Between July and September 2024, identity-focused attacks (most notably those targeting credential theft), surged, representing 25% of Cisco’s incident response cases. These types of intrusions have become increasingly prevalent due to the accessibility of simple-to-use hacking tools.

Meanwhile, ransomware attacks continued to dominate the threat landscape, constituting approximately 40% of cases. The quarter saw the emergence of several new ransomware variants such as RansomHub, DragonForce and RCRU64, in addition to recurring threats like BlackByte and Cerber.

Education, financial services and the manufacturing industry faced the brunt of these attacks, collectively accounting for over 30% of reported breaches. This pattern mirrors trends identified in earlier quarters of 2024, suggesting hackers are consistently and deliberately targeting these industries.

Salman Faqeeh, Managing Director of Cisco Saudi Arabia, stated: “The rise in identity-based attacks and persistent ransomware threats reflect the evolving cyber landscape. At Cisco, our priority is equipping customers with advanced security solutions to bolster their digital resilience.” He added, “Black Hat MEA is an ideal forum to share threat insights and unveil our innovations that mitigate identity-based attacks, prevent breaches, and close exploit gaps”.

Also Read: Joby Begins Construction Of Dubai’s First Vertiport For Air Taxis

At Black Hat MEA 2024, Cisco will serve as a Strategic Sponsor under the theme “Innovating a New Era of Security,” showcasing its latest advancements in cybersecurity. A particular focus will be on securing AI-powered data centers and distributed environments, ensuring robust protection across all devices and applications.

Splunk, a cybersecurity company which is now part of Cisco, will also exhibit its own cutting-edge solutions, including next-generation Security Operations Centres (SOC) and tools for Operational Technology (OT) environments. Finally, Lothar Renner, Managing Director of Cisco Security, EMEA, is set to deliver a keynote titled “Redefining Security in the Age of AI,” spotlighting Cisco’s forward-looking approach to security in the evolving threat landscape.

Attendees at Black Hat MEA 2024 can visit Cisco at booth H1-T20 at the Riyadh Exhibition & Conference Centre between November 26-28.

The post Cisco Highlights 2024 Cybersecurity Trends Ahead Of Black Hat MEA appeared first on Tech Magazine.

Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered the unsecured database, which lacked password protection or other access controls, and promptly notified the UN, who swiftly secured the database. Fowler notes that these types of data exposures are common, but stresses the importance of maintaining awareness about such vulnerabilities:

“They’re doing incredible work, helping real people in challenging situations, but cybersecurity remains a critical issue,” Fowler explained. “I’ve found numerous examples of exposed data before, but in this case, it’s about organizations aiding people at risk simply for existing in certain regions”.

UN Women acknowledged the incident in a statement, expressing gratitude for the collaboration with cybersecurity experts and that it had launched an investigation.

The exposed data presents multiple security concerns. Financial audits in the database included bank account details, and the disclosures revealed how organizations receive and allocate their funding. Additionally, the information provided insights into staffing and internal operations, which could be exploited to trace connections between civil society organizations.

Also Read: The Top 10 Worst Cyberattacks In The Middle East Revealed

“You’ve got details on organizations, their staff, and projects with budgets in the millions,” Fowler explained. “If this information landed in the wrong hands, it could be used by scammers or even authoritarian regimes to identify which organizations are working where and who they’re collaborating with”.

Fowler expressed particular concern for the people mentioned in the database, many of whom had shared deeply personal experiences, including stories of abuse, kidnapping, and other traumatic events, likely under the assumption that their identities would remain protected.

If this incident spurs a broader review of the UN’s data security infrastructure, it could help prevent future breaches and mitigate risks for the vulnerable populations UN Women and other UN organizations serve.

The post Exposed UN Database Left Sensitive Data Vulnerable Online appeared first on Tech Magazine.

MoneyGram, which is used by over 50 million customers across more than 200 countries annually, said the investigation into the breach was still in its early stages. Experts have yet to determine the full extent of the data hack, with MoneyGram spokesperson Sydney Schoolfield so far declining to comment beyond the company’s public statement.

According to MoneyGram, the stolen data includes various personal details, such as names, phone numbers, postal and email addresses, dates of birth, and national identification numbers. A “limited number” of Social Security numbers and government-issued identification documents, including driver’s licenses and other personal documents, were also exposed. The specific types of stolen data will vary depending on the individual customer.

