Cyber Security: Cyber Security Among Top Energy Industry Concerns

Cyber security leapt onto the list of the top five concerns for U.S. electric utilities this year, yet fewer than a third say they’re prepared to meet the growing threat of an attack, according to a new survey. Read more here.

Cyber Security: Monitoring Your Networks by Curt Christian, Conultant for Invensys Critical Infrastructure & Security Practice

Curt Christian, Consultant for Invensys Critical Infrastructure & Security Practice, discusses the importance of monitoring your networks.


Monitoring Your Networks

Today’s complex network systems have become the foundation of business.  A network’s reliability and performance are essential.  With so many interrelated devices and applications running simultaneously, system event diagnosis can be a challenge.  Real-time visibility can significantly reduce the reaction time to system events, thus maintaining continuous operations and, more importantly, revenue.

 

How can real-time network performance monitoring help? For one, our customers are seeing a reduction in operation costs.  They are using less effort to manage their networks with application-based technology with built-in automation. This proactive approach to network management allows real-time visibility spanning the entire critical IT infrastructure.

 

Some of the features and benefits of network performance monitoring include:

 

· Monitoring the health of key Critical Assets

· Viewing current bandwidth usage and identifying bottlenecks

· Detecting network system trouble before it happens

· Increased security by monitoring for “rogue” devices that have been connected without authorization

· Monitoring resources to track metrics such as disk space, CPU load, storage space, offline/online  state, and memory utilization

· System event alert management from anywhere 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

 

 

Viewing all your key critical IT assets is a snap with built-in customizable dashboards. You’ll also find the reporting tool handy for documentation. The benefits include:

 

· Real-time dashboards for quickly viewing your network’s overall state

· Storage of time-based data from millions of elements

· Establishing a performance baseline

· Identification of all of your IT network inventory devices

· Pre- and post-deployment performance monitoring metrics

· Trending metrics provides data to project future growth

 

In summary, protecting your IT infrastructure can be easy and cost-effective with a comprehensive real-time network performance monitoring solution.

 

Cyber Security: Japan's Sony hit by cyber attack bomb threat

Japanese entertainment giant Sony said Monday its online music and gaming sites came under a cyber attack by a hacker group that also claimed there were explosives on a plane carrying a senior company executive. Click here to read the article.

Cyber Security: Cyber attack on government contractor exposes undercover agents

Multiple undercover investigators had their personal data exposed to hackers after a cyber attack struck a key contractor of the Department of Homeland Security in early August. Read more here.

Cyber Security: Malware that hit Target puts more than 1,000 businesses at risk

Remember the massive data breach Target suffered late last year, where hackers compromised the credit card data of over 40 million Target customers and cost the retail giant millions of dollars? Well, the federal government says that attack might just be the beginning. Click here to read more.

Cyber Security: 4.5 million patient names, birth dates, social security numbers stolen in massive hack attack

In the latest breach of privacy and Internet security, a cyber attack originating in China hacked into the computers of Community Health Systems Inc., one of the largest U.S. hospital groups, resulting in the theft of Social Security numbers and other personal information of 4.5 million patients. Read the article here.

Cyber Security: ICS-CERT Vulnerability Summary for Week of August 18

Click the link below to view the summary of cyber security vulnerabilities for the week of August 18 as collected and reported by ICS-CERT.

https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/bulletins/SB14-237

Cyber Security: Hackers hit Shaw's, Star Market chains

If you used your debit or credit card at Star Market or Shaw's between June 22 and July 17, double-check your statements - you may be a victim of the latest high-profile security breach. Read about what happened here.

Cyber Security: Why Re-Using The Same Password Is The Most Dangerous Thing You Can Do Online

We've all been guilty of re-using a single password for multiple websites. The idea is tempting. Who has time to remember a new password for every social networking site or service you sign up for? Read why it's the most dangerous thing you can do on the web.

Cyber Security: Hospital network hacked, 4.5 million records stolen

Community Health Systems, which operates 206 hospitals across the United States, announced on Monday that hackers recently broke into its computers and stole data on 4.5 million patients. Click here to read the article.

Cyber Security: 36 percent of Canadian businesses know they've been hit by cyber attack

More than one-third of Canada’s IT professionals know—for sure—that they’d had a significant data breach over the previous 12 months that could put their clients or their organizations at risk, a cyber security study suggests. And as startling as that statistic may be, the actual number of breaches could be higher since the same international study found 56 percent of the 236 Canadian respondents said they believed threats sometimes fall through the cracks. Read more here.

