Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

In today's expanding cyber threat landscape, infiltrating a system goes beyond unauthorized access or malware installation. To achieve their ultimate objectives, cybercriminals need to maintain an undetected presence in the system or network to control or extract data according to their needs. Command and Control attacks, also known as C&C or C2 attacks, create a covert link between the compromised system and a C2 server.

Not that long ago, AI was generally seen as a futuristic idea that seemed like something out of a sci-fi film. Movies like Her and Ex Machina even warned us that AI could be a Pandora's box that, once opened, could have unexpected outcomes. How things have changed since then, thanks in large part to ChatGPT’s accessibility and adoption!

Despite best efforts to accommodate third-party risk management (TPRM) processes that correspond with increased use of third-party vendors, incident outcomes seem to grow as well. The 2023 global average cost of a data breach was USD $4.45M, a 2.3% year over year increase. In the United States, the average cost of a breach is higher at USD $9.48M.

As the digital age unfolds, we continue to see seismic increases — decade-to-decade, year-to-year, and even month-to-month — in the amount of data we create as well as its value to us, both individually and collectively. From medical records, financial statements, and classified government documents to transactional processing systems, customer information, social media engagements, pictures of our pets, and so much more, data is the lifeblood of modern society.

Some of the benefits of using passphrases are that they’re easy to remember, difficult for cybercriminals to crack and they’re considered to be more secure than traditional passwords because of poor password habits. Some of the disadvantages of using passphrases are that some websites and apps may have low character limits, it’s impossible to remember passphrases for every single one of your accounts and they’re still vulnerable to being exposed in public data breaches.

A brute-force attack is a trial-and-error method hackers use to guess login information, and encryption keys, or find hidden web pages. In a brute force attack, an attacker tries as many combinations as possible, systematically incrementing through all possibilities until the correct password is discovered. This can be done manually, but it is usually automated using specialized software tools designed for this purpose.

At CrowdStrike, we’re on a very simple mission: We stop breaches. It’s easy for us to make this claim but challenging to put into practice and maintain day in and day out. Still, we know with absolute confidence that nobody provides managed detection and response (MDR) better than our CrowdStrike Falcon® Complete MDR team. Why? Because we prioritize outcomes above all else, and we never leave customers stranded with extra work.

Azure customers are facing the biggest threat to their privileged accounts. A cybersecurity firm has identified the spread of a new phishing campaign aimed at privileged users like sales directors, account managers, finance managers, vice presidents, presidents, chief financial officers, and CEOs. The campaign’s first set of attacks started around November 2023 and is still a looming threat. The good thing is that you can safeguard against and mitigate this attack.

The past few years have been hard on cybersecurity professionals. An onslaught of new attack innovations and evolutions have raised the risk — and the costs — of an attack. More organizations than ever before are attempting to transfer a portion of that risk through cyber insurance. However, cyber insurance policies, once easy to get and robust in coverage, have become challenging to obtain, difficult to maintain, and costly to keep.

Comprehending and effectively addressing cybersecurity threats is paramount to organizational security. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, how companies respond to cybersecurity threats and how they take proactive steps to mitigate them will factor heavily into profitability, reputation and long-term success.