Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

Equifax Breach: Long-term Implications. What Does It Mean for Europe?

Presented by Christopher Greany , Mathew J. Schwartz , David Stubley , Terry Wilson  •  September 20, 2017

Will the Equifax breach upend the rules of the data breach notification game? Will it even be discussed in another year? Already, the breach is leading to tough questions about how personal data gets stored, sold and secured - or not - in the United States. Equifax also should consider itself lucky that it didn't lose...

US Sanctions Iranian Nationals Over DDoS Bank Attacks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  September 15, 2017

The U.S. Treasury Department has announced sanctions against 11 individuals and organizations linked to Iran, some of whom have been accused of helping to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks against dozens of U.S. banks from 2011 to 2013.

Cyber Insurance: A Rising Role in Mitigating Risk for CISOs

Presented by Christopher Burgess , Thomas Clayton , Steven Hadwin , Mathew J. Schwartz  •  September 8, 2017

The financial risks to organizations from data breaches come from a variety of angles, from share price hits to class-action lawsuits to fines from regulators to reputational damage. As a result, the insurance industry has jumped full steam ahead into cyber. Larger insurers are already helping companies spot and...

Panel: We've Been Breached: Now What? How to Effectively Work with Law Enforcement and Regulators

Presented by Efrene G Sakilayan , Mathew J. Schwartz , David Stubley  •  September 6, 2017

Too many organizations continue to address breach response from a reactive mode - having a crude disaster-recovery plan in place in case something "does" happen, rather than accepting that something "will" happen and proactively preparing for it. In this session, a panel of legal, technical and law-enforcement experts...

Mirai Malware Attacker Extradited From Germany to UK

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  August 31, 2017

Admitted Mirai malware attacker Daniel Kaye has been extradited from Germany to the United Kingdom, where he faces charges that he launched DDoS attacks and extortion attempts against the U.K.'s Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays banks.

GDPR: Putting 72-Hour Notification into Action and the 'Right to be Forgotten'?

Presented by Jeremy King , Polly Ralph , Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 27, 2017

Status check: With just several months to go until any organization that handles Europeans' personal data must comply with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, or GPDR, how prepared are organizations? While the May 25, 2018, enforcement date is fast approaching, EU privacy watchdogs are continuing to issue...

Mirai Malware Hacker Pleads Guilty in German Court

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 24, 2017

A British man named by authorities as "Daniel K." - aka "Spiderman" and "Peter Parker" - pleaded guilty in German court to infecting 1.25 million Deutsche Telekom routers with Mirai malware and causing more than $2 million in damage.

Trump Administration Restricts Kaspersky Lab Product Use

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  July 12, 2017

The Trump administration has moved to restrict the U.S. government's ability to use products built by Moscow-based anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab, which claims it's been caught up in a "political game" being played out between Washington and Moscow.

FBI: Reported Internet-Enabled Crime Losses Hit $1.3 Billion

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 23, 2017

The FBI says reported losses due to internet crime last year totaled $1.3 billion, based on nearly 300,000 complaints logged with its Internet Complaint Center. It warns that CEO fraud, ransomware, tech-support fraud and extortion are becoming increasingly prevalent.

Successful Security? Stop Blaming Users

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 9, 2017

To encourage individuals to improve their security practices, begin by not blaming them. That was one takeaway from security experts at the Infosecurity Europe conference, who offered practical tips for changing user behavior and creating a culture of security.

Preview: Infosecurity Europe in London

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 5, 2017

The annual Infosecurity Europe conference returns to London this week, offering discussions of the latest information security practices, procedures and technologies as well as deep-dives into privacy, cybercrime, policing, surveillance, GDPR and more.

Teen Hacker Sentenced Over 'Titanium Stresser' Attacks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  April 26, 2017

Adam Mudd has been sentenced to a two-year prison term after he pleaded guilty to developing and selling "Titanium Stresser," an on-demand DDoS attack tool tied to over 1.7 million attacks worldwide. Separately, Britain's high court ruled that Lauri Love can fight a U.S. extradition request.

Mirai Tools Up for Advanced DDoS Attacks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 13, 2017

The source code for the Mirai botnet has been updated to launch DDoS amplification/reflection attacks, although so far that capability hasn't been used, says Gary at Arbor Networks. Even so, DDoS defense planning remains essential.

Showdown: Prepping Enterprise Security for DDoS Botnets

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 7, 2017

When it comes to massive DDoS attacks powered by the likes of a Mirai botnet, "the sky is not falling," says ESET security researcher Cameron Camp. But organizations do need to prepare - and here's where to start.

Verizon: Most Breaches Trace to Phishing, Social Engineering

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  March 3, 2017

With Verizon's data breach investigations team finding that 90 percent of breaches trace to a phishing or other social engineering attack, lead investigator Chris Novak says that using multifactor authentication should be a no-brainer for all organizations.