“August 2012 TransactionWorld Magazine” – Chris & Heather Mark’s Articles August 13, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in cybersecurity, Data Breach, Industry News.Tags: compliance, cybersecurity, data breach, data security, mark consulting group, mastercard, PCI DSS, security, visa
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Chris and Heather Mark both have articles in the August 2012 issue of TransactionWorld Magazine. Chris’ is titled: “The Impact of the Fortress Mentality & Today’s Compliance Strategies” while Heather’s is titled: “After the Compromise; Security Incident Response and Mitigating the Damage”
One note. I apparently forgot to update my bio with the Editor in Chief so the article erroneously references me as the Executive Vice President of Data Security and Compliance for a payment processor. You can visit Mark Consulting Group at the following: www.MarkConsultingGroup.com
“I know it’s true because I got it from the Internet!” – Reuters Hacked by Pro-Assad Group to publich Propaganda August 6, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in competitive intelligence, cyberespionage, cybersecurity.Tags: assad, cybersecurity, data breach, data security, mark consulting group, propaganda, reuters, risk, Twitter
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Reuters acknowledged that on August 3rd, their blogging platform was hacked and a false, pro-Assad post was published. “Reuters.com was a target of a hack on Friday,” the company said in a statement. “Our blogging platform was compromised and fabricated blog posts were falsely attributed to several Reuters journalists.” Additionally, Reuters Twitter account was hacked and used to tweat several false, and pro-Assad messages. While this type of propaganda has been going on for as long as news has been published, the ease of which a person or group can publish on the Internet coupled with the speed at which it can spread creates new challenges for companies. Imagine a situation in which a company is hacked and fraudulent financial data is released before an IPO? As the US Presidential elections ramp up, we are seeing increasing numbers of stories and claims that can only be categorized as propaganda. In fact, unless you clicked on the links above and checked the underlying domains, you have no real confidence that this particular post is true, or accurate. 😉
It is important for companies to monitor the news that is being distributed about the organization. I have worked at an organization where we found someone who had intentionally published misleading and malicious information in an attempt to promote a competitor. While it did not require hacking a news system to publish the story, it is yet another area that exposes companies to unnecessary risk.
“The Rise of Cyber Espionage” – The Counter Terrorist Magazine August 5, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in cyberespionage, cybersecurity, terrorism.Tags: chinese hackers, Chris Mark, Counter Terrorist Magazine; RSA, cyberespionage, data security, deterrence theory, Homeland1, InfoSec, IP Theft, Rise of CyberEspionage, risk management, SSI, terrorism
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UPDATE: I want to thank The Counter Terrorist magazine staff for including attribution to the article. They quickly corrected a mistake and the inaccuracy. Kudos!
Chris Mark (that is me;) has an article in the June/July 2012 issue of The Counter Terrorist Magazine. The article is titled: “The Rise of Cyber Espionage” and provides an overview of the current cyber espionage issues being faced by US businesses today. The article covers the breach at RSA to the subsequent attacks at Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and others as examples of the types of attacks being faced by state sponsored cyber espionage groups. While this magazine may be new for some readers of this particular blog, it in its 4th year and is filled with great information for military, law enforcement, first responders, and even businesses. This particular issue is 76 pages of information covering Iran’s Nuclear Objectives, Cyber Espionage, First Responder Intelligence, Intelligence for Terror, and a number of great product reviews and other information. The magazine is subscription based but if you are interested in a copy of this particular issue, leave a comment with your email and other contact information and I can forward a free ezine.
“NSA Says – Largest Transfer of Wealth…EVER”; CyberAttacks rose 44% in 2011 July 10, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in cybersecurity, Industry News.Tags: cybersecurity, data breach, data security, deterrence theory, Keith Alexander, mark consulting group, NSA, PCI DSS, risk, security
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Parroting what many in the payments industry have known for years, the NSA released a statement about the dire state of cybersecurity. According to the head of the National Security Agency cyberattacks increased 44% in 2011 and now account for the largest “transfer of wealth in history”. According to FoxNews:
“NSA chief Keith Alexander was speaking Monday at an American Enterprise Institute event in Washington, D.C. He said that for every company that knows it has been hacked, another 100 do not know their systems have been breached. (emphasis added) The warning came on the same day that thousands of computer users were at risk of losing Internet access, due to malware that spread more than a year ago. Citing public and unclassified statistics, Alexander said Monday there are now 75 million unique pieces of malware on the loose.”
Those of use who have been in the industry for years have said that we are ‘losing the war’. I have personally been chastised for making such doom and gloom statements. The facts are the facts however. Hiding our head in the sand will not change the fact that “The criminals are absolutely ripping us to shreds,” and that “We’re losing the battle…That’s the reality of it.” (Chris Mark quoted in Salt Lake Tribune...pic at top). In yet another push at self promotion..you can read one reason we are losing the battle in the IDGA research brief: “A Failed State of Security”.
“Let’s Talk Data Security” – Heather Mark in July 2012 Greensheet & TransactionWorld July 9, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in cybersecurity, Data Breach, Laws and Leglslation, News, PCI DSS.Tags: cybersecurity, data breach, data security, greensheet, Heather Mark, mark consulting group, security, transactionworld
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Heather Mark is interviewed in the July 2012 issue of Greensheet in the article titled: “Expert Advice on Security Defense and Planning”. The article discusses strategies for preventing and dealing with data breaches with the payment card industry. Additionally, Heather has an article in TransactionWorld titled: “New School vs. Old School: Security and Emerging Technologies”. You can catch Heather’s articles every month in Transaction World Magazine.
Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management 