Government, industry scramble to prioritize ransomware amid fallout from pipeline, JBS breaches

Three weeks ago, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the most powerful business lobby in the country — called on the federal government to take several steps to combat ransomware. This week, the White House’s deputy national security adviser penned a letter to industry … urging them to take several steps to combat ransomware. Those are two of the latest moves in a long dance between the feds and private sector over cybersecurity, with a tempo that has hastened considerably since the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. Even as both sides say the respective calls for action on ransomware in the oft-hailed “public-private partnership” are well-received, they’re redoubling their messages to each other. As the ransomware challenge looms increasingly large and has proven difficult to wrestle, two of the largest players are trying to find their footing. “While businesses need to do what they can to enhance their security, the government […]

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Beware of These 3 Scams Making the Rounds This Tax Season

On March 17, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department announced the extension of the federal income tax filing due date from April 15, 2021 to May 17, 2021. This decision is designed “to help taxpayers navigate the unusual ci… Continue reading Beware of These 3 Scams Making the Rounds This Tax Season

Death, taxes, and hacks: How to prevent cyberattacks during tax season

Remember how folks did taxes in the olden days? They’d collect large piles of paper documents, fill out endless pages of forms, stuff a bunch of receipts in a shoebox and – after filing to the IRS – cross their fingers hoping they didn’t forget somethi… Continue reading Death, taxes, and hacks: How to prevent cyberattacks during tax season

New phishing campaign targets taxpayer credentials

A new phishing campaign is targeting U.S. taxpayers with documents that purport to contain tax-related content, but ultimately deliver NetWire and Remcos malware – two prolific remote access trojans (RATs) which allows attackers to take control o… Continue reading New phishing campaign targets taxpayer credentials

IRS to Make ID Protection PIN Open to All

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said this week that beginning in 2021 it will allow all taxpayers to apply for an identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN), a single-use code designed to block identity thieves from falsely claiming a tax refund in your name. Currently, IP PINs are issued only to those who fill out an ID theft affidavit, or to taxpayers who’ve experienced tax refund fraud in previous years. Continue reading IRS to Make ID Protection PIN Open to All

IRS COVID-19 Relief Payment Deadlines Anchor Convincing Phish

The upcoming deadlines for applying for coronavirus relief are the lure for a phish that gets around email security gateways by using a legitimate SharePoint page for data-harvesting. Continue reading IRS COVID-19 Relief Payment Deadlines Anchor Convincing Phish

Can You Crack Monero? IRS Offers $625,000 Bounty for Anyone Who Can Break Privacy of Cryptocurrency

The IRS want to trace Monero transactions, which – unlike Bitcoin – are entirely private Cracking Monero could help the IRS trace those who have avoided paying tax, and assist in criminal investigations Do you think you can crack Monero’s layers of pri… Continue reading Can You Crack Monero? IRS Offers $625,000 Bounty for Anyone Who Can Break Privacy of Cryptocurrency