What’s happening Reports of identity related crimes rose to a record level in 2021, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. Why it matters The pandemic continued to fuel an increase in the theft of unemployment benefits last year. Meanwhile, other criminals are looking to take over social media accounts for their own gain. Reports …

What’s happening America’s enemies are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure with cyber attacks, a top investigative security journalist says. Why it matters A cyberattack that shuts down an oil pipeline or hospital could affect millions of people and put lives at risk. Last year’s ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline could have been prevented if the people trying to protect its computer …

What’s happening Speaking at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference, former CISA Director Chris Krebs says US companies need to boost their cyberdefenses and think about the future. Why it matters Cyberthreats from state-sponsored hacking operations, as well as sophisticated cybercrime gangs, continue to rise. Companies need to be thinking about the future when making security decisions today, as threats from around the …

What’s happening A new report from VMware shows that cybersecurity professionals are seeing more deepfakes being used in cyber attacks. Why it matters Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to manipulate video and audio are make it seem like someone is saying or doing something that they’re not. Deepfakes are increasingly being used in cyberattacks, a new report said, as the threat …

What’s happening Researchers for the cybersecurity company Kasada say cybercriminals are increasingly using bots to crack the passwords of online pharmacy accounts and steal access to them. Why it matters Some of those accounts are connected to prescriptions for dangerous and highly addictive drugs, which could later be sold on the black market. Cybercriminals are increasingly deploying software Bots to …

What’s happening Experts testified in front of the US House Inteligence Committee on Wednesday about the continued dangers related to the Pegasus spyware. Why it matters They say that government and the tech industry need to work together to better secure computer systems and put pressure on companies that sell commercial spyware to governments and others looking to abuse it. …

What’s happening The average cost of a data breach rose to $4.4 million this year, according to a new report from IBM Security. Why it matters More than half of the companies surveyed for the report admitted to passing on those higher costs to customers in the form of higher prices. Data breach costs keep going up, and consumers are …

Ransomware attacks cost US schools and colleges more than an estimated $3.5 billion in downtime alone last year, according to a study released Thursday. Researchers at Comparitech documented 67 individual ransomware attacks in 2021 that affected 954 schools and colleges and nearly 1 million students. While those figures may seem high, they all mark double-digit percentage declines from 2020 levels, including …

The personal information, including Social Security numbers, of more than 1.5 million Flagstar Bank customers was compromised in a data breach late last year, but the bank didn’t start informing those affected until earlier this month after it completed its investigation. The Michigan-based bank, which operates 150 branches and is one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders, said in a …

Tech and media companies need to take responsibility for the continued spread of the misinformation and disinformation that has left many Americans unsure of what the truth actually is, a trio of experts said Thursday. Speaking at the closing session of the RSA Conference in San Francisco, three co-chairs of the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder said people are …