Information Technology Security

By Cardiff University, Techxplore A new method that could automatically detect and kill cyberattacks on our laptops, computers and smart devices in under a second has been created by researchers at Cardiff University. Using artificial intelligence in a completely novel way, the method has been shown to successfully prevent up to 92 percent of files on a computer from being corrupted, with it taking just 0.3 seconds on average for a piece of malware to be wiped out. Publishing their findings in the journal Security and Communications Networks, the team say this is the first demonstration of a method that can both detect and kill malicious software in real-time, which could transform approaches to modern cybersecurity and avoid instances such as the recent WannaCry cyberattack that hit the NHS in 2017. Using advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, the new approach, developed in collaboration with Airbus, is based on monitoring and predicting the behavior of malware as o...

By Alicia Hope, CPO Magazine U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is investigating a potential law enforcement system data breach associated with an online harassment community that impersonates police officers. KrebsOnSecurity journalist Brian Krebs received a tip that hackers gained unauthorized access to the esp.usdoj.gov data portal, the Law Enforcement Inquiry and Alerts (LEIA) system. Krebs obtained the information from the administrator of the Doxbin cyberbullying community identified as “KT” with links to the LAPSUS$ hacking group. Doxbin members post personal information online and participate in “swatting,” while LAPSUS$ was responsible for high-profile data breaches on Microsoft, NVIDIA, Okta, Samsung, and others. LAPSUS$ also sells a service for making Emergency Data Requests to tech companies, social media platforms, and mobile service providers. The imposters trick organizations by claiming that the data requests could not wait for warrants because of their emergency nature...

By  KrebsOnSecurity The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says it is investigating reports that hackers gained unauthorized access to an agency portal that taps into 16 different federal law enforcement databases. KrebsOnSecurity has learned the alleged compromise is tied to a cybercrime and online harassment community that routinely impersonates police and government officials to harvest personal information on their targets. Unidentified hackers shared this screenshot of alleged access to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s intelligence sharing portal On May 8, KrebsOnSecurity received a tip that hackers obtained a username and password for an authorized user of esp.usdoj.gov, which is the Law Enforcement Inquiry and Alerts (LEIA) system managed by the DEA. KrebsOnSecurity shared information about the allegedly hijacked account with the DEA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice, which houses both agencies. The DEA declined to comment...

By  KrebsOnSecurity When KrebsOnSecurity recently explored how cybercriminals were using hacked email accounts at police departments worldwide to obtain warrantless Emergency Data Requests (EDRs) from social media firms and technology providers, many security experts called it a fundamentally unfixable problem. But don’t tell that to Matt Donahue, a former FBI agent who recently quit the agency to launch a startup that aims to help tech companies do a better job screening out phony law enforcement data requests — in part by assigning trustworthiness or “credit ratings” to law enforcement authorities worldwide. A sample Kodex dashboard Image: Kodex.us Donahue is co-founder of Kodex , a company formed in February 2021 that builds security portals designed to help tech companies “manage information requests from government agencies who contact them, and to securely transfer data & collaborate against abuses on their platform.” The 30-year-old Donahue said he left the FBI in April ...