A major, global cyber attack could trigger an average of $53 billion of economic losses, a figure on par with a catastrophic natural disaster such as U.S. Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Lloyd's of London said in a report on Monday. FILE PHOTO: A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. The report, co-written with risk-modeling firm Cyence, examined potential economic losses from the hypothetical hacking of a cloud service provider and cyber attacks on computer operating systems run by businesses worldwide. Insurers are struggling to estimate their potential exposure to cyber-related losses amid mounting cyber risks and interest in cyber insurance. A lack of historical data on which insurers can base assumptions is a key challenge. "Because cyber is virtual, it is such a difficult task … [Read more...] about Global cyber attack could spur $53 billion in losses: Lloyd’s of London
Talktalk cyber attack
Cyber attack sweeps globe, researchers see ‘WannaCry’ link
A major global cyber attack on Tuesday disrupted computers at Russia's biggest oil company, Ukrainian banks and multinational firms with a virus similar to the ransomware that last month infected more than 300,000 computers. The rapidly spreading cyber extortion campaign underscored growing concerns that businesses have failed to secure their networks from increasingly aggressive hackers, who have shown they are capable of shutting down critical infrastructure and crippling corporate and government networks. It included code known as "Eternal Blue," which cyber security experts widely believe was stolen from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and was also used in last month's ransomware attack, named "WannaCry." "Cyber attacks can simply destroy us," said Kevin Johnson, chief executive of cyber security firm Secure Ideas. "Companies are just not doing what they are supposed to do to fix the problem." The ransomware virus crippled computers running Microsoft Corp's … [Read more...] about Cyber attack sweeps globe, researchers see ‘WannaCry’ link
Cyber attack eases, hacking group threatens to sell code
Governments turned their attention to a possible new wave of cyber threats on Tuesday after the group that leaked U.S. hacking tools used to launch the global WannaCry "ransomware" attack warned it would release more malicious code. The fast-spreading cyber extortion campaign, which has infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide since Friday, eased for second day on Tuesday, but the identity and motive of its creators remain unknown. The attack includes elements that belong to the U.S. National Security Agency and were leaked online last month. Shadow Brokers, the group that has taken credit for that leak, threatened on Tuesday to release more recent code to enable hackers to break into the world's most widely used computers, software and phones. A blog post written by the group promised from June to release tools every month to anyone willing to pay for access to some of the tech world's biggest commercial secrets. It also threatened to dump data from banks using the SWIFT … [Read more...] about Cyber attack eases, hacking group threatens to sell code
Researchers say global cyber attack similar to N.Korean hacks
Some codes in an earlier version of WannaCry are found to be similar to those used by Lazarus Group Cybersecurity researchers have found evidence they say could link North Korea with the WannaCry cyber attack that has infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide, as global authorities scrambled to prevent hackers from spreading new versions of the virus. A researcher from South Korea's Hauri Labs said on Tuesday their own findings matched those of Symantec and Kaspersky Lab, who said on Monday that some code in an earlier version of the WannaCry software had also appeared in programmes used by the Lazarus Group, identified by some researchers as a North Korea-run hacking operation. "It is similar to North Korea's backdoor malicious codes," said Simon Choi, a senior researcher with Hauri who has done extensive research into North Korea's hacking capabilities and advises South Korean police and National Intelligence Service. Both Symantec and Kaspersky said it was too early to … [Read more...] about Researchers say global cyber attack similar to N.Korean hacks
NATO plans force to respond to cyber attacks
NATO wants to beef up its cyber defence capabilities with the creation of a special task force to detect and respond to Internet attacks, an alliance expert said Wednesday at a conference on cyber security here. The new NATO cyber force could be involved in simulating threats and controlling readiness to response, gathering and using public information from open sources, scanning and probing networks as well as conducting denial-of-service attacks against specific services or networks, according to Dandurand. The Symantec cyber security firm recently reported that web-based attacks in 2010 were up 93 per cent from 2009. "The need for such a team is obvious," Dandurand said, adding it would primarily be tasked with detecting, responding to and assessing the "damage cyber attacks can cause in a military sense." Dandurand also highlighted legal and privacy issues that must be addressed before NATO's cyber force can take shape. "The two main issues identified at this point are the … [Read more...] about NATO plans force to respond to cyber attacks