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Recent data from cybersecurity software and services provider Mimecast offers some depth on the rising concerns presented by phishing attacks, with 96 percent of respondents acknowledging that their organization has faced some form of phishing attack in the past year.

Additionally, this tactic is believed to be responsible for 36 percent of data breaches – with 84 percent of U.S. organizations have reported phishing or ransomware attacks in the past 12 months.

And speaking of ransomware, the average payment climbed to $570,000 during the first half of 2021, up more than $200,000 from the previous year. Analysts predict that the frequency of these attacks will rise to one every two seconds.

Joining us to discuss what industrial organizations can do in response to these growing threats is Joe Tibbets, Senior Director of Technology Alliances & API at Mimecast.

For more information on the work Mimecast does, you can go to mimecast.com.

If you’ve got a cybersecurity story to share or topic you’d like to have us cover, feel free to contact me at [email protected]

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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One of the mantras that I’ve clung to from my childhood is drawn from one of my favorite toys and shows – GI Joe. Duke, Snake Eyes and the rest of the Joes always reinforced that “Knowing is half the battle.”  

If that’s truly the case, then the industrial sector still has a ways to go in fully combatting the impact of cyber attacks, and shoring up their cyber security strategies. 

Insurance provider Travelers has  unveiled their most recent Risk Index Survey, with cybersecurity ranking as the single biggest business concern. Included in their findings was that 57 percent of respondents think an attack is inevitable – with their biggest fears, in order, being a security breach, system glitch or ransomware attack.

Joining us to discuss these ongoing concerns and some of the simple solutions to help ward off these attacks, is Kirstin Simonson, Technology Lead at Travelers.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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On a daily basis I see a tremendous amount of data and research flow through my inbox, but a recent report from Rackspace Technology really caught my attention.

According to a recent survey performed by this provider of multi-cloud services and security, two of the top cybersecurity challenges facing companies is a shortage of workers with cybersecurity skills – listed by 39% of respondents, and a lack of visibility of vulnerabilities across all infrastructure – listed by 42% of respondents.

While skills gap issues permeate throughout all sectors of the manufacturing landscape, it’s simultaneously encouraging and chilling to see that nearly 2 in 5 companies know they need more cybersecurity expertise, but are unable to find it.

Similarly, there are some positive takeaways from seeing that enterprises are aware of their lack of knowledge to key vulnerabilities, but concerning that such a higher percentage are dealing with this kind of problem. Both findings help reinforce the dangerous times in which the industrial sector continues to operate. 

Joining us to discuss this situation is Gary Alterson, Vice President of Security at Rackspace Technology.

For more information on the work Rackspace does, you can go to rackspace.com

 To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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GhostSec describes itself as a hacktivist group. Formed around 2015, the organization’s initial focus was shutting down ISIS websites and infiltrating their social media platforms. 

Recently, the organization has been linked to politically-motivated attacks involving PLCs and other industrial controls in Israel, Iran and Russia. All of which have focused on vulnerabilities found within industrial equipment controls.

The biggest question for the industrial community is if GhostSec can show others how relatively simple it is to take control of  industrial control systems – will those learning from GhostSec take it to another level? 

Joining us to discuss this situation is Matan Dobrushin, VP of Research at OTORIO. Based in Israel, the company is a leader in industrial cybersecurity solutions and services.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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Ironically enough, one of the biggest challenges surrounding cyber defense in the industrial sector is a lack of data – data about the attacks, the attackers, their tactics and how they were able to successfully orchestrate the onslaught of ransomware, phishing and malware schemes that are costing manufacturers millions of dollars and priceless amounts of downtime. 

Working to overcome the lack of transparency is the focus of today’s guest.  

Jack Rhysider is the host and founder of the Darknet Diaries podcast, where he takes listeners on a journey through the world of hacking, data breaches, and cybercrimes. He’s talked to hackers, phishing scheme experts, NSA agents, penetration testers and just about any other player you can imagine. 

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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Welcome to Security Breach.

Today we’re going to discus a vulnerability within the industrial sector that is essentially a product of progress.

The enhanced data sharing capabilities and operational efficiencies that have been realized in establishing an estimated 20 billion device connections in manufacturing enterprises around the globe have come at a price for some.

