Regulatory Compliance | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said it's introducing an exclusive "bank.in" internet domain for banks in the country to combat digital financial fraud. "This initiative aims to reduce cyber security threats and malicious activities like phishing; and, streamline secure financial services, thereby enhancing trust in digital banking and payment services," the RBI said in a statement issued today. To that end, the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) will act as the exclusive registrar. Registrations for the domains are expected to start from April 2025. The RBI also said it plans to roll out a separate exclusive domain "fin.in" for other non-bank entities in the financial sector. As part of broader efforts to enhance trust in online payments, the RBI said it's also debuting what's called Additional Factor of Authentication ( AFA ) for cross-border card-not-present ( CNP ) online t...

Privileged Access Management (PAM) has emerged as a cornerstone of modern cybersecurity strategies, shifting from a technical necessity to a critical pillar in leadership agendas. With the PAM market projected to reach $42.96 billion by 2037 (according to Research Nester), organizations invest heavily in PAM solutions. Why is PAM climbing the ranks of leadership priorities? While Gartner highlights key reasons such as enhanced security, regulatory compliance readiness, and insurance requirements, the impact of PAM extends across multiple strategic areas. PAM can help organizations enhance their overall operational efficiency and tackle many challenges they face today. To explore more about PAM's transformative impact on businesses, read The Cyber Guardian: PAM's Role in Shaping Leadership Agendas for 2025 by a renowned cybersecurity expert and former Gartner lead analyst Jonathan Care.  What cybersecurity challenges may organizations face in 2025? The cybersecurity landsca...

As cloud security evolves in 2025 and beyond, organizations must adapt to both new and evolving realities, including the increasing reliance on cloud infrastructure for AI-driven workflows and the vast quantities of data being migrated to the cloud. But there are other developments that could impact your organizations and drive the need for an even more robust security strategy. Let's take a look… #1: Increased Threat Landscape Encourages Market Consolidation Cyberattacks targeting cloud environments are becoming more sophisticated, emphasizing the need for security solutions that go beyond detection. Organizations will need proactive defense mechanisms to prevent risks from reaching production. Because of this need, the market will favor vendors offering comprehensive, end-to-end security platforms that streamline risk mitigation and enhance operational efficiency. #2: Cloud Security Unifies with SOC Priorities Security operations centers (SOC) and cloud security functions are c...

Buzzy Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek , which has had a meteoric rise in popularity in recent days, left one of its databases exposed on the internet, which could have allowed malicious actors to gain access to sensitive data. The ClickHouse database "allows full control over database operations, including the ability to access internal data," Wiz security researcher Gal Nagli said . The exposure also includes more than a million lines of log streams containing chat history, secret keys, backend details, and other highly sensitive information, such as API Secrets and operational metadata. DeepSeek has since plugged the security hole following attempts by the cloud security firm to contact them. The database, hosted at oauth2callback.deepseek[.]com:9000 and dev.deepseek[.]com:9000, is said to have enabled unauthorized access to a wide range of information. The exposure, Wiz noted, allowed for complete database control and potential privilege escalati...

Having been at ActiveState for nearly eight years, I've seen many iterations of our product. However, one thing has stayed true over the years: Our commitment to the open source community and companies using open source in their code. ActiveState has been helping enterprises manage open source for over a decade. In the early days, open source was in its infancy. We focused mainly on the developer case, helping to get open source on platforms like Windows. Over time, our focus shifted from helping companies run open source to supporting enterprises managing open source when the community wasn't producing it in the way they needed it. We began managing builds at scale, and supporting enterprises in understanding what open source they're using and if it's compliant and safe. Managing open source at scale in a large organization can be complex. To help companies overcome this and bring structure to their open source DevSecOps practice, we're unveiling our end-to-end platform to help m...

Many organizations struggle with password policies that look strong on paper but fail in practice because they're too rigid to follow, too vague to enforce, or disconnected from real security needs. Some are so tedious and complex that employees post passwords on sticky notes under keyboards, monitors, or desk drawers. Others set rules so loose they may as well not exist. And many simply copy generic standards that don't address their specific security challenges. Creating a password policy that works to protect your organization in the real world requires a careful balance: it must be strict enough to protect your systems, flexible enough for daily work, and precise enough to be enforced consistently. Let's explore five strategies for building a password policy that works in the real world. 1. Build compliant password practices Is your organization in a regulated industry like healthcare, government, agriculture, or financial services? If so, one of your top priorities...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged four current and former public companies for making "materially misleading disclosures" related to the large-scale cyber attack that stemmed from the hack of SolarWinds in 2020 . The SEC said the companies – Avaya, Check Point, Mimecast , and Unisys – are being penalized for how they handled the disclosure process in the aftermath of the SolarWinds Orion software supply chain incident and downplaying the extent of the breach, thereby infringing the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and related rules under them. To that end, Avaya will pay a fine of $1 million, Check Point will pay $995,000, Mimecast will pay $990,000, and Unisys will pay $4 million to settle the charges. In addition, the SEC has charged Unisys with disclosure controls and procedures violations. "While public companies may become targets of cyberattacks, it is incumbent upon them to not further victimize their sh...

