MISCELLANEOUS CYBERSECURITY NEWS:
Experts warn patching won’t protect critical infrastructure against
‘new-age malware’ - The world’s most advanced industrial malware,
PIPEDREAM, could be hiding within critical infrastructure control
systems ready to unleash its “wartime capabilities,” a management
consultancy has warned.
https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/security-awareness/experts-warn-patching-wont-protect-critical-infrastructure-against-new-age-malware
Five Eye nations release new guidance on smart city cybersecurity -
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and US offer advice on potential
smart city vulnerabilities and how to mitigate them.
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3694149/five-eye-nations-release-new-guidance-on-smart-city-cybersecurity.html
JP Morgan Chase exec offers 5-step approach to supply chain security
- While there’s no such thing as perfect security, there are at
least five steps security teams can take to more effectively secure
their supply chains.
https://www.scmagazine.com/news/third-party-risk/jp-morgan-chase-5-step-approach-supply-chain-security
Why CISOs and legal need to be on the same page when their company
is hacked - Your budget is never what you think it needs to be,
you’re often widely viewed within the organization as a cost center
and an obstacle, your influence over larger business decisions that
impact security is usually limited, and if there is a damaging
breach or incident within an organization, the CISO is the first
person that executive leadership and the public look to blame.
https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/compliance/cisos-legal-department-company-hacked
CYBERSECURITY ATTACKS, INTRUSIONS, DATA THEFT &
LOSS:
Military helicopter crash blamed on failure to apply software patch
- An Australian military helicopter crash was reportedly caused by
failure to apply a software patch, with a hefty side serving of
pilot error.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/18/helicopter_crash_missing_software_patch/
Medtronic latest to reveal health data disclosure via pixel tracking
tools - Medtronic MiniMed has joined the long list of healthcare
entities to report unintentional disclosures to third parties
without authorization due to the use of tracking or pixel
technology.
https://www.scmagazine.com/news/privacy/medtronic-health-data-disclosure-via-pixel-tracking-tools
Ransomware Attack Hits Health Insurer Point32Health - Established in
2021 as the merger between Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts
Health Plan, Point32Health is the second largest health insurer in
Massachusetts, serving more than 2 million customers.
https://www.securityweek.com/ransomware-attack-hits-health-insurer-point32health/
Capita admits data stolen during cyberattack - Outsourcing giant
Capita, which provides essential services to the UK's government,
admitted that hackers stole data from its system during a
cyberattack last month.
https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/ransomware/capita-admits-data-stolen-during-cyberattack
Capita admits data stolen during cyberattack - Outsourcing giant
Capita, which provides essential services to the UK's government,
admitted that hackers stole data from its system during a
cyberattack last month.
https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/ransomware/capita-admits-data-stolen-during-cyberattack
DC Health Link Data Breach Caused by Human Error - Further
information has been released on the data breach at the Washington
DC health insurance exchange, DC Health Link, ahead of a House
Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on cybersecurity, information
technology, and government innovation hearing today.
https://www.hipaajournal.com/dc-health-link-data-breach-caused-by-human-error/
Shields Health Breach Exposes 2.3M Users' Data - An unauthorized
actor gained access to the systems of Shields Health Care Group
(SHCG) in March, exposing driver's license numbers as well as other
identification information for more than 2.3 million patients,
according to the company.
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/shields-health-breach-exposes-2-3m-users-data
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WEB SITE COMPLIANCE -
Advertisements
Generally, Internet web sites are considered advertising by the
regulatory agencies. In some cases, the regulations contain special
rules for multiple-page advertisements. It is not yet clear what
would constitute a single "page" in the context of the Internet or
on-line text. Thus, institutions should carefully review their
on-line advertisements in an effort to minimize compliance risk.
In addition, Internet or other systems in which a credit
application can be made on-line may be considered "places of
business" under HUD's rules prescribing lobby notices. Thus,
institutions may want to consider including the "lobby notice,"
particularly in the case of interactive systems that accept
applications.
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FFIEC IT SECURITY -
We continue the
series from the FDIC "Security Risks Associated with the
Internet."
Data Integrity
Potentially, the open architecture of the Internet can allow
those with specific knowledge and tools to alter or modify data
during a transmission. Data integrity could also be compromised
within the data storage system itself, both intentionally and
unintentionally, if proper access controls are not maintained. Steps
must be taken to ensure that all data is maintained in its original
or intended form.
Authentication
Essential in electronic commerce is the need to verify that a
particular communication, transaction, or access request is
legitimate. To illustrate, computer systems on the Internet are
identified by an Internet protocol (IP) address, much like a
telephone is identified by a phone number. Through a variety of
techniques, generally known as "IP spoofing" (i.e., impersonating),
one computer can actually claim to be another. Likewise, user
identity can be misrepresented as well. In fact, it is relatively
simple to send email which appears to have come from someone else,
or even send it anonymously. Therefore, authentication controls are
necessary to establish the identities of all parties to a
communication.
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NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS
AND TECHNOLOGY -
We continue the series on the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook.
Chapter 4.1 Errors and Omissions
Errors and omissions are an important threat to data and system
integrity. These errors are caused not only by data entry clerks
processing hundreds of transactions per day, but also by all types
of users who create and edit data. Many programs, especially those
designed by users for personal computers, lack quality control
measures. However, even the most sophisticated programs cannot
detect all types of input errors or omissions. A sound awareness and
training program can help an organization reduce the number and
severity of errors and omissions.
Users, data entry clerks, system operators, and programmers
frequently make errors that contribute directly or indirectly to
security problems. In some cases, the error is the threat, such as a
data entry error or a programming error that crashes a system. In
other cases, the errors create vulnerabilities. Errors can occur
during all phases of the systems life cycle. A long-term survey of
computer-related economic losses conducted by Robert Courtney, a
computer security consultant and former member of the Computer
System Security and Privacy Advisory Board, found that 65 percent of
losses to organizations were the result of errors and omissions.
This figure was relatively consistent between both private and
public sector organizations.
Programming and development errors, often called "bugs," can range
in severity from benign to catastrophic. In a 1989 study for the
House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, entitled Bugs in
the Program, the staff of the Subcommittee on Investigations and
Oversight summarized the scope and severity of this problem in terms
of government systems as follows:
a) As expenditures grow, so do concerns about the reliability,
cost and accuracy of ever-larger and more complex software systems.
These concerns are heightened as computers perform more critical
tasks, where mistakes can cause financial turmoil, accidents, or in
extreme cases, death.
Since the study's publication, the software industry has changed
considerably, with measurable improvements in software quality. Yet
software "horror stories" still abound, and the basic principles and
problems analyzed in the report remain the same. While there have
been great improvements in program quality, as reflected in
decreasing errors per 1,000 lines of code, the concurrent growth in
program size often seriously diminishes the beneficial effects of
these program quality enhancements.
Installation and maintenance errors are another source of security
problems. For example, an audit by the President's Council for
Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) in 1988 found that every one of the
ten mainframe computer sites studied had installation and
maintenance errors that introduced significant security
vulnerabilities. |