Phishing — Leaves The Onion Lost at SEA

via EdgeWave

It seems high-profile social media hacks are all the rage. The organization taking credit for some of them, including the attack last week on The Onion, calls itself the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA). The Onion, for the few who don’t know, is a satirical news site that specializes in funny fake news stories. So it’s not surprising that some people doubted they’d been hacked at all – coming as it did on the heels of the AP Twitter attack.  However, The Onion hacking gained credibility after they wrote about it on their technical blog – one that’s not as widely visited as their main news site.

Even more surprising, SEA wasn’t using some next-generation hacking technique that makes stopping these attempts so challenging – they used good, old-fashioned phishing!  Phishing and its close relatives spear-phishing and whaling have been around since the 90’s. They are tried and true methods that remind us of our vulnerability and caution us to remain vigilant.

According to The Onion blog, SEA phished Onion employees’ Google Apps using 3 different methods:

• First, they sent out phishing emails to some Onion employees, but only a few so as not to raise suspicions, asking them to read a Washington Post story.  Those who clicked on the link were redirected to a URL where they were asked to enter their Google credentials. One Onion employee fell for this stage of the attack.
• Once they gained access to the employee’s account, they used it to send emails to other Onion employees. Now they had their phishing emails coming from a known sender, increasing the odds someone would respond.
• Two employees entered their credentials and one of them had access to all of The Onion’s social media accounts, and the rest is history.
  
  Read the entire blog
  

In their blog about these events, The Onion included some tips under “Don’t let this happen to you”, including, educating users to be wary of links that lead to login requests; isolating Twitter email addresses from other organizational email; using strong passwords; and having a way to reach your users outside the organization’s internal email accounts.

However, another critical component of effective security measures is technology that can mitigate risks before they turn into damaging breaches. EdgeWave has solutions that offer multi-layered protection against the risks associated with social media in the workplace as well as award-winning solutions that defend against email-borne threats.  EdgeWave Social offers granular control over social media interactions that allows you to monitor and block content based on policies and rules you establish.  You can use the templates included in the solution or write your own unlimited rules. EdgeWave’s ePrism Email Security includes proprietary Zero Minute Defense, which can detect and block spam, malware and phishing exploits in close to real time.

Learn more about EdgeWave Social

Learn more about ePrism Email Security

AhnLab Survey: 78% of IT Professionals Admit Picking Up and Plugging In Abandoned USB Drives

AhnLab, South Korea’s largest IT security vendor, has revealed that 78 percent of IT security professionals have admitted to picking up and plugging in USB flash drives found abandoned or lying around.  This goes against all the rules and warnings these professionals try to drum into their own colleagues inserting a “found” flash drive into a network lead to infecting files and networks, and ultimately, the loss of valuable data.

The study, which was conducted at last month’s RSA Conference 2013 among  300 IT professionals  —  many of whom were security experts —,   found that data  which was discovered on the “found” USB drives often  included viruses, rootkits, bot executables, movies, music and other office documents.

The study also uncovered that more than 68 percent of those surveyed had been involved in a security breach, either at home, work or personally – with many relating back to the infected USB drives.

 “I am utterly shocked at these figures, in particular, the 78 percent number,” said Brian Laing, VP of marketing and business development, AhnLab, Santa Clara.  “For example, Stuxnet, one of the world’s most sophisticated cyber-attacks, gained access to its target system through a ‘found’ USB drive.  The creators of the malware left infected USB drives near a uranium enrichment facility and someone picked it up and inserted into their PC.  Stuxnet derailed the efforts of that nation to purify nuclear materials at its facility.”

According to Laing, IT security professionals are clearly ignoring basic rules and this must stop.  An infected USB drive could result in infected machines, infected networks, and a PC or PCs in the network converted to a bot for use by cyber criminals.  The result could include stolen intellectual property, such as sales forecasts, customer, and financial information.  The list is endless.

“I urge IT security professionals to begin practicing what they preach,” said Laing.  “This ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude doesn’t wash.  It really does come down to the old mantra of combining people, process and technology – if you can get all three elements right, you are on track to a safe and secure environment.  “

PR Team of the Year for the Security Industry at RSA

So very proud to have just won ‘PR Team of the Year for the Security Industry’ at RSA for our work with partner Madison Alexander Public Relations.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (#NCSAM)

October is the Annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month, created to help increase awareness of the dangers that exist online and develop best practices to avoid being a victim of cybercrime. 

