In today’s challenging economy, no company can afford to fall victim to cybersecurity trouble like a cyberattack or data breach. Companies can invest in a wide array of cybersecurity solutions to help safeguard their networks and data, but how can they be sure that they’re making the right security choices? Even with a solid investment in cybersecurity, a company could still have dangerous vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit. Enter penetration testing.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has disclosed that people in the United States lost a record $10 billion to fraud in 2023, a 14% increase from 2022. Nearly half of the losses were due to investment scams. “Consumers reported losing more money to investment scams—more than $4.6 billion—than any other category in 2023. That amount represents a 21% increase over 2022,” the FTC says.

The following was adapted from a conversation between Torq and Mike Britton, CISO at Abnormal Security. Abnormal Security is a cloud email security provider, and an esteemed customer of Torq. Read on to learn how hyperautomation has helped the Abnormal Security SecOps team scale and grow.

New data sheds light on what kinds of cyber attacks are targeting your cybersecurity team, what it’s costing them, why it’s taking so much time to fix, and where you should focus resources. Barracuda’s Cybernomics 101 report provides a lot of insight into the current economics of cyber attacks. According to the report: The average largest ransom any organization paid is $1.38 million, with an average cost of $5.34 million to respond to compromises!

Today’s BEC attacks are more nuanced, more accessible, less technically demanding, and consequently, more dangerous than ever before. In our report, 2023 BEC Trends, Targets, and Changes in Techniques, we take a hard look at the anatomy of Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks today and the lures that are drawing users to the bait in record numbers.

The Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union has headquarters in West Virginia. Like other unions, they offer various services that assist members in saving and investing no matter their life phase. Bayer’s products include financial accounts, IRAs, investment options, and many loans, from estate to student. At the end of October 2023, Bayer reportedly experienced a cyberattack; the breach lasted only a day but exposed the Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of 61,159 borrowers.

In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, businesses and individuals find themselves in a relentless battle against the surge of cybercrime, which continues to escalate in complexity and frequency. Despite the significant investments in cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions, the financial toll of cybercrime persists, with costs escalating annually.

This week, around 643k data records were announced as lost in the cyber wars. Early on, the public learned of HopSkipDrive’s event, which impacted 155k student guardians. The most significant breach of this week, with an impact figure of over 307k, also occurred early in the week; the Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeon clinic claimed the incident was due to a vendor’s failure.

‍ For chief information security officers (CISOs), understanding how their organization's unique cyber risk landscape has evolved is paramount. Chronological analysis not only enables risk trends to emerge with more clarity but also provides the essential context required for more informed decision-making.