A botnet is a network of hijacked computers and devices infected with malware and controlled remotely by cybercriminals. This network is then used to send spam and launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. It can also be rented out to other cybercriminals. The Emotet botnet has been a thorn in the side of security teams for many years and has infected hundreds of thousands of devices since 2014.

Social Engineering, in the context of cybersecurity, is the use of deception to convince individuals into relinquishing their personal information online. This information is then exploited in cyberattacks. Most social engineering campaigns target employees because they could be manipulated into gateways to an organization’s sensitive data. The success of these campaigns relies on a lack of cybersecurity awareness training in the workplace.

AT&T Alien Labs closely monitors the evolution of crimeware such as the QakBot malware family and campaigns in connection with QakBot. The jointly coordinated takedown of the actors behind Emotet in late January has left a gap in the cybercrime landscape, which QakBot seems poised to fill.

The White House is reportedly moving swiftly forward with a plan to harden the security of the US power grid against hacking attacks. According to Bloomberg, the Biden administration has a plan to dramatically improve how power utilities defend themselves against attacks from countries considered to be adversaries in cyberspace – such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China.

With software supply chain attacks on the rise, are you wondering how you can recover quickly from the recent SolarWinds breach at your company? Months after its discovery, the devastating SolarWinds hack remains a top concern for business, government and IT leaders. This destructive supply chain attack put the spotlight on software development security — a critical issue for the DevOps community.

Cyber-attacks are commonly viewed as one of the most severe risks to worldwide security. Cyber-attacks are not the same as they were five years back in aspects of availability and efficiency. Improved technology and more efficient offensive techniques provide the opportunity for cybercriminals to initiate attacks on a vast scale with a higher effect. Intruders employ new methods and launch more comprehensive strategies based on AI to compromise systems.

To solve the supply chain security dilemma, producers must get back to security basics. Get best practices for securing your supply chain. Nobody wants to be known as the weak link in the chain—any chain. But too many organizations are at risk of being just that in the digital supply chain because they haven’t made the cyber security of their products a priority. The most recent evidence of that is the SolarWinds/Orion cyber attack that impacted more than 18,000 organizations.

Five worthy reads is a regular column on five noteworthy items we’ve discovered while researching trending and timeless topics. In this edition, we’ll learn about the worst data breaches that happened recently, their impact, and the cost of data breaches for companies. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only had an impact on the mental and physical health of employees, but on the digital health of organizations around the world.

The cyber threat landscape evolves every day following the most basic to more advanced types of cyber attacks that makes daily headlines. It is due to data breaches, causing reputational, financial losses and regulatory penalties. Our aim with this article is to update the reader on various types and categories of cyber attacks that help them make informed decisions about their business to identify what is important and how it should be protected.