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President Joe Biden in the Oval Office (Source: Wikipedia) The $1.9 trillion economic relief package known as the American Rescue Plan, which the House approved Wednesday and President Biden signed Thursday afternoon, includes about $2 billion for cybersecurity and IT modernization, rather than the $10 billion the president originally proposed. The cybersecurity and IT funding includes $650 million allocated to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for "cybersecurity risk mitigation" as well as $1 billion for the General Services Administration to spend on IT modernization...

SolarWinds Unlikely to Be an Isolated Event as Attackers Become More Sophisticated The researchers noted that, in addition to widening the attack surface, the shift to digital following the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed malicious actors the time, capital and opportunity to industrialize, leading to advancements in their operations. Nearly 40% of the 180 IR, cybersecurity and IT professionals surveyed for the study stated that double-extortion ransomware was the most observed new ransomware technique in 2020. In general, ransomware was a very prominent method em...

Fresh affiliate programs helped ransomware-as-a-service operators achieve record profits in 2020. (Source: Group-IB) Ransomware dominated the online-enabled crime landscape in 2020, some security experts say, thanks to the massive profits it's been generating and the relative ease of use for attackers - including support from a burgeoning cybercrime-as-a-service market. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis this week reported that it's found just under $370 million in known 2020 ransomware profits - via ransoms that got paid - which represents a 336% increase over known 2019 earnings. The firm...

Get Permission A lack of centralized leadership, especially at the White House level, is hindering the federal government's ability to address numerous cybersecurity issues, such as the SolarWinds supply chain attack that affected federal agencies and others, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Since 2010, the GAO has made over 3,300 recommendations to improve cybersecurity standards and practices across the federal government, and as of December 2020, about 750 - including 100 that are considered priority recommendations - have not been implemented, accordin...

Cobalt Strike is a legitimate penetration tool that ransomware-wielding attackers often use to help hit targets. Ransomware continues to sting numerous organizations, and the problem only seems to be getting worse. So, defenders across every type of targeted organization - including government agencies and private businesses - would do well to have more effective defenses in place. Such defenses would ideally include organizations proactively looking for known ransomware attackers' tactics, techniques and procedures. That kind of threat hunting can help defenders spot attacks in the reconnais...