Content by Mathew J. Schwartz

Incident Response Challenge: Knowing What to Prioritize

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 18, 2018

Incident response challenge: How to deliver actionable information to security analysts to enable them to better triage? "The quicker you can detect and respond to an incident, the more you're likely to be able to contain and minimize the risk associate with it," says IBM's Mike Spradbery.

Buzzword Bingo: Quantum, AI, Blockchain, Crypto

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 18, 2018

Quantum computing, blockchain, crypto, internet of things: There's a lot of hype around these technology areas, says Jon Geater, CTO of Thales e-Security. So it's essential to pierce the hype and see what's useful and applicable for practitioners.

Challenges for SOCs: People, Process, Technology

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 18, 2018

Running a security operations center today remains a "challenging operation," not only when it comes to the required technology, but also people and processes, says Cyberproof's Adrian Bisaz, who describes how SOCs must evolve.

Data Breach Trends: Attackers' Dwell Time Decreases, Mostly

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 18, 2018

There's data breach good news and bad news for organizations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says Mike Trevett of FireEye's Mandiant. In general, attackers are dwelling in networks for less time before being discovered, except for some particularly long-lasting breaches in EMEA.

Improving Network Visibility

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 15, 2018

The explosion in the growth and diversity of devices linked to networks as a result of the internet of things and BYOD makes it more challenging to manage network security, says Wallace Sann of ForeScout.

Battling Alert Fatigue

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 15, 2018

Security alert fatigue is a growing concern, leading to difficulties sorting out false positives from alerts worth investigating, says Robert Hamilton of Imperva.

A Year After WannaCry: Lots of Work to Do

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 15, 2018

One year after the WannaCry attack, cybersecurity is still failing, and the likelihood of a breach has never been greater, says Carl Leonard of Forcepoint.

EU Claims Kaspersky Lab Software 'Confirmed as Malicious'

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 15, 2018

The anti-Kaspersky Lab rhetoric continues to heat up, with the European Parliament passing a motion that brands the Moscow-based firm's software as being "confirmed as malicious." In response, Kaspersky Lab has halted all work with European institutions, including Europol, pending clarification.

Visual Journal: Infosecurity Europe 2018

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 14, 2018

When June arrives in the United Kingdom, that means it's time for the annual Infosecurity Europe conference in London. Here are visual highlights from this year's event, which featured 240 sessions, 400 exhibitors and an estimated 19,500 attendees.

Dixons Carphone Breach: 5.9 Million Payment Cards Exposed

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 13, 2018

The U.K.'s Dixons Carphone is investigating a data breach that resulted in the suspected exposure of 5.9 million payment cards and nonfinancial information for 1.2 million customers. The incident could become the first U.K. breach to fall under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation.

Cryptocurrency Theft: $1.1 Billion Stolen in Last 6 Months

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 12, 2018

As bitcoin continues its massive price fluctuations, a new report says criminals have continued their push to get extortion and ransom payments in more stable cryptocurrencies. But bitcoins remain a top target for hackers, who most often choose to directly target cryptocurrency exchanges.

Coinrail Cryptocurrency Exchange in South Korea Hacked

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 11, 2018

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinrail says hackers stole 30 percent of all of the cryptocurrency tokens it was storing, but many have been successfully frozen or recalled. Security experts say cryptocurrency exchanges remain poorly secured, so they're popular targets for hackers.

GDPR: UK Privacy Regulator Open to Self-Certification

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 8, 2018

One day, organizations may be able to self-certify their GDPR compliance, says an official at the U.K.'s data privacy regulator. Regardless, experts recommend that organizations ensure they are focusing on continuous GDPR compliance and regularly testing their data breach response plans.

10 Hot Sessions: Infosecurity Europe in London

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 4, 2018

The annual Infosecurity Europe conference returns to London this week, with a focus on the latest cybersecurity trends and essential practices for organizations. Hot topics range from artificial intelligence and breach response to GDPR and battling cybercriminals and nation-states.

Hackers Demand $770,000 Ransom From Canadian Banks

Mathew J. Schwartz  •  June 1, 2018

Hackers have reportedly demanded a ransom from Bank of Montreal and Simplii Financial in exchange for not dumping 90,000 customers' account details on a fraud forum. The FBI says online extortion and ransomware remain the top two types of cybercrime it's seeing today.