Survey: Hackers, Rogue Employees Frequent Reasons for Data Breaches

The average cost of a data breach has reached $2.4 million, and hackers and insiders are the most common cause for compromises, according to a recent survey of approximately 80 data breach claims.

Conducted by NetDiligence, the survey of 80 data breach claims revealed that personally identifiable information is most frequently at risk in data breaches, …

Suspected Anonymous Members Arrested; 9 Minors Released

In the wake of news that Spanish police arrested three suspected members of Anonymous last week, Turkish authorities yesterday detained an additional 32 suspected members of the same group, according to International Business Times.

The arrests were made after Turkish prosecutors and police yesterday launched raids in response to the cyber attacks the hacktivists allegedly unleashed on Turkish telecom regulators last week,…

LulzSec Hackers Take Credit for Hack of US Senate, Gaming Company

Hacker collective Lulz Security has taken credit for hacking the U.S. Senate and Maryland-based gaming company Bethesda Softworks, according to media reports.

“Bethesda, we broke into your site over two months ago,” the group tweeted yesterday, according to The Los Angeles Times. “We’ve had all of your Brink users for weeks. Please fix your junk, thanks! ^_^”

The group also released

EU Takes Tougher Stance on Hackers

EU countries have agreed on harsher punishments against hackers who launch cyber attacks similar to those seen in recent weeks against the French government, European institutions and Citigroup, Reuters reports.

Under the new rules, hackers would face a sentence of at least five years if found guilty of…

Navy to Launch Regional Components to Support Navy Fleet Cyber Command

The Navy is working to launch initial operations at four new regional network operation security components that will support the Navy Fleet Cyber Command and help protect naval computer networks, according to a senior Navy official.

Along with combining network operations with computer network defense, the commands…

Calif. Company Discloses Data Breach Impacting 300,000

A California-based company that represents medical providers in the recovery of billing from workers’ compensation insurance carriers has disclosed that electronic files containing the personal information of hundreds of thousands of individuals have been exposed to hackers.

Southern California Medical-Legal Consultants, Inc was notified of the breach by an outside data security firm. The  compromised files contained the names and Social Security numbers of 300,000 individuals who applied…

IMF Suffers ‘Very Major Breach’

Hackers recently targeted the International Monetary Fund with a sophisticated cyber attack, whose impact remains unknown but has been described by a senior official as a “major breach,” The New York Times reported.

The fund told its staff and its board of directors about the attack last Wednesday, but did not make a public announcement.

“This was a very major breach,” noted one senior official, who…

Blue Ridge Networks Inks DOJ Cybersecurity Deal

Blue Ridge Networks has received a Blanket Purchase Agreement to enable secure remote access for more than 9,000 users of the Justice Department’s Executive Office for United States Attorneys to 94 locations across the nation and its territories.

Under the terms of the five-year agreement, Blue…

Report: Web Hosts Common Target of Phishers

Nearly 40 percent of web hosts were repeat victims of phishing attacks that resulted in the placing of malware on their server platforms, according to a new report by the Internet Policy Committee of the Anti-Phishing Working Group.

Thirty-seven percent of respondents said their websites had phishing or spoof sites planted on their web …

Cyber Expert: Retaliation in Cyberspace ‘Does No Good in the Long Run’

Although much of the recent buzz surrounding cyber attacks has highlighted the possibility of retaliation, the million-dollar question remains: How do you strike back when you do not know who your enemy is?

“The simple answer is that you can’t, and the longer answer is that it’s really…