Established by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a non-profit partnership of educational institutions, professional organizations, corporations and the Federal government. National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), conducted every October since 2001, is a national public awareness campaign to encourage everyone to protect their computers and our nation’s critical cyber infrastructure.

Today’s evolving Web-based threats such as phishing attacks, spyware and identity theft are top concerns for businesses and consumers alike. By utilizing proper precautions such as multiple passwords, updated security patches, and software solutions - ex. web filtering, anti-virus, firewalls - users can build a strong defense against cyber crime. National Cyber Security Awareness Month reaches more millions of Americans through media, middle school and high school lesson plans, and partnerships with dozens of companies and associations.

The success of National Cyber Security Awareness Month rests everyone to engage in education and awareness activities. There are opportunities for everyone from home users to major corporations and government entities to get involved.

To view ways that you can get involved with NCSAM, please visit for tips -  http://www.staysafeonline.org/

• There are no individuals, businesses or government agencies that have sole responsibility for assuring Internet security. 

• Each person who accesses the Internet has a role in securing their digital world, including their devices and the networks they use.

• When individuals take actions, they affect everyone – practicing personal Internet safety makes the Web more secure for others. 

• Each of us can play a role in making the internet safer by practicing personal cyber safety, promoting awareness in our communities and educating our youth – our combined efforts make for a strong and safe digital society. 

NCSAM promotes a simple three step method for Cyber Security that anyone can implement. By making your personal digital lives more secure, we can increase the security for all users:

• STOP:  Be aware of the risks and threats before you go online so that you are better able to spot potential problems.  

• THINK:  Consider what actions you are about to take and think of how they might affect your personal safety or that of your friends and family. Be alert to warning signs.

• CONNECT:  Once you have taken the first two steps, you are free to enjoy your Internet experience knowing you are safeguarding your digital existence and your computer.

SMBs Should Know These Top 5 Security Threats

The following is a guest post from Steve Kelley, SVP Corporate Development & Product Strategy at Edgewave

————————————

In a recent article in Information Week, Robert Lemos outlined a list of serious cyber threats that small and medium-sized businesses should not ignore. We’ve all read about the targeted attacks on large enterprise organizations that end up costing companies like Sony and Citibank millions. In fact, the PlayStation breach was estimated to cost Sony over a billion dollars in direct and indirect losses. These are scary stories for any organization, but even a billion dollar loss is not enough to sink Sony. That’s not true for SMBs. What is worse, cybercrime syndicates are just as likely to target a smaller company that may be considered an easy mark, than go after a giant like Sony.  Criminals may presume that a smaller organization is less likely to have sophisticated security solutions in place.  And a serious attack can result in losses from which some SMBs never recover.

Here are five of the threats that SMBs should put on their radar.

1.    Targeted Attacks

These are attacks aimed at a single business or organization and can include a variety of tactics such as introducing malware like bots or Trojans into your network. Bots are autonomous software that can be joined with others to form botnets. Once activated, they can be manipulated to commandeer your businesses computers. Delivering the bot is often done using “lures”, emails appearing to come from someone the victim knows. Once opened, the bot may hide in the network for days or even months until it “phones homes” to command and control outside your network. Once engaged, the bot can be given instructions to replicate itself, creating a huge botnet herd that can now do the cybercriminals bidding – like stealing your sensitive customer information or other proprietary data. It’s imperative that you have technology in place that can spot these intrusions both before they can come in – as with email security technology – and before they can phone home – real-time botnet defense.

2.    Internal Data Leaks

Employees going about their busy work day can sometimes forget security best practices such as never opening attachments or email links if you don’t recognize the sender. Once an employee opens the email, cyber criminals can grab one password and use it to access all the passwords in your system.  This mistake, offers criminals easy access to the company’s proprietary data and much harm can be done before you even know there is a breach. In another scenario, a disgruntled employee can willfully circumvent security and cause even greater damage. The best solution for this is one that includes comprehensive training for employees to avoid inadvertent data loss accompanied by a strong AUP. Of course, enforcing the AUP with technology is critical for SMBs if you are serious about protecting your data.

