by Brian Focht | Mar 31, 2023 | Cybersecurity News & Updates, Data Privacy & Protection
How bad can a zero-day exploit get? As it turns out, pretty freaking terrible.
Zero-day exploits are vulnerabilities in applications, firmware, and operating systems that are exploited before even the original developer of the targeted platform is aware of the problem. As such, the problem can be exploited before any fix can even be created, much less distributed.
These exploits can then be used to do any number of things, depending on their nature. Some zero-days only allow basic access to systems with limited importance and no actionable intelligence. Others, well, they can be both critically important and disturbingly insidious. As far as the “importance” part goes, you’re talking about command and control; complete access to an ecosystem. But it’s the “insidious” part that makes the topic for today particularly interesting.
These two zero-day exploits do not require the victim to do anything for the attack to succeed. No link to click on, no image to download. All that needs to happen is for the cybercriminal to initiate the attack, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
How do you know if you’re vulnerable? Check out the podcast to find out. (FYI, one of the vulnerable systems is currently installed in a significant number of cars worldwide right now.)
For more information, resources, and a full transcript of this episode, check out the original post.
by Brian Focht | Mar 17, 2023 | Data Privacy & Protection, Identity Theft
The recent T-Mobile data breach(es) was one of the largest in history, affecting over 50 million customers. The hackers were able to access customers’ names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and other sensitive information. Most importantly, the hackers got away with the entire dataset that T-Mobile had for most of those customers.
The result is that those customers are now at a significantly greater risk of being the victim of what’s known as a SIM Swapping attack.
SIM Swapping involves convincing a mobile phone carrier to transfer a victim’s phone number to a new SIM card controlled by the attacker. This fraud is usually accomplished by being able to provide to the carrier answers to questions about personal information that the carrier then checks against the information in its dataset. This type of attack (generally) relies not on the security readiness of the individual, but on weaknesses in the mobile phone industry to gain access to your phone number.
Once the attacker has control of the phone number, they can use it to access the victim’s accounts and steal their money. It’s a particularly dangerous attack if the person relies on their phone as an element of any multi-factor authentication, especially via text message (SMS).
In this episode, we discuss:
- What is “SIM Swapping,” and how can it be used against you;
- Why the T-Mobile data breach(es) are so concerning;
- The need for mobile phone companies to improve their security measures to prevent SIM swapping attacks; and
- The steps we can all take to limit the effectiveness of this type of attack.
For more information, resources, and a transcript of this episode, check out the original post.
by Brian Focht | Mar 10, 2023 | Data Privacy & Protection, Identity Theft, Small Business Cybersecurity
You’ve probably heard stories like this one before: A person in a business is supposed to send a wire transfer to another business. They receive an email at the last minute, often with a panicked tone, making an urgent request – their primary bank account is unavailable, so the money will need to be sent to a different bank.
The email is from a recognized email address. It looks like their emails (with all the right typos and grammatical mistakes), and even “sounds” like them. The panicked tone and urgent demand put the reader into emergency mode – changes will have to be made quickly to get this transfer done on time. Both management and the receiving company will likely appreciate the hard work.
The money is sent, but later that day a representative from the other company calls asking about the money. It was never received. Because the new wiring instructions caused the funds to be sent to an account controlled by a hacker. And absent a miracle, it’s gone.
The email looked right. It even felt right. But it wasn’t. It was sent by a hacker. It was the result of a Business Email Compromise.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What is a Business Email Compromise;
- What can a hacker who gains access to a business email account do with it;
- Why BEC scams have become so common and so lucrative; and
- How can you protect yourself against these insidious, relentless attacks?
For more information, resources, and a full transcript of this episode, check out the original post.
by Brian Focht | Mar 3, 2023 | Cybersecurity Tools, Products, & Services, Data Privacy & Protection, Small Business Cybersecurity
Proving who you are is the primary goal of most cybersecurity systems. The best way to accomplish that task is through Multi-Factor Authentication.
The primary purpose of cybersecurity systems is to protect data from those who are not authorized to get it. Therefore, the very first thing any cybersecurity system does is make sure that you are who you say you are.
The authentication process has evolved over time, from basic login information to complex passwords, and now includes authentication apps and biometrics. However, to best protect your authentication system, it’s important to rely on more than one method.
Multi-Factor Authentication takes advantage of different methods of authentication to limit the likelihood that a bad actor can penetrate your systems. Some systems are better than others, though. How does your process measure up?
In this episode, we discuss:
- The three types of authentication that Multi-Factor Authentication relies on – something you know, something you have, and something you are;
- What types of authentication are presently available to use, and which categories they fall under;
- Which authentication methods are more secure than others; and
- Where multi-factor authentication, while important, is not sufficient alone to protect you from cyber threats.
For more information, resources, and a complete transcript of this episode, check out the original post.
by Brian Focht | Feb 24, 2023 | Cybersecurity News & Updates, Cybersecurity Tools, Products, & Services, Data Privacy & Protection
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, APIs have become the backbone of software integration and innovation. With an ever-increasing reliance on APIs, the need for robust security measures and the use of API Best Practices has never been more critical. As T-Mobile demonstrated recently, the breach of an API can be catastrophic – 37 million users’ data… gone!
In this episode, we discuss essential strategies and techniques to help you build a solid foundation for secure API development. You’ll learn about key principles like the importance of authentication, authorization, and ensuring data privacy in every API interaction.
3 API Best Practices
First, we discuss how to limit a threat actor’s access to your system before they even have the chance to breach your defenses. If cybercriminals are unable to even find the API, you have negated their ability to use it as a tool against you.
Next, we explore how to protect sensitive data transmitted through APIs, emphasizing the need for encryption, both in transit and at rest. We discuss the benefits of using SSL/TLS encryption and offer practical tips for managing and rotating your API keys to prevent security vulnerabilities.
Finally, we touch upon the topic of rate limiting and logging, and their crucial role in maintaining API security. You’ll discover how rate limiting can protect your APIs from DDoS attacks and prevent abuse, while ensuring optimal performance and availability for legitimate users, and how proper logging will keep you apprised of improper use.
This podcast episode is a must-listen for developers, IT professionals, and anyone involved in creating or managing APIs. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your understanding of API security best practices and build a more secure foundation for your digital endeavors. Tune in now and stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of API security!
For more information, resources, and a full transcript of this episode, check out the original post.
by Brian Focht | Feb 18, 2023 | Cybersecurity News & Updates, Cybersecurity Tools, Products, & Services, Data Privacy & Protection
T-Mobile recently announced that hackers had breached their systems and stolen the records of 37 million customers. While the records apparently didn’t include financial information, enough personal information was taken to create significant risks for the victims.
How did the hackers gain access to T-Mobile’s data? They were able to get in by exploiting T-Mobile’s Application Program Interface, or API. APIs are everywhere, and you use them all the time. They’re incredibly popular among software development companies, and they’re incredibly useful.
They’re also very popular with hackers, with API exploits increasing by over 600% in the past year. So, you really need to know about APIs, particularly why they are so popular, and how they can be secured.
In this episode, we discuss:
- How APIs connect different programs and applications;
- The different types of APIs that you are most likely to interact with;
- The reasons that APIs are so popular among programmers and software developers; and
- The reasons APIs commonly contain major vulnerabilities that make them such a popular target for hackers.
For more information, resources, and a full transcript of this episode, please check out the original post.
