations is the IT skills gap, and as cybercriminals have widened their focus and moved down the food chain to target more small and medium-sized businesses, that problem has become more pronounced. This is particularly true for what Confer founder and VP of products Paul Morville describes… Read More Continue reading The “IT Middle Class” and the Growing Skills Gap→