Also Read: UAE Residents Rank Third For Password Forgetfulness

Additionally, the hackers obtained transaction information, including dates and amounts, along with criminal investigation data related to fraud for some customers.

The post MoneyGram Confirms Hackers Stole Customer Data appeared first on Tech Magazine.

To assess this ranking, researchers used a composite score that included metrics such as the average number of accounts per person, the average duration between password resets, and the percentage of individuals searching for password resets.

In addition to its third-place position, the UAE also had the shortest average time between password resets at just 24 months. In contrast, New Zealand topped the rankings with an average of 72 months between resets.

As for the platforms where users often forget their passwords, popular services such as Gmail, Microsoft, Facebook, and Xbox topped the list. For those in the UAE, Gmail was the most commonly forgotten password.

Understanding Password Forgetfulness

The phenomenon known as “password fatigue” plays a significant role in the forgetfulness of UAE residents.

With many online platforms requiring users to create accounts for access, the number of passwords individuals must remember keeps increasing. In the UAE, the average number of accounts per person stands at 55, which means users might need to manage and recall 55 unique passwords.

Also Read: The Top 10 Worst Cyberattacks In The Middle East Revealed

Moreover, the days of simple passwords like “qwerty” or “12345” are rapidly fading. Many companies now impose strict password requirements, mandating at least eight characters, one uppercase letter, one special character, and so on.

This shift towards more complex passwords, combined with the growing number of platforms that require unique passwords, leads to mental overload. As a result, users become more prone to forgetting their login details.

Strategies To Tackle The Issue

One effective solution to the problems mentioned above is to use a password manager. These encrypted containers allow users to store all their passwords securely in one location. This way, instead of remembering numerous passwords, you only need to recall one — the master password for the password manager itself.

Additionally, many users choose single sign-on (SSO) options for website access. This feature enables them to log in using their Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, or Apple accounts, thus removing the need to create individual passwords for each new platform. However, users should exercise caution and evaluate a platform’s safety before linking third-party accounts.

The post UAE Residents Rank Third For Password Forgetfulness appeared first on Tech Magazine.

Repetitive and well-defined processes can now be totally automated thanks to IoT, with the role of humans limited to overseeing the process and devising ways to streamline it further.

Apart from its numerous industrial applications, this technology is also the driving force behind the rise of smart cities and smart homes. The transformation of “dumb” devices like electrical appliances (fans, lights, and other household appliances) into smart, internet-enabled devices that can interact with each other and can be controlled remotely over the internet is what makes a smart home, well, smart. And as impressive and convenient as it is, the amount of data being processed by these devices poses serious privacy and security questions.

Are Smart Homes Really Private?

It’s perfectly natural to expect total privacy within the confines of your home. If not your own home, where else can you expect to be 100% safe from prying eyes?

The problem with smart homes is that IoT-enabled devices collect tons of usage data and could, at least in theory, provide opportunities for threat actors to obtain information about your schedule and habits.

Manipulator-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks are a major concern when dealing with smart home devices. In such an attack, a malicious actor manages to intercept communication between two or more devices, gathering data and, in some cases, even managing to take control of the devices themselves.

Thankfully, if you purchase your IoT devices from well-known and respected vendors like Samsung, LG, and Amazon, threat actors will have a hard time accessing the data being transferred between these devices due to the incredibly secure encryption they use. Moreover, if you follow IoT best practices, such as purchasing the newest devices, keeping their firmware up to date, and setting a secure password for your network that you frequently change (since most IoT networks are Wi-Fi-based), there’s no need to worry.

The truth is, if a cybercriminal has the know-how to pull off a breach on a secure IoT network, they’ll usually go after much bigger targets like businesses, for example. Most homes are simply not worth the effort.

Of course, there’s always the chance that your smart home vendor itself could experience a data breach, putting your data at risk, but if this is something you’re worried about, you can always invest in tech that stores data locally. Of course, this comes with its own risks, especially if someone manages to gain access to the storage location, but at that point, the robbers who have managed to break into your home in this hypothetical situation don’t really care about your smart home usage data.

The Cost Of Convenience

IoT and smart home technology have undeniably made life more convenient, and as we’ve already seen, if you invest in the right tech from reputed vendors and follow smart home security best practices, it’s quite secure. However, even if the devices themselves are secure, the vendors—yes, even the trusted ones—have a sketchy history when it comes to managing data.

