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‘Reaper’ Botnet the latest threat to internet-connected devices

Warnings over a new hacking botnet called ‘Reaper‘ have been issued. It has been identified as the latest major cybersecurity risk to devices connected to the internet, and first emerged in October 2017.

Cybersecurity company Check Point reports that over a million internet connected devices have already been infected, and it doesn’t look like the botnet will be stopped anytime soon. They warn “our research suggests we are now experiencing the calm before an even more powerful storm. The next cyber hurricane is about to come.”
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Businesses need to communicate more about their data breaches; before and after they happen.

Data breaches can be very embarrassing for a business. Being attacked by hackers can undermine the control the business has over its own systems and databases, and it can hamper the loyalty of their customers.

The embarrassment can be even worse if the data breach occurred as a result of an employee error.

After a data breach, the trends we witness for an affected business vary depending on how a breach is handled… For businesses that try to conceal a breach and are found out via other channels the backlash can be brutal as share prices drop, customers leave to do business elsewhere and the reputation of the brand takes a battering in the media.
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Are British businesses sweeping data breaches under the carpet?

With the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) looming, it seems that British businesses may have a long way to go when it comes to straightening up to comply with the new European regulations.

They come in to force in May next year – the clock is ticking!

It appears that firms in Britain may reportedly have a culture of keeping data breaches a secret and not reporting them; perhaps for fear of repercussions or simply because they don’t know what to do. But such behaviour simply will not do…
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66% of small-to-medium businesses could “shut down” in the event of a data breach

Computer Antivirus provider Vipre recently conducted a study to see how small-to-medium businesses (SMB) would be impacted by a data breach.

The findings were startling – they indicated that, in the event of a data breach, up to two-thirds of these companies could either go out of business completely or have to shut down for at least one day.

Practically, this is very concerning.
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Yet another NHS worker fined for accessing sensitive medical records without authorisation

It seems the NHS can’t keep its staff under control as yet another worker has been found guilty of accessing sensitive medical records without authorisation.

Linda Reeves reportedly abused her position as a former data coordinator with access to the Trust’s patient database by rifling through medical records belonging to colleagues, friends and neighbours. She did not have any consent or authorisation from patients or her employer as the data controller.

Reeves has since resigned from her job at The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.
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Nottinghamshire County Council fined £70,000 for leaving data belonging to vulnerable people exposed for 5 years

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued Nottinghamshire County Council a fine of £70,000.00 for leaving sensitive personal data exposed online for half a decade.

The watchdog discovered the council’s ‘Home Care Allocation System’ (HCAS) was shared with care home providers using a simple link that did not require a username or a password.

The system contained a lot of personal information belonging to prospective and current care home users. Created in July 2011, the council was finally alerted to the security risk when a member of the public searched for HCAS online in June 2016 and found files readily accessible and completely unrestricted.
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Leicester city council worker fined for stealing sensitive personal data to use for his own business

Nilesh Morar worked for Leicester City Council in the Adult Social Care Department where he reportedly stole a wealth of personal sensitive data for personal financial gain.

He reportedly took the information belonging to vulnerable people without the Council’s knowledge or permission.

After he stole the personal data, Morar left his job with the Council to set up his own business, so the motives for stealing the data seem quite apparent.
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London Borough of Islington fined £79,000 for security flaw that may have compromised personal data belonging to 89,000 people

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found that the London Borough of Islington is liable for breaching data protection duties through their reported failure to keep 89,000 people’s personal data safe on an online parking ticketing database.

Information including sensitive health details, disabilities and financial details were reportedly not properly secured.

Islington Council uses a ‘Ticket Viewer’ system to allow members of the public to review CCTV images or videos of the parking offence so they may check any tickets issued, and it is this system that is at the centre of the breach.
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Every single Yahoo account has been hacked – that’s three billion accounts!

2016 revealed one of the biggest data hacks in history when a reported one billion Yahoo user accounts were found to have been hacked, with login information stolen.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, it has now been revealed that the epic data breach affected all Yahoo users; tripling the initial number of accounts thought to be affected.

The three billion accounts breached is a number equivalent to almost half of the world’s entire population. Accounts for Yahoo-acquired social media platforms Tumblr, Fantasy and Flickr have also reportedly been compromised in the breach.
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Equifax CEO resigned just before testifying over colossal data breach

Former Equifax CEO Richard Smith’s retirement, just days before he was scheduled to testify over the huge data breach at court, has generated a lot of criticism. Although his resignation can be deemed as a positive reaction to the breach that reportedly exposed the details of some 143 million individuals, prosecutors are condemning it as not enough to make up for the “travesty”.

It’s thought that some 209,000 credit card numbers were compromised in the breach, with some belonging to U.K. customers. Reports suggest that Smith will be “keeping $18 million in pension benefits and possibly $30 million in stock options.”
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