In the modern enterprise, data security is often discussed using a complex lexicon of acronyms—DLP, DDR, DSPM, and many others. While these acronyms represent critical frameworks, architectures, and tools for protecting sensitive information, they can also overwhelm those trying to piece together an effective security strategy. This article aims to demystify some of the most important acronyms in data security today and offer practical guidance to help businesses navigate the data security landscape and protect their most valuable assets with confidence. What's driving data security? In today's ever-evolving digital landscape, data security has become a top priority for businesses of all sizes. As data continues to be the most valuable asset for organizations, the need to protect it from breaches, unauthorized access, and other security threats grows. But what exactly is driving businesses to prioritize data security? From compliance with regulations to safeguarding intellectual pr...

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) said it's proposing a ban on the import or sale of connected vehicles that integrate software and hardware made by foreign adversaries, particularly that of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. "The proposed rule focuses on hardware and software integrated into the Vehicle Connectivity System (VCS) and software integrated into the Automated Driving System (ADS)," the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) said in a press statement. "These are the critical systems that, through specific hardware and software, allow for external connectivity and autonomous driving capabilities in connected vehicles." The agency said nefarious access to such systems could enable adversaries to harvest sensitive data and remotely manipulate cars on American roads.  The proposal extends to all wheeled on-road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and buses. Agricultural and mining vehicles are not included. The BIS said "cert...

Meta has announced that it will begin training its artificial intelligence (AI) systems using public content shared by adult users across Facebook and Instagram in the U.K. in the coming months. "This means that our generative AI models will reflect British culture, history, and idiom, and that U.K. companies and institutions will be able to utilize the latest technology," the social media behemoth said . As part of the process, users aged 18 and above are expected to receive in-app notifications starting this week on both Facebook and Instagram, explaining its modus operandi and how they can readily access an objection form to deny their data being used to train the company's generative AI models. The company said it will honor users' choices and that it won't contact users who have already objected to their data being used for their purpose. It also noted that it will not include private messages with friends and family, as well as information from accounts...

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has announced that it has commenced a "Cross-Border statutory inquiry" into Google's foundational artificial intelligence (AI) model to determine whether the tech giant has adhered to data protection regulations in the region when processing the personal data of European users. "The statutory inquiry concerns the question of whether Google has complied with any obligations that it may have had to undertake an assessment, pursuant to Article 35[2] of the General Data Protection Regulation (Data Protection Impact Assessment), prior to engaging in the processing of the personal data of E.U./E.E.A. data subjects associated with the development of its foundational AI model, Pathways Language Model 2 (PaLM 2)," the DPC said . PaLM 2 is Google's state-of-the-art language model with improved multilingual, reasoning, and coding capabilities. It was unveiled by the company in May 2023. With Google's European headqu...

Imagine a world where you never have to remember another password. Seems like a dream come true for both end users and IT teams, right? But as the old saying goes, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."  If your organization is like many, you may be contemplating a move to passwordless authentication. But the reality is that a passwordless security approach comes with its own set of pitfalls and perils. In this post, we'll discuss the real-world complexity of going passwordless and explore why strengthening your existing password protocols may be the simpler solution.  The appeal of passwordless authentication Password-related vulnerabilities pose a major threat to organizational security. According to research by  LastPass , a full 80% of data breaches stem from weak, reused, or compromised passwords. This sobering statistic highlights the appeal of passwordless systems, which offer a way to completely circumvent the risks associated with traditional pas...

Shadow apps, a segment of Shadow IT, are SaaS applications purchased without the knowledge of the security team. While these applications may be legitimate, they operate within the blind spots of the corporate security team and expose the company to attackers.  Shadow apps may include instances of software that the company is already using. For example, a dev team may onboard their own instance of GitHub to keep their work separate from other developers. They might justify the purchase by noting that GitHub is an approved application, as it is already in use by other teams. However, since the new instance is used outside of the security team's view, it lacks governance. It may store sensitive corporate data and not have essential protections like MFA enabled, SSO enforced, or it could suffer from weak access controls. These misconfigurations can easily lead to risks like stolen source code and other issues. Types of Shadow Apps  Shadow apps can be categorized based on thei...

The Loper Bright decision has yielded impactful results: the Supreme Court has overturned forty years of administrative law, leading to potential litigation over the interpretation of ambiguous laws previously decided by federal agencies. This article explores key questions for cybersecurity professionals and leaders as we enter a more contentious period of cybersecurity law. Background What is the Loper Bright Decision? The Loper Bright decision by the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Chevron deference , stating that courts, not agencies, will decide all relevant questions of law arising on review of agency action. The Court held that because the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)'s text is clear, agency interpretations of statutes are not entitled to deference. The ruling emphasized that courts must exercise independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority. This decision shifts the power of statutory interpretation from federal agencies ...