3.    Infected Websites

The author points out that many smaller businesses put up websites, which in some cases are only online brochures, and then forget about them. He warns that SMBs need to make sure their websites have not been compromised and used to launch criminal attacks. According to recent studies, over 60% of websites that deliver malware, are actually legitimate sites that have been compromised. You need to assure that your website doesn’t degrade your brand name by becoming a source of problems for visitors.

4.    Remote and Mobile Users

Although the BYOD craze (bring your own device) has been around awhile, SMBs may not be paying enough attention to the devices that access their networks every day. The danger that malware and other unwanted agents will invade your network via an unsecured mobile device should be a concern, particularly for smaller companies. Although Google reports that the number of users infected through the Google Play store has gone down nearly 40% in the past year – primarily as a result of their application vetting system, called Bouncer, your company Wi-Fi network is likely to carry risks. You should make certain you have the tools and technology to secure  your endpoints.

5.    Brand Damage

For companies worldwide, social media has emerged as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can be a powerful tool to help connect you with customers, vendors, partners and prospects. It can also provide an efficient way for your employees to communicate and collaborate. However, there are substantial risks involved, including brand damage, which can be intentional or inadvertent. You may want to give your employees access, particularly your sales and marketing people, in order to reap the benefits of social media. These can include revenue growth, increased marketing efficiency and lower cost of doing business. But you also need to keep in mind the importance of your brand reputation. Damaging your brand through inappropriate social media content can undermine all the work you’ve done to build your brand equity. Don’t get caught up in the advantages of social media without being aware of the risks. Technology that helps you grant access to social media in the workplace while mitigating the risks, will give you the best of both worlds.

35 Delicious Pieces of PR Advice for You to Eat Up. Yummm.

By Ronnie Manning

As public relations and marcom professionals, we have all gotten advice from some pretty savvy minds throughout our careers. Whether in school, your first job, or late into your career there is probably one nugget of advice that someone told you that has stuck with you to this day. 

I can say that the best piece of advice that I was ever told (and one that I still reference often) was back when I was fresh out of college and working at Edelman in DC.  That piece of advice was “Public Relations is a marathon, and not a sprint.”  I still think that this holds true today, but I would say that with the introduction of social media into our daily PR lives, the pace of the marathon has definitely been kicked up a notch, so maybe now we are running a 5K.

I was curious to know what other bits of advice PR practitioners have received that has helped guide their careers.  I reached out to peers in the industry and asked them what they would consider some of the best public relations advice that they have ever received and if they met a new graduate who is about to do a cannonball into the PR pool, what would they tell them?

Below are 35 great pieces of advice - some I’ve heard, many I haven’t, most I’ll repeat - so, chew these little nuggets up and digest.  

1. The best advice I ever got was from one of my college professors and I’ve carried it with me into my career: KISS: Keep it Simple Stupid - Elyse Petroni 

2. Unless you have a weekend event, or want to purposely bury a story - never pitch the press or send out a press release on a Friday - Kathleen G. Berzon

3. Best piece of advice I ever received came from a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who told me that ‘Information is Currency’ -  Jane Evans-Ryan 

4. Court Attention at All Costs: Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses. - Ryan Holiday

5. There isn’t one right way of achieving results (placements, mentions, social media following, etc.). You have to figure out what works for you and always be creative”  Janice Yu 

TheKube2, the World’s Smallest Touch Screen MP3 Player, Debuts in US

Today saw the official United States launch of the world’s smallest touch screen MP3 player, theKube2.   

Measuring in at just one cubed inch (the size of a small ice cube), size does not sacrifice style and performance with theKube2. Fabricated with a rock solid aluminum body, theKube2 features a touch screen for streamlined audio navigation and control. TheKube2 is ready for music on the move, giving you remarkable sound in ultra-lightweight package. TheKube2 MP3 Player has a battery life of six hours of continuous playback in a single hour USB charge.

TeleSign CEO Comments on Implications of Wired Hack

In light of  this week’s news about Wired writer Mat Honan’s accounts being hacked, Steve Jillings, CEO of Los Angeles-based fraud prevention experts TeleSign, has provided commentary on the implications for organizations that provide online services.  

“If your organization provides online services, you are responsible for safeguarding your customers information.