Cyber Security: ICS-CERT Vulnerability Summary for Week of August 11

Click the link below to view the summary of cyber security vulnerabilities for the week of August 11 as collected and reported by ICS-CERT.

https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/bulletins/SB14-230

Cyber Security: AT&T hackers in PHL arrested

Six people were arrested by the anti-cybercrime police for allegedly hacking the system of American telecommunication company AT&T, causing about $24 million loss from the company, police said Thursday. Click here to read more.

Cyber Security: 8 ways to bullet proof your social accounts

There are ways to keep the hackers at bay-for the most part, anyways, since no protection is 100 percent efficient. Read more here.

 

Cyber Security: The Global Cyber Advisor Newsletter - July 2014 Vol. 34

Welcome to the latest Global Cyber Advisor Newsletter,

As we continue to position the organization to support our clients, the global cyber environment is in flux. You should be reading about the cyber risks our clients are operating with today. Be assured that we are well positioned to help our clients reduce those risks and continue their operations. Our OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY (OT) approach is much more robust and focused on their needs over the typical INFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY (IT) approach we see that is prevalent in the market.

Continuously Secure:   We continue to prove to the industry that we stay vigilant and help our customers develop their Cyber Strategies and secure their process environments. We have staff to help our clients on a global basis to assess, design, implement and manage their Cyber posture. We have developed suites of products with complementary consulting, which are unmatched in the industry.   

This month's Consultant's Corner contribution covers “Security Program Assessments” by Tim Johnson and Michael Martinez.

                                                                                            

The Critical Infrastructure and Security Practice has the skills and the resources to help our clients no matter what industry. We are structured to help with their entire cyber security program. We have essentially the industry’s largest vendor-based cyber security team that assists our clients secure their entire process environment. We understand that cyber security extends beyond a single system and our valued clients need assistance and advice in how to secure their entire plant infrastructure. Cyber security is so much more than product features, firewalls, and anti-virus software. 
 

If you’ve missed our previous editions, you can find them at this location:   http://iom.invensys.com/EN/Pages/CyberSecurity-Newsletters.aspx

Click here to open the July 2014 newsletter.

Cyber Security: Many home routers supplied by ISPs can be compromised en masse, researchers say

Specialized servers used by many ISPs to manage routers and other gateway devices provisioned to their customers are accessible from the Internet and can easily be taken over by attackers, researchers warn. Read the article here.

Cyber Security: ICS-CERT Vulnerability Summary for Week of August 4

Click the link below to view the summary of cyber security vulnerabilities for the week of August 4 as collected and reported by ICS-CERT.

https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/bulletins/SB14-223

Cyber Security: 9 out of 10 websites found vulnerable to hackers

A new research shows that more than 90 percent of the websites are vulnerable to hackers, including some of the biggest brands. Read more here.

Cyber Security: U.S. Homeland Security contractor reports computer breach

A company that performs background checks for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Wednesday it was the victim of a cyber attack, adding in a statement that "it has all the markings of a state-sponsored attack."

The computer breach at Falls Church, Virginia-based US Investigations Services (USIS) probably involved the theft of personal information about DHS employees, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story.

Read the full story here.

Cyber Security: Hackers In Russia Have Stolen More Than A Billion Usernames And Passwords

A Russian gang is said to have stolen more than one billion internet credentials, possibly making it the biggest heist of its kind, according to a new report from The New York Times. Read the article here.

Cyber Security: Researcher says PayPal's two-factor authentication is easily beaten

A security feature offered by PayPal to help prevent accounts from being taken over by hackers can be easily circumvented, an Australian security researcher has found. Read more here.

Cyber Security: USB devices can be used by hackers

USB devices such as keyboards, thumb-drives and mice can be used to hack into personal computers in a potential new class of attacks that evade all known security protections, a top computer researcher has revealed. Read the article here.

Cyber Security: Hacker says to show passenger jets at risk of cyber attack

Cyber security researcher Ruben Santamarta says he has figured out how to hack the satellite communications equipment on passenger jets through their WiFi and inflight entertainment systems - a claim that, if confirmed, could prompt a review of aircraft security. Read about it here.

Cyber Security: ICS-CERT Vulnerability Summary for Week of July 28

Click the link below to view the summary of cyber security vulnerabilities for the week of July 28 as collected and reported by ICS-CERT.

http://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/bulletins/SB14-216

Cyber Security: UPS says 51 retail stores breached by malware

Some customers of The UPS Store may have had their credit and debit card information exposed by a computer virus found on systems at 51 stores in 24 states. Click here to read more.

Cyber Security: Warning over Android security risk

A new flaw in the Android mobile operating system leaves the personal and financial details of users since 2010 at risk to hacking, a mobile analytics firm has claimed. Read the article here.