Your Cybersecurity Recap

Welcome to Your Cybersecurity Recap: a bite-sized weekly newsletter by cybersecurity enthusiasts, for cybersecurity enthusiasts.

Here are this week’s top takeaways:

Cisco to Acquire Splunk for $28 Billion

The Silicon Valley networking tech giant Cisco is buying the cybersecurity firm Splunk in a $28 billion deal.

Why? To bolster its defenses against potential security threats that the widening use of artificial intelligence may heighten. The boards of both companies have been reported to approve the acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of 2024’s third quarter. It is rumored that the deal still needs approval from Splunk shareholders.

“Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability,” Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins said in a prepared statement. “From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organizations of all sizes more secure and resilient.”

SecTor 2023 is Booking Up Fast–Have You Registered?

Now in its 17th year, SecTor 2023–hailed as one of Canada’s leading cybersecurity events– will take place both virtually and in-person in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) in downtown Toronto.?

Year after year, SecTor has brought together professionals from around the world to share their latest research and techniques involving underground threats and corporate defenses. The conference provides an unmatched opportunity for IT Security Professionals, Managers, and Executives to connect with their peers and learn from their mentors.?

We recently published a guide on what’s new at SecTor 2023, where to stay, what to see when in Toronto, and, of course, how to claim our attendee-only event discount.

MGM Resorts Suffering Long-Term Cyberattack Ramifications?

Thought the devastating cyberattacks on Vegas’s MGM Resorts were over?

Think again.

Social media reports–alongside MGM's own website–indicate that, even after 10+ days since the attacks were first launched, there is a long way to go until normalcy is achieved. Even the comments section to MGM's latest update indicates the company's mobile app is still not working, among other ongoing issues for staff and patrons alike.

(Plus, rival establishment Caesars Entertainment also disclosed to regulators that it was hit by a similar cyberattack on September 7th, 2023. In the statement, it was said that its casino and online operations were not interrupted–but that the personal information of over 10 million customers may have been compromised.)

Considering the reported cybersecurity statistics for 2023–and predictions for 2024–attacks like these are only going to increase in frequency.?

Who do you think will be hit next? Let us know in the comments section.