Content by Scott Ferguson

Payment Card Theft Ring Tech Leader Gets 10-Year Sentence

Scott Ferguson  •  April 19, 2021

A Ukrainian national who admitted to working as a system administrator and IT manager for the notorious FIN7 cybercriminal gang, which has been involved in the theft of millions of payment cards, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

US Pulls Back Curtain on Russian Cyber Operations

Scott Ferguson  •  April 16, 2021

While the Biden administration is betting that the latest round of sanctions aimed at Russia and its economy will help deter the country's cyber operations, several U.S. agencies used the sanctions announcement as an opportunity to pull back the curtain on the tactics of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.

US Sanctions Russia Over SolarWinds Attack, Election Meddling

Scott Ferguson  •  April 15, 2021

The Biden administration has formally sanctioned Russia over the cyber operation that targeted SolarWinds and its customers as well as the disinformation campaign against the 2020 U.S. elections. The NSA and other agencies also attributed the SolarWinds attack to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR.

Senators Push for Changes in Wake of SolarWinds Attack

Scott Ferguson  •  April 14, 2021

The SolarWinds supply chain attack that led to follow-on attacks on nine government agencies and 100 companies points to the need for a federal law requiring prompt breach notification, several senators said at a Wednesday hearing.

NSA Veterans Nominated for Top Cyber Posts

Scott Ferguson  •  April 12, 2021

President Joe Biden has nominated two U.S. National Security Agency veterans for top cybersecurity positions as the White House continues to confront the fallout from the SolarWinds supply chain attack as well as attacks against on-premises Microsoft Exchange email servers.

US Blacklists 7 Chinese Supercomputer Entities

Scott Ferguson  •  April 9, 2021

Citing national security concerns, the U.S. Commerce Department has placed seven Chinese supercomputer organizations on the Entity List, which effectively bars them from receiving supplies or components from U.S. companies.

NIST Drafts Election Security Guidance

Scott Ferguson  •  March 30, 2021

NIST has drafted guidelines for how to use its cybersecurity framework to address cyberthreats and other security issues that can target state and local election infrastructure and disrupt voting.

GAO Pushes for Speeding Up Cybersecurity Enhancements

Scott Ferguson  •  March 30, 2021

The Government Accountability Office is urging the U.S. government to respond more rapidly to cybersecurity issues, especially in the wake of the SolarWinds supply chain attack that led to the breach of nine federal departments as well as about 100 companies.

Senators Raise Concerns About Energy Dept. Cybersecurity

Scott Ferguson  •  March 27, 2021

Eleven U.S. senators are raising concerns about the Department of Energy's cybersecurity readiness as the department continues to investigate a breach related to the SolarWinds supply chain attack.

COVID-19-Related Fraud: 474 Charged So Far

Scott Ferguson  •  March 26, 2021

Over the last 12 months, federal prosecutors have charged 474 suspects with trying to steal more than $569 million through COVID-19-related fraud schemes, including attempts to swindle the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses.

SolarWinds Attack Illustrates Evolving Russian Cyber Tactics

Scott Ferguson  •  March 25, 2021

The SolarWinds supply chain attack demonstrates that Russian intelligence services have learned from previous operations and adjusted their tactics, says Dmitri Alperovitch, the former CTO of security firm CrowdStrike, which investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Phishing Attack Exposes Sensitive Data at California Agency

Scott Ferguson  •  March 24, 2021

A phishing attack that targeted a unit of the California State Controller’s Office, exposing Social Security numbers and other sensitive information, should raise questions about the type of security deployed by the agency and prompt a fresh examination of its cybersecurity plans, some security experts say.

Cybercrime Forum Administrator Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

Scott Ferguson  •  March 22, 2021

A Russian national who co-founded the Infraud Organization's online cybercrime forum, which trafficked in stolen payment card data and was tied to more than $560 million in fraud losses, has been sentenced to serve 10 years in prison.

Acer Reportedly Targeted by Ransomware Gang

Scott Ferguson  •  March 21, 2021

Acer, one of the world's largest PC and device makers, has been targeted by the ransomware gang REvil, aka Sodinokibi, according to news reports. The Taiwanese company has not confirmed it has been attacked, but data has been posted to the gang's darknet site.

Russian Pleads Guilty in Tesla Hacking Scheme

Scott Ferguson  •  March 19, 2021

A Russian national who conspired to extort millions from electric car manufacturer Tesla by trying to plant malware in the company's network has pleaded guilty to a single federal conspiracy charge, according to the U.S. Justice Department. The FBI thwarted the plot before it could be carried out.