Ransomware | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

As data breaches and cyber threats become the norm rather than the exception, the imperative to fortify cybersecurity measures has become critical. Microsoft 365, the leading enterprise productivity platform, is at the heart of many organizations' daily operations — and therefore is a prime target for cyber-attackers. Ransomware remains one of the most aggressive cyber threats to organizations. A reported 76% of businesses have experienced at least one attack within the last year , the results of which yielded disrupted operations, substantial financial losses, and reputational damage. For SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365, the threat is even more pronounced due to the vast amounts of sensitive data processed and stored daily.  Below, we will investigate the cybersecurity landscape surrounding Microsoft 365. As we do so, we will examine the prevalence of ransomware threats and identify many commonly implemented and robust strategies that are proven to enhance cyber resilience an...

Throughout history, societies have protected their most valuable assets by building walls, fortresses, and moats. Whether it was a medieval castle or an ancient city-state, security meant keeping threats on the outside and creating barriers around the things that mattered most.  We took these principles with us as we moved into the digital age, designing network security with firewalls, access controls, and gated perimeters to protect digital assets. Firewalls and network devices became our virtual walls, defining trusted and untrusted zones, and keeping the "bad actors" at the gate. For years, this perimeter-based approach was the primary line of defense in the world of cybersecurity, establishing a digital fortress around systems and data. But just as history has shown us that walls and borders can be breached, so too has modern cybersecurity taught us that no perimeter is foolproof. As organizations increasingly connect their IT systems to the wider internet and integrate the...

In today's hyper-connected digital world, the importance of robust data protection is undeniable. For businesses of all sizes, the need to safeguard critical information has moved from a secondary IT concern to a boardroom-level issue. This heightened urgency is driven by the increasing frequency and complexity of cyberattacks, particularly ransomware, which have the potential to cripple operations, cause catastrophic financial losses, and in some cases, irreparably damage a company's reputation. Ransomware attacks are no longer isolated incidents affecting just a handful of organizations. They have evolved into sophisticated, organized, and relentless operations targeting businesses of every scale and across every industry. With the rise in these attacks, the need for an effective ransomware recovery strategy has become one of the most pressing issues in data protection — and central to this conversation is Microsoft 365, which plays a pivotal role in the day-to-day operations of mi...

In our current tech landscape, dealing with cybersecurity incidents like ransomware and other disasters is unavoidable. To keep your business running, you need to be able to take disruptions and cyberattacks in stride. This means being able to not just bounce back from an outage or data loss situation — but bounce forward each time. This is at the heart of data resilience. Read on to learn more about how to keep your organization moving forward, no matter what comes your way. Stay Ahead of the Curve As cybersecurity threats and ransomware attacks continue to increase and evolve, it's critical that you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to keeping up with cybersecurity trends. Cyber threats are evolving quickly into more sinister and dangerous variants, and they won't wait for your defenses to catch up. Some of the top cybersecurity and data protection trends this year include using zero trust principles like multi-factor authentication (MFA) systems, passkeys, and password-less...

Though every organization is susceptible to data breaches, those in FinTech, Healthcare, and SaaS are particularly vulnerable to attacks due to the high volume of data they possess. It's all the more necessary for these organizations to secure their digital estate end-to-end. Identity & access management (IAM), authorization policies, and observability tools are required to enforce security. But with the proliferation of microservices, distributed architectures, numerous vendor and partner integrations, as well as open-source components, the digital supply chain has become more vast and complex than ever. This requires a purpose-built security solution that addresses the new needs of organizations in these sectors, to which Non-human identity management has risen to meet. Let's dive deeper, by looking at recent data breaches in each of these three sectors, beginning with FinTech. Breach examples in FinTech The term 'FinTech' includes a range of organizations such as banks, no...

Safeguarding the sensitive information within your Microsoft 365 environment is more important than ever. From accidental deletion and ransomware attacks to costly compliance failures, the consequences of inadequate data protection can be severe. It's important to understand the Shared Responsibility Model. The Model explains that Microsoft secures and ensures the uptime of its infrastructure, while you're ultimately responsible for correctly configuring settings, protecting against accidental data loss, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations. Microsoft 365 provides powerful services, but a comprehensive backup of your data is not included in a standard Microsoft 365 license. Having an effective data protection strategy and comprehensive data backups are your best defense against these invisible dangers. In today's digital era, the necessity of modernizing data protection solutions cannot be overstated. The 2024 Data Protection Trends Report revealed that 75% of org...

So you're going on a threat hunt…and you want to catch a big (malicious) one. Identifying malicious infrastructure can be a particularly daunting threat-hunting objective. Attackers who are intent enough on setting up things like C2 networks, phishing sites, and impersonated domains, are also, not surprisingly, often very good at hiding their tracks with tactics ranging from the use of proprietary VPNs to compromised intermediary services. So even when malicious infrastructure is visible, source attribution can remain a thorny problem. That said, there are tools like Censys Search that can make the challenge of tracking and understanding malicious infrastructure more achievable. Consider the following user stories, how-to articles, and videos for insights you can use to inform, inspire, and even supercharge your next investigation into malicious infrastructure. 7 Resources Worth a Read (or Watch) 1. How to Identify Malicious Infrastructure: Demo Let's start with a quick video ...

Cyberattacks are already the most significant operational and financial threat to almost every type of business. Surveys of CISOs consistently reveal phishing attacks, identity security, social engineering, and the resulting data breaches and ransomware attacks are the top concerns.  These fears are well founded. Each new day brings fresh headlines of another major breach or successful ransomware attack. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an agency of the DHS reports that 90% of ransomware attacks begin with phishing. Last quarter witnessed the first individual ransomware loss that exceeded a billion dollars of damages, and a leading news media reported nine new major breaches in a single week.  What is driving this epidemic and how much worse will it get?  The answers are both simple and complex. The simple answer is that this next generation of cyberattacks is being driven by the incredible power and innovation of generative AI, while the ...