Microsoft and Google were the most frequently impersonated brands in phishing attacks during the first quarter of 2024, according to a report from Check Point. Microsoft-themed phishing attempts accounted for 38% of attacks in Q1 2024, while Google came in at a distant second with 11%. Notably, phishing attacks impersonating vacation rental company Airbnb have spiked over the past few weeks.

Keeper Security is pleased to announce that passphrases are now supported in the Keeper Vault. Passphrases provide a highly secure yet easy-to-remember approach to logins for all users, and can be both generated and stored with Keeper. Keeper’s passphrase generator is a new option within its existing password generator. Users and admins will have the choice of which generator they would like to use or enforce for their organization.

The ransomware landscape is evolving with increased competition among threat groups and the emergence of new ransomware operations. However, victim organizations and potential targets are strengthening their security measures and procedures to prepare for potential ransomware attacks. Our latest quarterly report for Q1 2024 shows a significant decrease in ransomware incidents, down to 1,048 cases, representing a 22% decline compared to Q4 2023.

In a new report, Cisco says the cyber readiness of organizations is lacking despite having experienced multiple cyber attacks within the last year. The maturity of an organization’s state of cyber readiness may very well dictate the outcome of an attack; it’s one thing to have a bunch of solutions in place, and it’s completely another to have the right solutions, policies, practices, and plans in place to address cyber risks.

Brute force attacks are one of the most common methods used by cybercriminals to steal credentials from organizations. To prevent brute force attacks, organizations need to enforce the use of strong and unique passwords, invest in a business password manager, require employees to enable MFA, monitor and limit login attempts, implement passwordless authentication and delete inactive accounts.

While Palo Alto Networks has not released patches for all affected versions, CyCognito has conducted active tests across all customer realms and 97.5% of CyCognito customers’ affected devices are no longer exploitable.

Generative AI has exploded in popularity across many industries. While this technology has many benefits, it also raises some unique cybersecurity concerns. Securing AI must be a top priority for organizations as they rush to implement these tools. The use of generative AI in manufacturing poses particular challenges. Over one-third of manufacturers plan to invest in this technology, making it the industry's fourth most common strategic business change.

The (apparent) takedown of major ransomware players like Blackcat/ALPHV and LockBit and the threat groups’ (apparent) revival is a prime example of the Whack-a-Mole nature of combating ransomware gangs that often takes place. However, this level of difficulty doesn’t mean the pressure should be relieved.

Digital transformation powers critical infrastructure, the protection of systems is paramount. ThreatQuotient has announced its participation in the vendor affiliate program of the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC). This collaboration marks a significant step forward in fortifying North America’s electricity grid against cyber threats.