Network security starts with having a well-protected network. This means keeping intruders out, and continuously scanning for potential breaches, malware and flagging those attempted compromises. One of the biggest threats increasing in popularity is a very specific type of attack called distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks are targeted at your internet servers, including web and database servers, and are designed to flood random traffic so that the servers can’t respond to legitimate users’ queries. They are very easy to mount, and without the right tools, very hard to prevent.

This post was part of the A10Networks glossary and can be found here.

AI is a double-edged sword. It has enabled the creation of software tools that have helped to automate tasks such as prediction, information retrieval, and media synthesis, which have been used to improve various cyber defensive measures. However, AI has also been used by attackers to improve their malicious campaigns. For example, AI can be used to poison ML models and thus target their datasets and steal login credentials (think keylogging, for example). I recently spent some time at a newly created Offensive AI Research Lab run by Dr. Yisroel Mirsky. The lab is part of one of the research efforts at the Ben Gurion University in Beersheva, Israel. Mirsky is part of a team that published a report entitled “The Threat of Offensive AI to Organizations”. The Offensive AI Research Lab’s report and survey show the broad range of activities (both negative and positive) that are made possible through offensive AI.

You can read my latest post for Avast’s blog here.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has recently published a fact sheet on implementing phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (MFA). The publication is in response to a growing number of cyberattacks that leverage poor MFA methods. “Not all forms of MFA are equally secure. Some forms are vulnerable to phishing, push bombing attacks, exploitation of Signaling System 7 (SS7) protocol vulnerabilities, or SIM swap attacks,” the agency writes. The strongest form of phishing protection is to employ FIDO2 or WebAuthn-based tokens as your MFA method, what CISA calls the “gold standard.”

You can read more at my latest blog post for Avast here.

The 2015 murder of the 23-year ago American student Nohemi Gonzalez is about to take center stage in a case that has made its way to the US Supreme Court. The woman was one of 129 people killed in Paris by a group of ISIS terrorists. Her estate and family members sued Google, claiming that a series of YouTube videos posted by ISIS are the cause of the attack (and her death), and requests damages as part of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

At the heart of the resulting Gonzalez v. Google case lies Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. This section has been routinely vilified by various political groups, who claim that the protections under this section against civil suits should be struck down. For my latest blog for Avast, I summarize the various issues that are facing the court and implications for online communications.

The arguments are transcribed here.

In a new blog for Avast, I report on a new study from the IRS which shows that smishing attacks — phishing using SMS text alerts– is on the rise. My wife and I have seen numerous messages that typically are phony package delivery acknowledgements on packages that we never ordered, or offers to send us money out of the blue.

The IRS said the attacks have increased exponentially, especially texts that appear to be coming from the taxing agency. It’s important to note that no matter who you are or your particular tax situation, the IRS never communicates with anyone in this fashion, or by email either. “It is phishing on an industrial scale,” said IRS commissioner Chuck Rettig.

In my latest blog for Avast, I discuss the current state of affairs regarding cryptojacking — malware which takes root on your computers and generates crypto currency “mining” and creation. How it is detected and prevented. It has lots of current appeal to criminals because it continues to provide low risks for the rewards and profits generated: typically, the profit margin is about two percent of the computing costs for the resulting coins mined.

The web browser has long been the security sinkhole of enterprise infrastructure. While email is often cited as the most common entry point, malware often enters via the browser and is more difficult to prevent. Phishing, drive-by attacks, ransomware, SQL injections, man-in-the-middle, and other exploits all take advantage of the browser’s creaky user interface and huge attack surface, and the gullibility of most end users.

Enter the secure browser, which is available in a variety of configurations (as shown above) that can help IT managers get a better handle on stopping attackers from getting a foothold inside our networks.

I looked at four browsers in a variety of configurations in my latest review for CSOonline:

• ​​Appaegis Enterprise Web Access Browser
• TalonWork from Talon Cyber Security
• Advanced Browser Security from Perception Point
• Silo from Authentic8

Getting infected with malware isn’t just clicking on an errant file, but it usually occurs because an entire ecosystem is created by attackers to fool you into actually doing the click. This is the very technique behind something called SEO poisoning, in which seemingly innocent searches can tempt you with malware-infested links. The malware chain begins by an attacker generating loads of fake web content that are intended to “borrow” or piggyback on the reputation of a legitimate website. The fakes contain the malware and manage to get search results to appear higher on internet search engines. In this post for Avast’s blog, I describe the practice and offer some tips on how to steer clear of this problem.