United States Improves Critical Infrastructure Security

  United States Improves Critical Infrastructure Security by Passing Five Bills The cyber security incident that recently affected Colonial Pipeline showed the extreme need to protect our critical infrastructure.  Ransomware successfully hindered the delivery of fuel to a large portion of the East Coast.  Colonial Pipelines and other critical infrastructure could prevent cyber security incidents with enhanced security that prepares themselves for the imminent attacks.  Finally, the United States House Committee on Homeland Security recently passed five bills to increase cyber defenses for United State organizations and critical infrastructure.   Why Attack Critical Infrastructure? People and organizations not only depend on critical infrastructure, they need the critical infrastructure.  These organizations… Read More

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Hacking Group Stops Oil Pipeline and Breaks 45% of the United States Oil Supply

    Hacking Group Stops Oil Pipeline and Breaks 45% of the United States Oil Supply When you hear about a cyber attack, generally you assume that some sort of IT infrastructure suffered damage.  Your assumptions might include servers, web applications, or even the business processes that those systems support.  However, ransomware disables the largest pipeline in the United States in a recent attack.  This attack goes to show that as cyber attacks evolve, the cyber world can be used to inflict damage on the physical world and its infrastructure.   The Victim On May 7, 2021, the Colonial Pipeline suffered a ransomware attack that brought the pipeline’s operations to… Read More

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What is Penetration Testing and Why Do You Need It?

    What is Penetration Testing and Why Do You Need It? Across all your systems, applications, and software on your network lay vulnerabilities. Malicious attackers can exploit vulnerabilities and serious damage.  These vulnerabilities can lead to data loss, system downtime, financial loss, malware, and even ransomware.   Most of the time, organizations can easily remediate these vulnerabilities; however, if you do not know of their existence, how can you fix it?   What is Penetration Testing Penetration Testing is a practice conducted on systems in order to find exploitable vulnerabilities.  By finding vulnerabilities, organizations can stay proactive in their security stance.  With the knowledge and understanding of the exploitable… Read More

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A Week in Security: REvil Extortion, RDP Stolen Credentials, Geico Breach, and Chrome Exploits

  A Week in Security: REvil Extortion, RDP Stolen Credentials, Geico Breach, and Chrome Exploits As we approach the weekend, let us look back at this past week at the top cyber security news.  This week in cyber security, REvil attempted to extort Apple using their stolen data.  Additionally, UAS leaked 1.3 million Windows RDP logins for sale on their marketplace.  Also in other news, Geico suffered a data breach that exposed some of their customers’ sensitive data and Google rushed to fix several zero-day exploits in Chrome.   REvil Attempts to Extort Apple Early in the week, the threat group REvil, known for their successful ransomware campaigns and living… Read More

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Toy Industry Giant, Mattel Faces Ransomware Attack

  Friday, November 6th, 2020 Happy Friday, readers! This week marks the beginning of November, and what some claim to be the official Christmas season.  In the spirit of Christmas, the lists of presents and preparations for the holiday are already underway. Children prepare their lists for Santa, and family members begin the hunt for the perfect gift.  Speaking of gifts, the topic of this week’s cyber attack of the week is toy giant, Mattel. Instead of the upcoming Christmas season being their number one priority, dealing with a ransomware attack takes precedent.    Mattel  To begin, Mattel is a household name when it comes to toys. Like many others,… Read More

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What is a Credential Stuffing Attack?

  After recently covering the cyber attack on Nando’s, a deeper look into what credential stuffing actually is may be needed.   Monday, November 2nd, 2020 Welcome back to a new week! Halloween is over, and the world now shifts their attention to Christmas.  In a parallel sense, last week, CPG covered the cyber attack on Nando’s. But, here at CPG, we’re not quite ready to jump to the next topic.  The attack on Nando’s appeared to be a credential stuffing attack. And while CPG covered the attack in relation to the restaurant chain, I wanted to dive deeper into the topic, and really elaborate on the subject.  Let’s get… Read More

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UK Eatery, Nando’s Faces Cyber Attack

  Friday, October 30th, 2020 Happy Halloween Eve, everyone! Once again, we’re back on another Friday with a new installment of the cyber attack of the week series. This week, CPG is taking a look at a recent cyber attack on a popular restaurant chain in the UK, Nando’s. Further, cybercrooks used a method of attack to attack customer accounts, and execute fraudulent purchases. Let’s get into the attack.   Background on the Nando’s To begin, Nando’s is a South African restaurant chain that prepares a variety of chicken dishes. Their most popular and well-known dish is the  flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken, and a major fan favorite.  The chain operates… Read More

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Popular Murder Mystery Game, Among Us, Spammed and Hacked

g us There is quite literally an Imposter Among Us…   Monday, October 26th, 2020 Welcome back readers! This Monday marks the beginning of Halloween week. For many fans of the spooky holiday, we are preparing for costumes, candy and parties.  But, in the theme of all things spooky and mysterious, CPG is taking a look at a popular murder mystery type of game that is recently under attack.  The game we will be discussing is Among Us by Inner Sloth.    Who or What is Among Us? To begin, the CPG office and the Among Us game go way back. My coworkers and I actually play and enjoy the… Read More

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Ransomware Derails Montreal Public Transport IT Systems

  Friday October 23rd, 2020 Last Friday, the Cyber Attack of the Week series ventured across the pond to London. Today, we’re taking a trip up north to Canada. The city of Montreal to be exact! Although we wish the “trip” were under better circumstances, but, this is a series about cyber attacks. And this week, the Montreal Public Transport System is under attack.    The Attack in Montreal To begin, on October 19th, Société de transport de Montréal suffered an attack that crippled their IT systems, sites and customer support.  While the functions of the actual transport systems continued to operate during the attack, services to aid those with… Read More

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London Borough of Hackney Faces Cyber Attack

  Friday October 16th, 2020 Over the last few articles, the setting of many cyber attacks appears to be the US. Which makes sense, due to the fact that CPG resides and operates in the US. And also, cyber attacks present an all time high in 2020. But, this week, we are taking a look at a cyber attack across the Atlantic, in the UK. CPG’s Cyber Attack of the Week series takes a trip to London.   God Save the Queen (and Her IT Infrastructure) To begin, the city council systems of the London borough, Hackney, faced the cyber attack mentioned above.  Before we get into the details of… Read More

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