In the sector’s zeal to push forward with digital transformation plans and realize the benefits of automation, software and data-driven production schemes, all of these connection points offer a soft spot for hackers to probe and pinpoint in launching various types of attacks.

Joining us to discuss this evolving situation and offer some in-depth analysis from his company’s recent report – The API Security Disconnect - is Filip Verloy, Technical Evangelist at Noname Security.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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Today we’re going to discuss an evolving vulnerability in the industrial sector – the security of cloud data and networks. We’re obviously talking about the use of IT infrastructure that’s not physically located within the plant or facility. 

It’s a platform that is continuing to see an uptick in use. In fact, Netwrix, a leading cloud network security solutions provider, recently cited in their latest Cloud Data Security Report, that organizations expect to increase the amount of work done in the cloud from 41 percent to 54 percent by the end of 2023.

More specifically, this means an increased reliance on cloud storage for corporate financial information and intellectual property.

And while this is good news to cloud service providers, they’re apparently not the only ones enjoying this trend. Netwrix also cited that 53 percent of those surveyed suffered a cyberattack targeting their cloud network within the last 12 months.

But perhaps the most frightening statistic from the report is that despite these findings, 78 percent said they were satisfied with their cloud security. 

Joining us to discuss these findings and the current state of industrial cybersecurity is Dirk Schrader, VP of Security Research at Netwrix.

For more information on the work Netwrix does, you can go to netwrix.com

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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When discussing the industrial sector’s threat landscape, we often detail events that result from vulnerabilities discovered by hackers probing for soft spots within an organization’s networks, connected infrastructure or data storage centers.

However, taking a look at Nuspire’s latest Threat Landscape Report reiterates the need for manufacturers to keep their defenses up even when working with documents, files or websites that would appear to have limited interest from hackers and no connection points to outside parties.

Nuspire reported a 28 percent increase in malware attacks – or about 52,000 detections a day during the second quarter of 2022. While many are being detected and blocked before being seen by the user, some are getting through by disguising themselves as add-ons or support tools for Microsoft Office documents. 

Once the user clicks for additional information within these software programs, which contain embedded on-line connections in providing legitimate support and downloadable tools, the malware is downloaded, providing a gateway to any and all of that user’s network, cloud, system and software connections.

During this same period, the company reported a 100 percent increase in botnet activity – reaching a rate of nearly 20,000 attacks per day. This form of malware attaches itself to web pages and emails. Once it is unintentionally downloaded via the targeted user clicking on a link or agreeing to download a false asset, the bug can log keystrokes in stealing login and other personal information that often feeds into ransomware attacks.

Joining us to discuss these ongoing threats is Mike Pedrick, VP of Cybersecurity Consulting for Nuspire – a leading managed security services provider.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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When the Eastern European hacker group DarkSide shut down the Colonial Pipeline in May of 2021, the ramifications were felt across numerous landscapes.

In addition to impacting air travel and triggering panic over gasoline availability, the six-day interruption of fuel to much of the Eastern United States led to one of the highest profile ransomware payments in recent history.

Although law enforcement was able to track down and recover more than half of the $4.4 million in Bitcoin that Colonial paid the ransomware attackers, two critical points had been made: the U.S. industrial sector was vulnerable, and they were willing to pay to restore operations.

In support of the increasing concerns facing the industrial sector’s cybersecurity needs, IBM recently reported that manufacturing overtook financial institutions and insurance providers in becoming the most targeted industry by cyber criminals in 2021.

Joining us to discuss this ongoing threat is Eric Ervin, Global Director for Utilities and Manufacturing at 1898 & Company, a leading provider of data management and business consulting services. 

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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Tenable recently released their Ransomware Ecosystem white paper. So we sat down with Satnam Narang, a research engineer focused on security response at the company, to discuss some its findings, including:

• The FBI estimates that between 2013 and 2019, ransomware groups collectively earned over $144 million. That number skyrocketed in in 2020 with these groups reportedly raking in $692 million collectively.
• According to U.S. government data, the first half of 2021 saw ransomware payments reach just under $600 million in the first six months, which included a record amount of $40 million paid out by an insurance company. And you can probably guess that these reported amounts are a fraction of the true total being paid to ransomware attackers and groups.
• Additional data is available by downloading the white paper here.

For more information on the work Tenable does, you can go to www.tenable.com

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].