The Briefing on Cybersecurity

The latest news, trends and data from the cybersecurity industry

In Data:

Cybersecurity News in Numbers

£1bn

The amount cyberattacks on internet of things (IoT) infrastructure could cost the UK economy each year, according to a report by Dutch software firm Irdeto. The report warned that IoT devices are often considered “low-hanging fruit” by cybercriminals.

460,000

The number of customer accounts of Japanese retailer Uniqlo that were accessed by hackers following a credential stuffing attack. The data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and dates of birth. Partial payment card information was also exposed.

32%

The percentage of data breaches that involve phishing techniques, according to the Verizon 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report. The report also found that senior executives are also 12 times more likely to be targeted by social incidents.

275 million

The number of Indian citizens whose details were exposed in an unsecured and publically accessible MongoDB database found online. The breach included personal details such as names, dates of birth, mobile numbers, employment history and salary.

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45%

The percentage of UK office workers that would sell corporate information, according to research by cybersecurity firm Deep Secure. The research also found that a quarter would sell corporate details for £1,000, while 5% would give the information away for free.

Breach Report: 

 The key data breaches to occur in the last few months

 Russian government exposes key data

Multiple Russian government sites have leaked the personal and passport information of citizens, government employees and high-ranking politicians. The breach, which has impacted 2.25 million, is considered one of the most severe of its type due to the involvement of passport data.

 Microsoft Outlook breached

Microsoft admitted to a breach that saw users of Outlook, MSN and Hotmail’s emails exposed over the course of six months. The incident, which was the result of hackers gaining access via a customer support account, exposed both the subject lines and contacts of email users.

 Panama citizens overwhelmingly hit

An incredible 85% of all citizens of Panama have been affected by a data breach that saw personal records and patient data left on an unencrypted Elasticsearch server that was freely accessible online. The incident has been hailed as the latest example of a failure to perform basic due diligence with regards to data handling.

 Toyota admits second data breach

Japanese carmaker Toyota admitted to a data breach impacting the sales information of up to 3.1 million customers. The breach, which saw hackers access servers of the company’s main Japanese office, follows another five weeks earlier that hit its Australian subsidiary.

Company Deals:

Key Industry Purchases

Palo Alto buys Twistlock

At the end of May Palo Alto Networks, a key player in the US cybersecurity space, announced the acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity firm Twistlock, in the latest in a number of purchases. Precise details had not been announced at the time of publication, but the firm is said to have paid “hundreds of millions of dollars”.

Source: Reuters

Orange nets SecureLink

Following the purchase of SecureData earlier in the year, in May Orange announced it had signed an agreement to purchase SecureLink, one of the largest independent cybersecurity providers in Europe, for €515m. The purchase increases Orange’s already strong presence within the European cybersecurity market.

Source: Orange

Kaseya nabs ID Agent

New York-based Kaseya has announced the acquisition of cybersecurity startup ID Agent. The move will allow the company to expand its dark web monitoring capabilities, as well as sure up its capabilities in phishing simulation and security awareness training for IT and managed security customers.

Source: CRN

Jacobs acquires KeyW 

Jacobs Engineering Group in April announced that it would be acquiring KeyW Holding for $603m. The deal attracted considerable attention due to Jacobs’ range of contracts with the US government. KeyW, which was founded by a former NSA manager, will increase the percentage of Jacobs employees with government clearance by 50%.

Source: Bloomberg

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