While You Relax, Hackers Make a Mess
Take a glance at the most discussed cybersecurity topics of the week.
About 75% of workers connected to free WiFi while travelling and more than 60% used it to access work emails and files. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the happiest days for two types of people – shopaholics and guess whom? Exactly – hackers!The power and utilities sector is on guard against cyberattacks
Utility Dive on November 16, 2018
This statement is confirmed by the new KPMG CEO outlook report. According to it, nearly half of power and utility CEOs admitted the inevitability of cyberattacks. About 60% of the respondents felt prepared to determine cyber threats and the same number claimed that the cybersecurity specialist takes the first place among the most important new roles in their company.
Moreover, in case of a real cyberattack, 68% of the surveyed CEOs are able to manage external stakeholders and 63% are ready to contain any impact on strategic operations.
By the way, the report signifies that not only power and utility CEOs are worried about the security issue – the leaders of other spheres emphasized the importance of the balance between technological innovation and susceptibility to cyberattacks.
Cyberthreats to bring back from the trip (we don’t advise to acquire)
ZDNet on November 16, 2018
In the right hand – a plane ticket, in the left – a vacation suitcase, in the head – no thoughts about work or the annoying deadlines. However, your laptop is probably with you and it is still storing the corporate information of your company. Just one connection to the public WiFi to check your emails and all credentials will come under the threat.
Yes, we are armed with statistics again. As claimed by the ObserveIT latest survey, about 75% of workers connected to free WiFi while traveling and more than 60% used it to access work emails and files. Probably IT departments should include one more point in their to-do list and warn colleagues to avoid public WiFi and use Virtual Private Network. By the way, only 17% of respondents reported consistently using a VPN outside the office.
Great discounts and lurking scams – beware black Friday fuss!
Wired on November 20, 2018
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the happiest days for two types of people – shopaholics and guess whom? Exactly – hackers! It is unsurprising because during this time attackers can make people do rash actions and reveal the crucial information that’s, as a result, used by malefactors.
The typical retail scams are phishing emails, calling you to buy the last pair of cheap Gucci sunglasses. Other malicious schemes are the bogus websites, lifting clients’ credit numbers, and the planting malware and cryptojacking modules wherever consumers might click.
This year’s holiday shopping season faces particular threats from the e-commerce attacker known as Magecart, a constellation of criminal groups known for aggressively compromising retail websites with credit card number skimmers.
AI risks to think about
Forbes on November 19, 2018
And finally, have a look at the top claims how artificial intelligence could be dangerous. By the way, the idea of its negative impact has already been discussed by legendary physicist Stephen Hawking and Tesla and SpaceX leader Elon Musk.
- Autonomous weapons. It sounds like a fantasy story but what if the weapons based on AI would gain a “mind of their own”?
- Social manipulation. The media through its autonomous-powered algorithms is very effective at target marketing.
- Invasion of privacy and social grading. It is now possible to track and analyze an individual’s every move online as well as when they are going about their daily business.
- Misalignment between our goals and the machine’s. Machines understand our commands literally and the phrasal inaccuracy may result in the unforeseen consequences.
- Discrimination. In fact, the information about you, collected by machines, may be used against you. For instance, an employer might withhold a job offer based on your “social credit score.”