For example, Amazon was ordered to pay a penalty of $25 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule), a U.S. children’s privacy law. The violation occurred due to Amazon indefinitely holding voice recordings of children collected from Alexa, its voice assistant, even ignoring deletion requests in some cases.

Back to the matter at hand: as safe as smart homes are when you know what you’re doing, any device connected to a wider network is inherently at risk of a breach. Since IoT devices are connected to the internet, there is always a chance they may be compromised either due to a lapse on your part or the vendor’s. With the pace at which the cybersecurity landscape is evolving, more and more new threats will continue to emerge that put your security at risk. Whether the convenience provided by smart homes is worth the risk, that’s entirely up to you.

The post How Overreliance On Connectivity Compromises Home Privacy appeared first on Tech Magazine.

But let’s forget about that for a moment. From a purely business operations point of view, redundancy is one of the best and most reliable ways to ensure the soundness of your critical infrastructure. It helps ensure your networks are running the way they should: free of any disruption.

With people’s patience for downtime continually wearing thin and its costs constantly on the rise, organizations need to make sure that they are minimizing downtime as much as possible. Thanks to redundant systems, you can ensure that downtime, both planned and unplanned, isn’t as big of a headache as it would be otherwise. But that’s not all; redundant systems provide organizations with a host of other benefits.

What Is System Redundancy?

System redundancy refers to the duplication of critical components and infrastructure that can be used as a fallback in case of failure with the primary critical infrastructure. These backup systems are known as redundant systems.

Types Of Redundancy

System redundancy is classified into three main categories:

• Hardware Redundancy: This is the duplication of critical hardware assets such as servers and data centers. It can also include duplication of power sources and network components.
• Software Redundancy: This involves running different copies or instances of software that is critical to the infrastructure on various devices and servers.
• Data Redundancy: This refers to making multiple copies of critical data and storing it in different locations within the same storage system or even a different storage system entirely.

How Does System Redundancy Help?

Increased Reliability

Redundant systems function as a backup for your critical infrastructure. This means you have assets and other systems in place that are primed and ready to take over promptly in case of failure in your primary asset infrastructure, greatly enhancing your fault tolerance. This is an especially effective way to ensure your systems are operating as intended, even when there is a failure. Redundant systems can significantly reduce downtime and ensure uninterrupted business continuity.

Improved Performance

Redundant systems don’t exist to serve merely as backups. Implementing redundancy into your critical infrastructure provides you with a lot more resources to work with. This enables you to improve performance by spreading the workload across multiple devices during periods of heavy load, resulting in reduced latency and optimal performance levels.

Where network performance is concerned, redundant systems provide a great solution to the problem of network brownouts (also known as unusable uptime). When downtime occurs, it often results in periods of greatly reduced performance, even after the network is up and running again. Network brownouts are among the biggest, albeit often overlooked, threats faced by IT organizations.

Disaster Recovery

Having redundant systems in place can greatly aid organizations with disaster recovery. We’ve already discussed how these systems allow you to quickly bounce back even when there is a failure in your critical infrastructure. Data redundancy, in particular, can enable you to quickly recover from a situation where you lose critical data either due to a malfunction in your storage infrastructure or an malicious action such as a ransomware attack. Having a backup of your critical data provides you with a simple data restoration option. It can enable you to revert to a previous state — before the data loss occurred.

The Benefits Outweigh The Cost

While the initial investment requirements for redundant systems are substantial, there is no doubt that they provide massive benefits and cost-savings in the long run. Ultimately, the organization needs to decide which systems need redundancy, but when implemented effectively, redundancy is a net positive for the organization.

The post The Many Benefits Of System Redundancy For An Organization appeared first on Tech Magazine.

Recently, A team from the CNC paid a high-profile visit to Facebook’s parent company, Meta, for a pivotal meeting that laid the groundwork for a collaborative partnership. During the visit, a diverse array of topics were discussed, ranging from cyberdefense challenges to the need to enhance the technological capabilities of the DRC.

One of the major outcomes of the visit was an agreement to establish a framework where Meta will provide specialized training in security and technology to enhance the skills of agents in the DRC.

The initiative underscores Meta’s commitment to boosting digital literacy in the region but also represents a major step towards empowering individuals and institutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo to effectively navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Also Read: Dubai-Based Angel Investor Fuels Growth For GameCentric

In addition to a proposed training program, the visit facilitated an introduction to Rapidev, a group of companies specializing in electronic warfare, cyberdefense and anti-drone systems. Leveraging Rapidev’s expertise in security applications, combined with Meta’s online prowess, will enable the DRC to create innovative solutions to the country’s unique security challenges.

