Date: 24th May 2024
The CyberDiplomat Daily
USX Cyber Introduces GUARDIENT™ XDR: Bringing Enterprise Level Cyber Security to Businesses of All Sizes
USX Cyber has launched GUARDIENT, an advanced extended Detection and Response (XDR) platform for businesses and Managed Service Providers (MSPs). The platform offers advanced threat detection, automated response capabilities, and streamlined compliance management. Benefits include enhanced protection, ease of use, cost efficiency, and scalability. Cole McKinley, CTO of USX Cyber, stated that GUARDIENT makes high-level cybersecurity accessible to businesses of all sizes and MSPs.
SEC slaps NYSE parent firm with $10M penalty for cyber reporting failure
The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., has agreed to pay a $10 million penalty for failing to promptly inform the SEC of a cyber intrusion. In April 2021, ICE discovered a system intrusion due to a vulnerability in its virtual private network, but failed to notify its subsidiaries’ legal and compliance officials of the breach, violating its internal cyber incident reporting procedures. As a result, ICE’s subsidiaries failed to fulfill their regulatory disclosure obligations under Regulation SCI. The SEC found that ICE took four days to assess the impact of the intrusion and concluded it was a minor event.
Hijack of monitoring devices highlights cyber threat to solar power infrastructure
An attack on remote monitoring devices in Japan underscores an emerging cybersecurity threat to the rapidly growing solar component of the power grid. Inverters used with solar panels could pose a more significant risk.
Cyber Command, DARPA Sign Agreement to Expedite Cyber Tech Development
The U.S. Cyber Command and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have signed an agreement to speed up the development and deployment of cyber technologies for military use. This partnership establishes a joint governance structure and budget goals for the Constellation program, with the aim of delivering new cyber capabilities to the battlefield more quickly. Under this agreement, Cyber Command will select DARPA research projects to be carried out by the Orion Consortium, which is a collaborative effort between the two organizations. Lt. Gen. William Hartman, deputy commander of Cyber Command, emphasized that the Constellation program seeks to take promising DARPA technologies and develop critical capabilities to directly benefit the warfighter. The Constellation pilot program was established in October 2022 under a memorandum of understanding between DARPA and Cyber Command to expedite the development and transition of cyber-related technologies to the command.
Interest Builds Around Fed’s Cyber Unit Going to San Antonio
San Antonio, also known as Cyber City USA, is competing to host the U.S. Space Force's cyber warfare headquarters. The city aims to be the location for the Space Force's new cyber organization. The 16th Air Force, also known as Air Forces Cyber, is currently based at JBSA-Lackland, and some believe San Antonio would be a fitting location for the future Space Force cyber organization as well. Port San Antonio officials are advocating for innovative ideas to enhance efficiency and strengthen the U.S.'s competitive stance against adversaries like China and Russia. While they believe that Space Force Cyber could be based at the port, the specific details are yet to be confirmed. Three years ago, San Antonio lost its bid to bring the U.S. Space Command to the city. Despite being a finalist, the headquarters remained in Colorado Springs. Local officials learned lessons from the experience and are now focused on demonstrating the city's value proposition for national defense and security. They are also working to attract another military unit and are receiving support from the regional economic development hub
Australia takes Singtel-owned Optus to court over 2022 cyber attack
Australia's media regulator is taking legal action against telecom carrier Optus over a cyber attack it faced in September 2022, which exposed customers' personal information. About 10 million Australians, 40% of the population, are Optus customers and could not use smartphones, broadband internet, or landlines for much of the day of the breach. The Australian Communications and Media Authority is alleging that Optus Mobile failed to protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information of its customers from unauthorized interference or access. Optus has been taking necessary steps to mitigate the issue and has been cooperating with the authorities as the case moves to court.
70% of CISOs worry their org is at risk of a material cyber attack
Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are increasingly concerned about the risk of cyber attacks, with over 70% worrying about a material cyber attack in the next 12 months. The annual Voice of the CISO report by Proofpoint surveyed CISOs from organizations with at least 1,000 employees across 16 countries. The top threats identified by CISOs include ransomware, malware, email fraud, cloud account compromise, insider threats, and distributed denial of service attacks. Additionally, 62% of CISOs revealed they would likely pay to restore systems in the event of a ransomware infection. Unrealistic expectations placed on CISOs have been a growing concern, with 66% of those surveyed citing this issue. Many CISOs have also reported experiencing or witnessing burnout over the past 12 months.
Jumbo Group, Mustafa hit by cyber attacks
Two well-known Singapore companies, Jumbo Group and Mustafa, have been hit by cyber-attacks. Jumbo Group, a seafood restaurant chain, disclosed a recent ransomware attack in a bourse filing on May 23. The group swiftly activated its business continuity plan and reported the incident to the authorities. Mustafa group of companies, which runs a shopping mall in Little India, was affected by a data leak. The company has engaged external cyber-security professionals and an auditor to review its IT systems and has reported the matter to the relevant authorities in Singapore.
The SEC slaps NYSE's parent company with a $10M fine for not immediately reporting a hack
The regulator revealed that a third party in April 2021 had told ICE about a potential system breach involving a vulnerability in the latter's VPN (virtual private network). Following its internal investigation, ICE immediately ascertained that a threat actor had inserted malicious code into a VPN device used to access ICE's corporate network remotely. The company, however, did not relay this information to legal and compliance officers at its wholly owned subsidiaries, breaching its own cyber incident reporting policies.
Move over Jamtara & Mewat, 46% of cyber fraud here stems from SE Asia
The chief of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has reported an increase in cybercrimes involving Chinese individuals. In 2024, over six lakh complaints were received, totaling Rs 7,061 crore, but I4C saved Rs 812.7 crore from being defrauded. Collaboration with law enforcement agencies led to freezing 3.2 lakh mule accounts, blocking 3,000 URLs and 595 apps, suspending 5.3 lakh SIM cards, and taking down 3,401 cases of unlawful content. Indian citizens are lured to southeast Asia's cybercrime factories with fake job offers and then pushed into defrauding victims in India through various scams. The gains from these activities are laundered through Indian bank accounts, cryptocurrency transactions, and cash withdrawals. An inter-ministerial committee has been established to tackle the surge in transnational organized cybercrimes against Indians from southeast Asian countries.
House defense bill expected to include Cyber Force creation
House Armed Services Committee members Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., plan to propose an amendment to create a dedicated Cyber Force under the Department of Defense. The measure would involve an independent evaluation by the National Academy of Sciences to assess the feasibility of the new armed service, to be completed within approximately nine months after an agreement with the Defense Department is approved. Despite expectations of potential rejection by the Cyber Command, Luttrell remains optimistic about the amendment's approval, emphasizing the growing importance of cyber-related threats and risks at the national and global levels.
SARB cracks cyber security whip on payments firms
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued a directive to enhance cybersecurity and cyber resilience within the national payment system (NPS) in response to increasing cyber attacks on financial service providers. The directive requires payment institutions and operators to establish effective cyber governance arrangements, identify critical operations and information assets, and implement cybersecurity frameworks with appropriate security controls. They must also report any significant cyber incidents to the SARB and have measures in place for the safe and swift resumption of critical operations following a cyber incident. The directive will come into effect three months after its publication.
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