“Recently, Mat Honan, tech journalist at Wired Magazine, had many of his online accounts hacked resulting in considerable personal and business loss. By his own admission, this hack could have been avoided had he turned on the two-factor authentication feature provided by his web mail vendor. Many large web service providers currently provide two-factor authentication but many others still force their users to rely on their insecure user name and password alone.

“Organizations who have not already implemented two-factor authentication face an easy decision.  Implement cost effective, easy to deploy two-factor authentication and quickly protect your user base or alternately, deal with the aftermath which can include paying out millions to recover lost data, restore customer confidence, and rebound from a damaged public reputation. Security is a bottom line concern: Be proactive and protect your users and your company.”

- Steve Jillings, CEO, TeleSign 

APWG publishes 1st Quarter 2012 Phishing Activity Trends Report

Targeted Brands Reaches Record High in February and March

Top stats and a summary of 1st Quarter ‘12 Phishing Activity Trends include:

• The all-time high of 392 brands targeted in Feb. and March was an increase of 8 percent from the previous record high recorded just last December. [p. 6]
   
• The number of unique phishing sites detected in a month by the APWG reached 56,859 in February, which was an all-time high. 
   
• Financial Services continued to be the most-targeted industry sector in the first quarter of 2012. [p. 7]
   
• The average number of infected PCs across the globe stands at 35.51 percent, which is more than three percentage points lower than in 2011. [p. 8]
   
• China continues to be the most affected country (with 54.10 percent of infected PCs), and remains the only country with an infection ratio over 50 percent. [p. 8]
   
• Brand-Domain Pairs Measurement are up across the board with one of the biggest increases ever seen in a single quarter. [p. 5]
   
• In the first three months of 2012 more than six million unique malware samples were identified. [p. 8]
   
• During the quarter, the USA remained the top hosting country of phishing-based Trojans, and Azerbaijan cracked the top 10 for the first time ever, in March 2012. [p. 10]  

Pierluigi Stella, CTO of Network Box USA, weighs in on the DNSChanger malware situation

In response to this Computerworld article that the Internet will vanish Monday for 300,000 infected computers, Pierluigi Stella, CTO of Network Box USA, has offered his own option and weighs in on the DNSChanger malware situation.

How very interesting; someone still gets amazed at the fact that people won’t do anything to fix their own issues. I’ve been seeing this sort of situation ever since I started doing this job - people do not take care of these issues; some out of genuine ignorance of the issue, an absence of knowledge on how to fix it; but largely (and very worryingly), out of nonchalance. In my conversations with non corporate users, I realize that many do not use an AV; that they find it clumsy and slow, and, get this, expensive ($20/year to help keep your computer clean and safe, does that sound expensive to you?) 

What troubles me is when the author refers to enterprise users. I hope we are talking about small and med businesses here; because if Fortune 500 companies don’t fix these issues, then there is no hope that anyone will! 

Incidentally, there is an easy way around this problem, that any company of any size would be able to afford and which would do it some good in other ways as well – the use of a proxy server! If the server is in line with the internet traffic, so that no one can ‘accidentally’ bypass it, then the DNS resolution on the workstations becomes irrelevant because the proxy will do its own resolution. 

And, of course, assuming the proxy server itself is not compromised (thus the importance of not using Microsoft servers for doing this, in my opinion, a proxy server should be based on Linux not Microsoft; for numerous reasons, this being one of them), then this becomes a non-issue. No matter what IP the workstations resolve to, the proxy will resolve it to the correct one anyway. 

Which is one more reason why it is important to use a in line proxy to filter internet traffic!

You can make sure that your machine is safe using this simple tool via Mashable.

Wishing all a Safe and Happy 4th of July!!

Mynt Public Relations would like to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!! Stay safe and enjoy this great day!

(Phife doing his best Kanye impersonation)  

The Newest Member to the Mynt PR Team - meet Phife

Mynt Public Relations is proud to introduce the newest member to our team.  Phife the French Bulldog (he is going to be a big Ovechkin fan).  At only 9 weeks of age, Phife has shown a strong passion for squeeky toys, eating and nap time.
 

Happy Memorial Day

Mynt Public Relations would like to wish everyone a safe, relaxing and memorable Memorial Day weekend.  Take a moment to stop and remember all those men and women who have bravely given their lives.