According to CNC head Jean-Claude Bukasa, the visit to Meta was not only successful but represented more than just a diplomatic exchange: “It symbolizes a shared commitment to leveraging technology for the betterment of society. As we embark on this collaborative journey, let us seize the opportunities that lie ahead and work towards a future where innovation, security, and prosperity go hand in hand”.

The post Democratic Republic Of Congo Embarks On Meta Collaboration appeared first on Tech Magazine.

• X (281 million)
• Tencent QQ (1.5 billion)
• Adobe (153 million)

The repository of sensitive data encompasses usernames and passwords from tools like Canva to government records from the United States, Brazil, Turkey, Germany, and more.

The discovery of the data trove is down to the diligent efforts of Bob Dyachenko, a cybersecurity researcher and the proprietor of SecurityDiscovery.com, along with the collaborative work of the Cybernews team, who have been investigating its origins.

The research community believes that the owner has a vested interest in storing large amounts of data and could be a malicious actor, data broker, or other large-scale service with the capability to mine massive volumes of data.

The sheer magnitude of the records alone is cause for profound concern. The MOAB is probably the largest “compilation of multiple breaches” (COMB). Enough to arm malicious entities with abundant ammunition to carry out “identity theft, sophisticated phishing schemes, and targeted cyberattacks,” according to Dyachenko.

A faint silver lining of the breach is the confirmation that a significant portion of the records are outdated. Primarily, the MOAB is an amalgamation of prior breaches and leaks, albeit with numerous duplications.

Also Read: The Largest Data Breaches In The Middle East

With that being said, experts also warn that many people use the same passwords across services like Netflix and Gmail, allowing attackers to use the information from MOAB to breach more sensitive accounts.

The full extent and implications of the “Mother Of All Breaches” remain undetermined. The immediate priority lies in uncovering the source and motivation behind this colossal data repository. In the interim, it’s vital to ensure you haven’t used the same password across multiple services or, at the very least, to periodically change those in use.

The post “Mother Of All Breaches” Exposes 26 Billion Data Records appeared first on Tech Magazine.

Lebanon’s Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, addressed the public the following day, expressing a commitment to uncovering the perpetrators of the incident and reassuring the public that the airport remained fully operational.

Meanwhile, Fadi El-Hassan, Director General of Civil Aviation, reported that the issues with the airport’s screens had been resolved, and normal functionality had been restored across passenger terminals, including arrival and departure halls.

Despite these developments, official statements from Lebanese authorities regarding the incident were yet to be released, as investigations continued under the oversight of the Lebanese security services, as confirmed by Minister Ali Hamieh.

As of now, no information has surfaced regarding the compromise of airport data, such as flight details, passenger records, or other sensitive information. However, technical experts at SMEX, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing digital human rights across West Asia and North Africa, say that the severity of the cyberattack reveals clues on the motives behind it.

Also Read: The Largest Data Breaches In The Middle East

Members of SMEX’s technical team raised concerns about the cyber breach, stating, “If the perpetrators were able to manipulate screen content and disrupt the Baggage Handling System (BHS), it indicates the possible presence of malware within the compromised system”.

SMEX’s technical experts have also outlined several conceivable scenarios for the attack:

• The breach may have originated from the airport’s internal network, possibly involving the installation of malicious software by an individual with insider access to the airport’s systems.
• Another possibility is the compromise of an employee’s device through social engineering or a phishing attack, typically delivered via email or other deceptive means.
• An employee with privileged system access might have been coerced or manipulated through blackmail, bribery, or threats, facilitating unauthorized entry into the airport’s systems.

Lebanese authorities have yet to pinpoint the root cause of the airport cyberattack, leaving room for speculation about potential sources, which may include internal, external, or even governmental actors.

The post Beirut Airport Cybersecurity Incident: How It Unfolded appeared first on Tech Magazine.

According to this report from Juniper, persistent network brownouts are the third biggest risk IT organizations face today, only behind total outages and security breaches, and rather worryingly, most brownouts (61%) are not detected by IT teams as the monitoring mechanisms are often only equipped to detect total outages. What’s more, the average annual cost of brownout-induced downtime alone is estimated to be $600,000 per organization.

