A lot happens in the security world and many stories get lost in the mix. In an effort to keep our readers informed and updated, we present the Webroot Threat Recap, highlighting 5 major security news stories of the week.
Microsoft Addresses Macro Malware Issue
With macros being a major vulnerability point in Microsoft Office software, the 2016 version of the product line will now offer protection against these infections. By allowing network admins to block execution of any macro that attempts to download content from the Internet, this will greatly reduce the number of systems that are compromised.
Ransomware Takes Aim At Healthcare
In the past week, three U.S. hospitals were targeted by ransomware attacks that left them in varying levels of functionality. Fortunately for patients, all hospitals have returned to full capacity, with little to no patient information being leaked. It is still unclear if the hospitals paid the ransom, however the cases are under FBI investigation.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35880610
NASA Email Servers Hit with DDoS Attack
Recently, a group of hackers linked to Anonymous has made claims that they used a DDoS attack to take down NASA’s email servers all around the world. However, that claim appears to be unsubstantiated, as NASA’s main website was still accessible during the apparent outage. The attack was perpetrated because the hacker group claims that NASA is keeping important information regarding ISIS withheld from the public.
https://www.hackread.com/hackers-ddos-shutdown-nasa-website-email-server/
Local Utilities Need to Increase their Security Measures
In a recent study done by the Verizon RISK lab, it was determined that while many local utility services believe they are quite secure against an information-stealing attack, they are actually a major offender of vulnerabilities. The study also revealed that one customer, Kemuri Water Company, had a decade-old system infrastructure while also using a SCADA platform with direct internet access and no two-factor authentication.
Majority of IT Pros Use Basic AV Security Solutions
It was revealed recently that the vast majority of IT professionals believe that using only a basic Antivirus software is enough to defend against the latest cyber attacks. The study also showed that only 15% applied additional defensive measures. Fortunately for consumers, the trend is moving towards ever-improving security protocols and finding better ways to catch the latest malware variants.
