Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

Data Theft Via MOVEit: 4.5 Million More Individuals Affected

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 14, 2023

The fallout from the Clop cybercrime group's mass theft of data from MOVEit servers continues to increase. Colorado's state healthcare agency alone is now notifying 4 million affected individuals. The latest tally of victims has reached 670 organizations and 46 million individuals.

Cyber Review: Teens Caused Chaos With Low-Complexity Attacks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 11, 2023

In an after-action report on how the Lapsus$ crime group hacked "dozens of well-defended companies with low-complexity attacks," the U.S. Cyber Safety Review Board urges organizations to implement more robust two-factor authentication systems, plus regulations to combat SIM swapping.

Count of Organizations Affected by MOVEit Attacks Hits 637

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 10, 2023

At least 637 organizations have now confirmed that they were affected by the zero-day attack on MOVEit file-sharing servers that began in late May, collectively affecting 41 million individuals, report cybersecurity researchers who've been tracking the impact of Clop's data-theft campaign.

Northern Ireland Police Disclose Another Serious Data Breach

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 10, 2023

One day after personal information for all 10,000 police officers and staff in Northern Ireland was accidentally exposed online, putting their safety at risk, the nation's police service said it's probing a laptop theft last month that may have exposed 200 employees' details.

White House Debuts $20M Contest to Exterminate Bugs With AI

Rashmi Ramesh , Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 9, 2023

The White House has launched an Artificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge, backed by DARPA and offering nearly $20 million in prizes, to develop a new generation of tools that can rapidly find and fix software vulnerabilities in both commercial and open-source code.

Northern Ireland Police at Risk After Serious Data Breach

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 9, 2023

Police officers in Northern Ireland are sounding alarms over their personal safety after a data breach revealed the surnames and locations where they serve for nearly 10,000 police officers and staff. Experts warn this could lead to "their death or injury" at the hands of criminals or terrorists.

Big Cyberespionage Attack Against Japan Attributed to China

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 8, 2023

Japanese classified military networks reportedly suffered a massive breach in 2020 at the hands of a Chinese cyberespionage group that proved tough to eject. One cybersecurity expert said Chinese cyberespionage groups targeting Japan and its allies are employing ever more "stealthy intrusions."

Nigerian Man Admits to $1.3M Business Email Compromise Scam

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 7, 2023

A Nigerian national has pleaded guilty to participating in a business email compromise scheme that stole $1.25 million from a Boston investment firm. Perpetrators used malware to intercept an employee's emails as well as spoofed email accounts to trick the employee's London financial services firm.

Colorado Warns Ransomware Attack Caused Massive Data Breach

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 7, 2023

Colorado's Department of Higher Education is warning that it suffered a ransomware attack in June, in which attackers stole personal data on current and past students and teachers, dating from 2004 to 2020. While the state has yet to wrap its probe, the victim count could be massive.

Patching Conundrum: 5-Year-Old Flaw Again Tops Most-Hit List

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 4, 2023

A five-year-old flaw in Fortinet SSL VPNs remains one of the world's most widely exploited vulnerabilities. So warn cybersecurity officials across the U.S. and its Five Eyes partners in a joint security advisory highlighting the 12 most exploited flaws that require immediate patching.

Modern-Day Hacktivist Chaos: Who's Really Behind the Mask?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 3, 2023

How much of a risk do hacktivists pose? Hacktivism's heyday was arguably a decade ago. While activists do keep using chaotic online attacks to loudly promote their cause, they're tough to distinguish from fake operations run by governments, including Russia and Iran.

Privacy Watchdog Slams Sharing of Patient Data Via WhatsApp

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 2, 2023

Shadow IT strikes again: Britain's privacy watchdog has reprimanded the NHS Lanarkshire health board in Scotland after finding its staff used WhatsApp for the unauthorized sharing of patient data and images as a workaround for in-person clinical discussions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hosting Provider Accused of Facilitating Nation-State Hacks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 1, 2023

A little-known cloud infrastructure provider called Cloudzy has been facilitating nation-state hackers, commercial spyware operations and ransomware affiliates' attacks by failing to keep a close eye on what its customers are doing, researchers at cybersecurity firm Halcyon warn.

What Causes a Rise or Fall in Fresh Zero-Day Exploits?

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 31, 2023

Why are so many fresh zero-day vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild? Google reported that attackers often discover variants of previously exploited flaws, which suggests that vendors aren't doing enough to fix the root cause of flaws - or to avoid introducing fresh ones with their fixes.

Known MOVEit Attack Victim Count Reaches 545 Organizations

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 31, 2023

The number of organizations and individuals affected by the Clop ransomware group's data-stealing attack on MOVEit servers continues to rise. So far, at least 545 organizations have been affected and data from 38 million individuals has been stolen.