Black? Brown? What’s The Difference?

An outage, or blackout, refers to a complete lack of availability of a network. A brownout, on the other hand, refers to a period where the network is running, albeit at a significantly reduced level of performance, hurting the overall quality of service. Network brownouts are also known as “unusable uptime”.

Network brownouts can make an organization’s products or services frustrating to use, leading to reduced customer satisfaction and even an overall decline in employee productivity. These issues almost always result in loss of revenue, and persistent brownouts can also greatly damage the organization’s reputation.

So What Causes A Network Brownout?

1- Overload

As with network outages, an overload is usually the main cause of a brownout. A network overload occurs when the traffic flowing through the network is much higher than it is equipped to handle. This overwhelming traffic can result in reduced availability of network resources, leading to low bandwidth and high latency. Network overloads can have several causes, including increased traffic, faulty equipment, and even DDoS attacks.

2- Faulty Or Legacy Equipment

It is an absolute must for organizations to keep monitoring their network infrastructure to isolate any weak points. These weak points may exist in the form of faulty or even sometimes obsolete equipment. While network components like routers or switches are quite reliable, failures can still occur. These failures could disrupt the flow of traffic through the network, resulting in more congestion, which could cause a brownout. And if there’s a failure in a critical network component, this could lead to a total outage.

Any form of obsolete legacy equipment could also cause a brownout as these devices may not be able to cope with ever-increasing network demands.

3- External Network Issues

In some cases, brownouts can also be caused by issues outside an organization’s control. For example, ISP networks are also prone to the same issues organizations face. Failures in an ISP’s network infrastructure could also have a significant impact on an organization’s network and quality of service.

How Can Organizations Avoid Network Brownouts?

1- More Effective Monitoring Solutions Are A Must

Most brownouts aren’t detected by IT teams. Rather, it is the customer or another employee that is usually first to detect and report such issues. When it comes to issues that affect network operations, responding quickly is key. Quick detection means quick resolution.

By detecting issues instantly, IT teams can resolve them swiftly and ensure they don’t plague the network for long. It is imperative for organizations to implement better monitoring solutions that can detect even slight drops in performance. This ensures quick resolution of issues, helping IT teams keep their networks up and running with minimum disruption, resulting in an overall increase in network quality.

2- Keep All Hardware Up To Date

As network demands continue to rise, it is important to prepare for increased requirements by investing in the latest and greatest network infrastructure. In an era where organizations across all verticals are increasingly reliant on IT and the availability of network resources for their services, they simply cannot afford to cut corners when it comes to their network infrastructure.

3- Optimize Bandwidth Usage

Organizations should ensure that they are wisely using the available network resources and bandwidth without putting too much strain on any particular server or network component.

This can help eliminate or at least limit congestion, which is the main cause of both brownouts and blackouts, depending on severity.

Network segmentation and load balancing are some of the most effective ways for organizations to optimize their bandwidth usage.

Network segmentation involves splitting the network into distinct components based on the role they play. These segments (also known as subnets) are isolated from the rest of the network and can function independently. Network segmentation enables organizations to prioritize and allocate network resources efficiently to different network segments depending on how critical they are to the overall functioning of the network. Moreover, issues with one segment are unlikely to spill over to other segments, reducing the likelihood of a brownout.

Load balancers enable organizations to evenly distribute traffic across the network to avoid overwhelming a single server or component with too much traffic. This can prevent bottlenecking and can smooth the flow of traffic throughout the network.

4- Implement Network Redundancy

Implementing redundancy in the network infrastructure is easily one of the most reliable ways to ensure smooth connectivity and stable performance. Organizations can either implement network redundancy by creating alternate paths for the flow of traffic within the network or use redundant hardware components that can automatically take over in case of a failure. Ultimately, these redundant systems can serve as an effective backup when facing issues with primary network components. These redundant components help with creating an effective failover mechanism, significantly reducing the frequency and severity of a brownout.

Takeaway

With organizations becoming increasingly reliant on IT, not just for their services, but also for their internal processes and operations, it’s safe to say they simply cannot afford any disruptions. Time is money and downtime is money lost. Organizations must invest in robust and reliable network monitoring solutions that enable them to instantly detect any issues in their network infrastructure so they can rectify them as soon as possible.

The post Why Organizations Need To Focus More On Combating Network Brownouts appeared first on Tech Magazine.