Blackshades and its RAT Relatives: The Most Dangerous Malware on the Planet

RAT: Remote Access Tool, Remote Administration Tool, Remote Access Trojan; whatever you call them, all RATs are basically the same. They all allow a user to control one or more computers remotely. Sometimes this is important. Programs like StaffCop allow administrators to keep an eye on everything employees do on their computers. It allows administrators …

The Buck Stops There: Who is Ultimately Responsible for a Security Breach?

“If ignorance is bliss, there should be more happy people.” ― Victor Cousin. And if the data in the recent Websense/Ponemon report is true, there should be a lot more happy people in IT security. It is not a pretty picture. Here are some examples of the key findings of the 4,881 IT and IT …

Gartner Research Adds New Dimension to BYOD Security

Gartner’s Recent webinar presented research which puts BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) security in a completely new light. Gartner presenter, Dionisio Zumerle, began the webinar by defining BYOD from a security point of view: “The practice of deliberately breaching enterprise security by putting sensitive data on an unknown, uncontrolled, untrusted, unmanaged device.” In other words, …

When Appliances Attack…and Sometimes Kill

Nothing is more disconcerting than coming home to find your refrigerator attacking your smart TV over who should be first to use the router to send spam. Yes, refrigerators often contain spam, but not of the digital variety. The refrigerator in question was part of a botnet that was discovered early this year. It and …

Recent Ponemon Institute Study Casts Doubt on the Effectiveness of BYOD Policies

I recently represented InZero Systems at a webinar co-hosted by Larry Ponemon, of the Ponemon Institute, and the security firm, Avecto. The webinar was entitled, Cyber Strategies for Endpoint Defense, and was largely based on the recent report of the same name. The study points out weaknesses in security that can stem from the introduction …