Content by Scott Ferguson

FBI: DarkSide Ransomware Used in Colonial Pipeline Attack

Scott Ferguson , Doug Olenick  •  May 10, 2021

The FBI and White House confirmed Monday that the DarkSide ransomware variant was used in the Friday attack that caused disruptions at Colonial Pipeline Co., which operates a pipeline that supplies fuel throughout the eastern U.S. But the gang behind the ransomware tried to shift the blame to an affiliate.

Colonial Pipeline Confirms Ransomware Causing Disruptions

Scott Ferguson  •  May 8, 2021

Colonial Pipeline, which oversees more than 5,500 miles of pipeline that supplies fuel throughout the U.S. East Coast, confirmed Saturday that a ransomware attack has disrupted its services, and the company has taken some of its IT systems offline as a precaution.

'Hack the Pentagon' Program Expands

Scott Ferguson  •  May 6, 2021

The Defense Department will expand its vulnerability disclosure program in the coming months, inviting ethical hackers to find flaws in a wider array of systems and applications - including IoT and industrial control systems - within the Pentagon's public-facing networks.

3 Bills Focus on Enhancing Electrical Grid Cybersecurity

Scott Ferguson  •  May 5, 2021

Lawmakers in the Senate and House have introduced legislation designed to improve and enhance the nation's electrical grid and respond to concerns that the country's power system is prone to cyberthreats.

IT Modernization Grants Will Prioritize Cybersecurity

Scott Ferguson  •  May 4, 2021

The Biden administration will prioritize cybersecurity in its $1 billion IT modernization grant program for federal agencies, which will be overseen by the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget.

Pulse Secure VPN Zero-Day Flaw Patched

Scott Ferguson  •  May 3, 2021

Ivanti, parent company of Pulse Secure, published a permanent fix Monday for a zero-day vulnerability in Pulse Connect Secure VPN products that has been exploited to target U.S. government agencies, critical infrastructure providers and other companies over the last several weeks.

CISA: 5 Agencies Using Pulse Secure VPNs Possibly Breached

Scott Ferguson  •  April 30, 2021

CISA is investigating whether five U.S. government agencies may have been breached when attackers exploited vulnerabilities in Pulse Connect Secure VPN products, according to a senior official. Security researchers believe that at least two nation-state groups have been attempting to exploit these flaws.

Fighting Ransomware: A Call for Cryptocurrency Regulation

Scott Ferguson  •  April 29, 2021

A coalition of government agencies and security firms has released a framework for how to disrupt ransomware attacks that calls for expanded regulation of the global cryptocurrency market to better track the virtual coins paid to cybercriminals during extortion schemes.

Civilian Cyber Reserve Program Proposed

Scott Ferguson  •  April 29, 2021

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a legislative proposal that would create a program, similar to the National Guard, to deploy those with tech and security skills during significant cyberthreats, such as the recent SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange attacks.

'Ghostwriter' Disinformation Campaign Targets NATO Allies

Scott Ferguson  •  April 28, 2021

An ongoing disinformation campaign dubbed "Ghostwriter," which leverages compromised social media accounts, is targeting several NATO member countries in Europe, attempting to undermine confidence in the defensive organization as well as spread discord in Eastern Europe, according to FireEye.

Lawmakers Seek to Expand CISA's Role

Scott Ferguson  •  April 27, 2021

Several bipartisan congressional initiatives are seeking to expand the mission of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Here's a rundown of the details.

FBI, CISA Warn of Ongoing Russian Cyberthreats

Scott Ferguson  •  April 26, 2021

The FBI and CISA are warning of continued cyberthreats stemming from Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, which the Biden administration formally accused of carrying out the SolarWinds supply chain attack. A joint alert describes how Russian attackers are targeting vulnerable networks.

Analysts Uncover More Servers Used in SolarWinds Attack

Scott Ferguson  •  April 23, 2021

Researchers at RiskIQ say they've discovered more than a dozen previously undocumented command-and-control servers used in the SolarWinds supply chain attack, showing that the cyberespionage operation was much larger than previously identified.

DOJ Launches Task Force to Battle Ransomware Threat

Scott Ferguson  •  April 22, 2021

The Justice Department is creating a task force to tackle the growing threat of ransomware and related extortion schemes. The new group will target the "ransomware criminal ecosystem as a whole," which means prosecuting those behind the attacks as well as those who launder money that's extorted.

CISA Orders Agencies to Mitigate Pulse Secure VPN Risks

Scott Ferguson  •  April 21, 2021

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has issued an emergency directive requiring executive branch agencies to mitigate by Friday the risks posed by a zero-day vulnerability and three other recently patched flaws in Pulse Connect Secure VPN products.