Cybersecurity Institute News Roundup 20 Feb 2024

Welcome to the second Cybersecurity Institute News Roundup, a weekly overview of the some of the most interesting news and articles that have caught our attention recently from across the cybersecurity industry.

Elections are an increasingly favored target of cybercriminals and nation state attackers alike. With more than a billion people across 50 countries poised to go to the polls in 2024, including in the US, UK and India, deepfakes and other illicit technologies are being used by bad actors to influence outcomes and sway decisions:

https://www.govinfosecurity.com/as-elections-loom-so-do-adversaries-influence-operations-a-24333

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Furthermore, to help address this issue, at least six major technology companies are signing an agreement that would guide how they try to put a stop to the use of artificial intelligence tools to disrupt democratic elections:

https://apnews.com/article/aigenerated-election-deepfakes-adobe-google-meta-microsoft-openai-tiktok-cf7d81b7a03d4e21df0eb2820818c6c9

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A key tactic for national IT security teams is going to have to be fighting fire with fire and implementing AI-enabled biometrics and identity verification. This is precisely the reason Entrust is bolstering its identity verification capabilities with the planned acquisition of Onfido.

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After a slowdown in payments to ransomware groups in 2022, last year saw total payouts jump to their highest level yet reaching $1.1bn. The report cited record-breaking payments and a substantial increase in the scope and complexity of attacks as key drivers of the increase. It also pointed to the growth of “ransomware as a service” and “initial access brokers” as enablers for less skilled and resourced groups to commit attacks:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/feb/07/ransomware-gangs-staged-comeback-last-year-says-crypto-research-firm

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We wrap up this week’s roundup with something from the annals of Mission Impossible, a self-destructing USB drive. The drive requires a secret three-insertion process to unlock the data safely. Failing that, the USB's self-destruct mechanism reverses the voltage supplied to the device, heating it to around 100C:

https://www.techradar.com/pro/self-destructing-usb-flash-drive-set-to-go-on-sale-and-while-it-comes-without-encryption-at-least-theres-no-finger-licking-involved-this-time-around

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Be sure to share your thoughts on these stories in the comments and let us know what articles have caught your eye recently?