Page 5 - Threat Intelligence 9-3-2019

Security News

Ransomware attacks hit 1 in 5 Americans - Anomali announced the results of a survey conducted by The
Harris Poll. It includes responses from more than 2,000 American adults and reveals how Americans believe
business and government organizations should respond to ransomware attacks as well as their opinions on
cybersecurity in general. The survey revealed that many Americans view cybersecurity as a priority. A large
portion (87%) believe that government should consider it as such. However, only 51 percent believe the
government is effectively addressing the issue. The survey also showed that 61 percent of Americans would
support a federal income tax increase to help fund government efforts to defend against cyberattacks.
Source: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2019/08/19/ransomware-attacks-americans/

A ransomware revival leads to 2.2 billion stolen credentials on the dark web in Q1 - In a new report, McAfee
Labs said cybercriminals were focusing in on attacking weak IoT devices and extracting huge troves of data
from large companies. Researchers at cybersecurity firm McAfee called the past months "the quarter of data
dumps" in an alarming report released on Wednesday. The 40-page survey of the security landscape found
more than 2.2 billion stolen account credentials were made available on the cybercriminal underground this
quarter and hackers had even figured out ways to break into Wi-Fi enabled coffee makers. "It's important to
recognize that the numbers, highlighting increases or decreases of certain types of attacks, only tell a fraction
of the story. Every infection is another business dealing with outages, or a consumer facing major fraud. We
must not forget for every cyberattack, there is a human cost. “McAfee Labs research found 504 new threats
per minute in the first four months of the year. Cybercriminals were adapting quickly to security measures and
were innovating constantly with new tactics and code.
Source: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/a-ransomware-revival-leads-to-2-2-billion-stolen-
credentials-on-the-dark-web-in-q1/

‘Never, ever use a debit card,’ warns fraud expert and ex-con artist—here’s what to do instead - Every year,
millions of American consumers — nearly 7% of the population — are victims of scams and fraud. In 2017, the
number of fraud victims in the US reached 16.7 million, with $16.8 billion lost. Want to avoid identity theft?
Never, ever use a debit card. I don’t own one. I never have and I never will. I don’t recommend them to anyone
— not my family, not my friends, not you. As I said at the Google talk, a debit card is certainly and truly the
worst financial tool ever given to the American consumer. Why? It’s simple: Every time you use one, you put
your money and your bank account at risk. Instead, use a credit card. I use one for practically all of my
purchases, even when I’m traveling abroad. With credit cards, federal law limits my liability if there’s an
unauthorized use of my card. If there’s a large data breach (and you know that there will be) and a criminal
does somehow get my credit card number and charges $1 million on it, I’m protected and my credit card
company will cancel the card and send a new one within the next couple of days.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/27/debit-cards-are-dangerous-warns-fraud-expert-and-ex-
con-artist-frank-abagnale.html

www.accumepartners.com
5