Author: HackWatchit
Editor’s Note: As we mark International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, and National Recovery Month in September, Homeland Security Today contributor Robert Patterson – former Acting Administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – has penned a four-part series to be published weekly. He illuminates the opioid crisis, both its history and ongoing struggles, and how we chart a path forward with strategies that result in tangible impact. Part 1: Understanding the Historical Context and Criminal Enterprise Evolution In my 30 years with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and subsequent years working alongside public safety professionals, I have seen…
, and Siri are the ubiquitous voice assistants that serve most of the internet connected population today. For the most part, English is the dominant language used with these voice assistants. However, for a voice assistant to be truly helpful, it must be able to understand the user as they naturally speak. In many parts of the world, especially in a diverse country like India, it is common for people to be multilingual and to switch between multiple languages in a single conversation. A truly smart assistant should be able to handle this. Google Assistant offers the ability to add…
The Threat Landscape According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, one billion people have been victims of a data breach in just the second quarter of 2024. Businesses must have proactive measures in place to safeguard sensitive information. Data breaches can come from anywhere, and the most common tactics businesses face are phishing, ransomware and password attacks. As technology changes, cyber criminals change with it, developing new and more sophisticated tactics. The global average cost of a breach has hit nearly $4.9 million this year, according to an IBM estimate. Meanwhile Chainalysis reports ransomware payments exceeding $1.1 billion in 2023. If business leaders aren’t…
Amazon blocks APT29 campaign targeting Microsoft device code authentication Pierluigi Paganini August 31, 2025 Amazon stopped a Russia-linked APT29 watering hole attack that hijacked Microsoft device code authentication via compromised sites. Amazon announced that it had disrupted an opportunistic watering hole campaign orchestrated by the Russia-linked cyber espionage group APT29 (aka SVR group, Cozy Bear, Nobelium, BlueBravo, Midnight Blizzard, and The Dukes). Amazon experts labeled the attacks as an opportunistic watering hole campaign using compromised websites to redirect visitors to malicious infrastructure. The bogus websites that are employed in the attack are designed to trick visitors into authorizing attacker-controlled devices through Microsoft’s device code authentication flow.…
in machine learning are the same. Coding, waiting for results, interpreting them, returning back to coding. Plus, some intermediate presentations of one’s progress. But, things mostly being the same does not mean that there’s nothing to learn. Quite on the contrary! Two to three years ago, I started a daily habit of writing down lessons that I learned from my ML work. In looking back through some of the lessons from this month, I found three practical lessons that stand out: Keep logging simple Use an experimental notebook Keep overnight runs in mind Keep logging simple For years, I used…
Many organizations believe that implementing Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions can ease their data security and privacy policies implementation. However, when we are not aware of the challenges, we face during the implementation of DLP solutions or the limitations of that DLP tool we wish choose, we may not be able to utilize the maximum value of it in line with the company’s security policy guidelines.We might also end up using multiple DLP solutions if the chosen DLP solution doesn’t fit into our requirement guidelines. As a first step of DLP implementation, organizations need to identify the data to be…
Nevada on Wednesday confirmed that the days-long disruption to state systems and services was caused by a ransomware attack. The incident, disclosed on Monday morning as a network security incident, occurred on Sunday, and forced Nevada to close all state offices on Monday and Tuesday. During a press conference on Wednesday, the state’s officials publicly confirmed that a “sophisticated ransomware attack” was the cause of the disruptions. “Upon detection, we immediately activated our established cybersecurity incident response plan,” Tim Galluzi, Executive Director of the Governor’s Technology Office, said. “Our first and most critical step was to contain the threat. To…
Today’s rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape presents urgent and significant challenges to federal agencies. The emergence of AI-powered threats, state-sponsored adversaries, internal vulnerabilities and threat complexity create pervasive and multifaceted risks that demand immediate attention. As a result, security operations are constantly in motion, prompting the need for holistic, adaptive security strategies and an emphasis on risk and cyber resilience. This need begs a few questions for agencies: How can security teams quantify and manage today’s cyber risks more effectively? What is needed to evolve traditional vulnerability and exposure management programs into proactive, risk-based operations? How can risk operations support…
Why are Cybersecurity Professionals Excited About Cloud-Native Advancements? Is it possible that the future of cybersecurity lies in the cloud? The answer, increasingly, is a resounding yes. Cloud-native advancements have ignited a spark in the sector, particularly in Non-Human Identities (NHIs) and Secrets Security Management. I’ve gathered a lot of data-driven insights that highlight the potential and benefits of these new developments. The Growing Emphasis on Non-Human Identities (NHIs) NHIs or machine identities are gaining traction in cybersecurity circles for a reason. They are integral to creating a secure cloud, and their management plays a strategic role in reducing security…