Tag Archives: cybercrime

Biden Administration Focus on Cybercrime Continues with Israeli Companies Added to Entity List, New Export Controls, and Cryptocurrency Sanctions

On November 3, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) added two Israeli entities to the Entity List due to malicious cyber activities. In its press release, BIS stated that the designation of Israeli companies NSO Group and Candiru was based on evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments, which was then used for malicious surveillance,… More

What Do Pumpkin Spice Lattes and National Cybersecurity Awareness Month Have in Common?

What do pumpkin spice lattes and National Cybersecurity Awareness Month have in common?  Not much, other than both should be top of mind in October, but that doesn’t mean that it’s wrong to think about them both in August.

Held every October, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safe and secure online while increasing the resilience of the Nation against cyber threats.  … More

DNC Sues Russia, the Trump campaign, Wikileaks

It’s probably not going to change anything, but the Democratic National Committee has sued Russia (and members of the Russian establishment), members of the Trump campaign, and Wikileaks regard the 2016 election security breaches.  The DNC’s complaint includes almost every claim imaginable in response to a hacking incident.  If nothing else, it’s a good model for lawyers to crib from. More

Cybersecurity News and Notes – July 25, 2016

In Case You Missed It: U.S. Major party platforms address cybersecurity.  The two major parties have released their 2016 election platforms, both of which include cybersecurity planks.  The Republican platform’s perspective of cybersecurity is an element of national security and international relations. The platform called for harsh responses to cyber-attacks against American businesses, institutions, and government, applauded the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, and pledged to “explore the possibility of a free market for Cyber-Insurance.” The Democratic platform is largely as a continuation of President Obama’s cybersecurity policies.… More

IRS Warns of “Surge” in Tax Season Phishing Scams

tax iconTax season ‘tis the season to be phishing, according to the IRS.  The IRS has issued a warning to payroll and human resources professionals about a “surge” in phishing emails seen this year.  One of the preferred tactics of identity thieves this year appears to be impersonating CEOs and sending emails to company payroll and human resources departments asking for employee W-2s. … More

Check Your Technology at the Door

Recent news of government monitoring of phone calls and emails, both within the U.S. and abroad, has caused some to reexamine their technological companions.  Many are beginning to ask, when highly confidential and sensitive information is being discussed, should our seemingly indispensable technology be checked at the door?

This month, the British government began banning the presence of iPads at certain Cabinet meetings over concerns that the devices could contain viruses that would allow third parties to take control of the microphone and transmit recorded audio. … More

Microsoft Report Challenges Conventional Wisdom on Cybercrime Losses

It’s a pretty technical read, but this recent Microsoft report, "Sex, Lies and Cyber-crime Surveys" by Dinei Florencio and Cormac Herley tries to support an interesting hypothesis:  cyber-crime surveys that suggest huge losses from hacking and phishing aren’t reliable.  Here’s an excerpt of their thinking:

First, [cyber-crime] losses are extremely concentrated, so that representative sampling of the population does not give representative sampling of the losses.… More