The Weekly Cypher is specially curated to keep you up-to-date on the latest in cybersecurity, biometrics, and related news and innovations. This week’s topics are:
Washington Latest State to Regulate Biometric Data | Biometric Update
As more organizations begin collecting biometric data, many states are looking to protect their citizens’ information. Washington was the latest state to pass legislation regulating commercial use of biometric data, following the example of Illinois and Texas. The law helps protect against unauthorized access to biometric identifiers, fraud, criminal activity, security threats and liability, and to provide services for which the biometric was enrolled. While these laws help keep consumers safe, the financial effect of the law’s mandates on businesses is yet to be known. [Read More]
Cybersecurity (As We Know It) Is Dead | Forbes
Despite global cybersecurity spending expecting to balloon over $100 billion by 2020, there seems to be no end in sight as cyberattacks become more frequent and damaging. According to Gartner, 75-99 percent of all breaches were due to misconfigurations in cybersecurity, rather than weak points in security software. That’s why we need to start moving beyond traditional IT security concepts and develop new, more efficient ways to diffuse cyber risk. Even with the best of cyber barriers in place, it’s only a matter of time before hackers will penetrate a system. The only solution seems to be constantly evolving protection and practicing cyber resilience constantly. [Read More]
Are Marketing Agencies the Next Big Hacking Organizations? | SecurityBriefAsia
Over 250 million computers and 20 percent of corporate networks worldwide have been targeted by a new malware called Fireball. Fireball overtakes browsers, downloading more malware and control web traffic to generate revenue. Unlike other malware, which typically comes from hackers, this new one the work of Beijing-based marketing company Rafotech. While the company denies any hacking activity, it claims to reach 300 million users, similar to the number of hacked computers. [Read More]
Ransomware May Result in Hefty Fines | City A.M.
As one of the fastest-spreading forms of cybercrime, ransomware attacks have increased by over 50 percent in the last year according to Kaspersky Lab. The FBI estimated that criminals have extorted at least $1 billion from these infections since 2015, and many of its 200,000 were high profile organizations. Most recently, the WannaCry ransomware affected the NHS and Spanish communications provider Telefonica. Ransomware, which is now considered a breach of data, will be addressed in the EU General Data Protection Regulation. For instance, companies will now be liable for not reporting ransomware breaches within 72 hours. [Read More]
Biometrics Combine Security and Convenience | Biometric Update
Biometrics Institute CEO Isabelle Moeller recently published an editorial on why biometrics are critical for effective, convenient security. Despite security becoming a bigger focus for enterprises, data breaches are still increasing. However, biometrics greatly improve security when used with multi factor authentication, and Moeller predicts that as the two are integrated in a user-friendly way, it will become wildly popular and drastically reduce breaches. [Read More]
