Category Archives: private sector

Chinese hackers starting to return focus to U.S. corporations

Posted on by

Security researchers recently found a hacking group with suspected ties to the Chinese government engaged in what appears to be corporate espionage against multiple U.S. companies. The findings underscore an emerging, albeit opaque trend in which hackers linked to Beijing are conducting economic, cyber-enabled espionage, despite the Chinese Communist Party agreeing to stop such activity against the U.S. as part of a 2015 agreement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S President Barack Obama. Experts say the 2015 truce resulted in a noticeable downturn in economic espionage. But there are signs the agreement may be deteriorating under the Trump administration.  According to recent research by multinational services giant PwC, a hacking group known as “KeyBoy” has returned to the fold with a data theft campaign aimed primarily at Western organizations. The operation, PwC Threat Intelligence Analyst Bart Parys told CyberScoop, shows the continued technical development of a previously reported group that has apparently […]

The post Chinese hackers starting to return focus to U.S. corporations appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Chinese hackers starting to return focus to U.S. corporations→

Before joining Trump’s White House, Michael Flynn advised cybersecurity firms

Posted on by

Prior to his short-lived term as National Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn assisted private sector firms in building their connections with governments around the world. Flynn offered consultation services and guidance while serving on either the Advisory Council or Board of Directors for at least four private sector cybersecurity firms, including Palo Alto Networks, GreenZone Systems, which is now Saife, Halo Privacy and OSY Technologies, an organization connected to Israeli cyberarms dealer NSO Group. Flynn, according to his Public Financial Disclosure Form, held at least 11 positions among various companies in the private sector within 12 months of January 22, 2017, the eventual date of his appointment as Trump’s National Security Advisor. Flynn terminated his positions at nearly all of these companies in late 2016 when Trump nominated him as National Security Advisor, according to disclosure forms. The only two positions he stayed on […]

The post Before joining Trump’s White House, Michael Flynn advised cybersecurity firms appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Before joining Trump’s White House, Michael Flynn advised cybersecurity firms→

Former CIA Director calls on public to demand cybersecurity legislation

Posted on by

Former CIA Director John Brennan is urging Americans to encourage federal lawmakers to push forward cybersecurity-focused legislation, regulations and other rules so that the U.S. is better prepared in cyberspace. “You all need to continue to put the pressure on your elected representatives in Congress to take this matter seriously,” Brennan said Wednesday during a speech at the Gartner Risk and Security Summit. “People frequently say it’s going to take a 9/11 in the cyber realm in order for us as a country to be able to come to terms and deal more effectively with cyber challenges.” “A lot of work needs to be done in the halls of Congress, as well as in the executive branch, in order to allow the government to deal with the challenges of the 21st century,” he said. Brennan, who served during the Obama administration and was responsible for standing up a new wing of the […]

The post Former CIA Director calls on public to demand cybersecurity legislation appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Former CIA Director calls on public to demand cybersecurity legislation→

Report: more companies are hiring CISOs as private industry faces cyberattacks

Posted on by

As cybersecurity budgets and staffing needs continue to increase, businesses must also move to address increasingly malicious threats, according to ISACA’s annual global cyber security survey. Last year, 53 percent of respondents reported an increase in cyber attacks, with 80 percent reporting that an attack is likely to strike their business in 2017, according to the survey of 600 firms. Just 53 percent, however, reported that their business had a formal process for handling these attacks. Cybersecurity is gaining more attention from businesses; the number of organizations with CISOs is up 15 percent from ISACA’s 2016 State of Cyber Security report, with 65 percent now including the position. But while cybersecurity is becoming more of a concern, the availability of tools to combat attacks is not keeping pace. “Consider that this year’s survey found that only fewer than half of security leaders are confident in their team’s ability to handle anything beyond […]

The post Report: more companies are hiring CISOs as private industry faces cyberattacks appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Report: more companies are hiring CISOs as private industry faces cyberattacks→

Cyber experts tell Congress that if companies can’t hack back, maybe the feds should

Posted on by

Corporate cybersecurity experts told senators that the U.S. government should launch offensive cyber-missions against hackers who attack and steal information from American companies. During a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing Wednesday, Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., asked a panel of prominent private sector cybersecurity executives how the U.S. government could better collaborate with American companies to combat malicious digital activity. The four-person panel, which consisted of individuals that work for Symantec, Monsanto, the Marine Corps University and a prominent U.S. law firm, unanimously agreed and told lawmakers that the U.S. government must do more to curb malicious cyber-activity. The follow-up question, however, of how exactly the country should advance such a broad effort, was met with widely different answers. “I would say where the government can help corporate America most is to do the thing corporate America cannot do for itself,” said Kevin Keeney, director of cyber incident response for the […]

The post Cyber experts tell Congress that if companies can’t hack back, maybe the feds should appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Cyber experts tell Congress that if companies can’t hack back, maybe the feds should→

FBI is ‘moving towards’ predictive cybercrime-fighting tools, assistant director says

Posted on by

The FBI’s cybercrime unit is developing predictive policing capabilities, Assistant Director Scott Smith said during a panel discussion at the 2017 RSA conference. “It’s where we are moving, and hope to go when you talk about predicting as opposed to proactive and reactive. Reactive is consistently where we have been, proactive means we’re really trying […]

The post FBI is ‘moving towards’ predictive cybercrime-fighting tools, assistant director says appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading FBI is ‘moving towards’ predictive cybercrime-fighting tools, assistant director says→