UNT Networks - Cybersecurity and network security software


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT



Federal Data Breach: Can the Government Protect Itself From Hackers?


The major data breach announced Thursday at the agency that handles security clearances and federal workers' records is only the most recent intrusion into a government system -- and almost certainly will not be the last.


In June 2015, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that it had been the target of a data breach targeting the records of as many as four million people.The final estimate of the number of people impacted is 22.1 million. This includes records of people who had undergone background checks, as well as their friends and family, many of whom were not government employees. It has been described by federal officials as among the largest breaches of government data in the history of the United States.Information targeted in the breach included personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, as well as names, dates and places of birth, and addresses



BANKING



Fears of a major cyberattack on banks have been rising since hackers successfully stole nearly $100 million from Bangladesh’s central bank in February 2016. Shortly after that incident, Russian central bank officials disclosed that hackers stole more than $31 million (two billion rubles) from the country’s central bank and commercial banks. SWIFT, the predominant messaging network used by banks, warned that these kinds of cyberattacks are set to rise.



State Government



California city hit with cyber attack, hacked data posted online 27th April 2020 The city had previously stated that no public personal data was compromised. However, some documents that were leaked to dark web websites include personal financial and public safety documents, according to information provided to American City & County. Hackers are now asking Torrance officials for a payment of 100 bitcoin — which equals about $680,000 — for them to stop leaking city data online, SecurityInfoWatch.com reports.



UTILITY



Over the past several months, security analysts at the Electric Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) and the critical-infrastructure security firm Dragos have been tracking a group of sophisticated hackers carrying out broad scans of dozens of US power grid targets, apparently looking for entry points into their networks. Scanning alone hardly represents a serious threat. But these hackers, known as Xenotime—or sometimes as the Triton actor, after their signature malware—have a particularly dark history.


America’s Electric Grid Has a Vulnerable Back Door—and Russia Walked Through It


These hacking groups are eyeing power grids, says security company

Cybersecurity company warns that hackers are investigating industrial control systems associated with power infrastructure. At least three hacking groups have the capability to interfere with or disrupt power grids across the US – and the number of cyber-criminal operations targeting electricity and other utilities is on the rise, according to a new report on the state of industrial control systems.



NUCLEAR REATORS



Hackers Are Targeting Nuclear Facilities, Homeland Security Dept. and F.B.I. Say Since May, hackers have been penetrating the computer networks of companies that operate nuclear power stations and other energy facilities, as well as manufacturing plants in the United States and other countries. Among the companies targeted was the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, which runs a nuclear power plant near Burlington, Kan., according to security consultants and an urgent joint report issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation last week.



ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY



Hacking in Hollywood: Why the Industry Needs to Shore Up Security A cyber attack at Sony Pictures in 2014 resulted in the release of sensitive internal documents, the eventual ouster of the top executive and multimillion-dollar settlements with employees. Hackers struck again in 2016, this time targeting a post-production vendor of Netflix with a threat to leak unreleased shows if their ransom demand wasn’t met. The latest attack is against HBO, and hackers have upped the ante with a demand for millions of dollars to stop the leak of internal emails, passwords, salary information, stars’ phone numbers and scripts for Game of Thrones.



TRADING/FINANCE



Investors in the stock market, whether through individual shares or funds, face the threat of major losses and disruption from hackers, according to a number of Wall Street investors and regulators studying the issue, the Wall Street Journal reports. The possibility looks all the more real given already successful cyber attacks in recent years against high profile financial institutions including, among others: credit reporting agency Equifax Inc. (EFX) banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co.


Mortgage Market



Last August, Robert Masucci and Clare Falbe Masucci sold their house in Glen Ridge, N.J., for about $840,000 after owning it for 30 years. About an hour after the transaction closed and the profits from the sale arrived in their bank account, their lawyer received an email purporting to be from Mr. Masucci, instructing the lawyer to send the payout somewhere else.


Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting real-estate professionals, title agents and lawyers involved in buying and selling homes. In many cases, hackers compromise the email account of one party and read through correspondence to craft custom scams, often stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time. If the fraud isn’t quickly discovered, funds can be difficult or impossible to recover, cybersecurity experts said. Real-estate wire fraud hit 11,300 people in 2018, leading to more than $149 million in losses, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That was up from 9,645 victims in 2017 who lost more than $56 million.