Profile of Jai Vijayan

Freelance writer News & Commentary Posts: 547

Jai Vijayan is a seasoned technology reporter with over 20 years of experience in IT trade journalism. He was most recently a Senior Editor at Computerworld, where he covered information security and data privacy issues for the publication. Over the course of his 20-year career at Computerworld, Jai also covered a variety of other technology topics including Big Data, Hadoop, Internet of Things, E-voting and data analytics. Prior to Computerworld, Jai covered technology issues for The Economic Times in Bangalore, India. Jai has a Master's degree in Statistics and lives in Naperville, IL.

Exposed Container Orchestration Systems Putting Many Orgs at Risk

6/18/2018
More than 22,600 open container orchestration and API management systems discovered on the Internet.
Post a Comment

Trump-Kim Meeting Was a Magnet For Russian Cyberattacks

6/15/2018
Attacks directed at targets in Singapore went through the roof earlier this week.
Post a Comment

Intel Discloses Yet Another Side Channel Vulnerability

6/14/2018
Moderate severity Lazy FP restore flaw affects Intel Core-based microprocessors.
Post a Comment

Containerized Apps: An 8-Point Security Checklist

6/14/2018
Here are eight measures to take to ensure the security of your containerized application environment.
Post a Comment

US Slaps Sanctions on Five Russian Entities, Three Individuals for Cyberattacks

6/11/2018
Executives from two of the cybersecurity firms on the list say action is unwarranted; another says it's even a Russian entity.
Post a Comment

FBI Slaps New Charges Against Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry

6/7/2018
Federal authorities charged Marcus Hutchins with lying to the government and authoring a second piece of malware in addition to the Kronos banking Trojan.
Post a Comment

VPNFilter Poses Broader Threat Than First Thought; Endpoints At Risk Too

6/6/2018
New research shows the router and NAS system malware affects more vendor devices as well, Cisco Talos says.
Post a Comment

Financial Services Organizations Face More Sophisticated Threats Than Others

6/5/2018
With companies in the financial sector getting better at blocking ordinary threats, attackers have begun going after them with more sophisticated malware, Lastline says.
Post a Comment

US-North Korea Summit News Used as Lure In New Malware Campaign

6/4/2018
Previously known threat actor Group 123 likely behind NavRAT malware, security vendor says.
Post a Comment

Open Bug Bounty Offers Free Program For Websites

6/1/2018
Non-profit says it will triage and verify certain kinds of Web vulnerability submissions at no cost for those who sign up.
Post a Comment

Banking Botnet Operators Strike Profit-Sharing Partnership

5/31/2018
Instead of ripping each other's malware out of victim systems, the groups behind Trickbot and IcedID are playing nice with each other, says Flashpoint.
Post a Comment

Dozens of Vulnerabilities Discovered in DoD's Enterprise Travel System

5/30/2018
In less than one month, security researchers participating in the Pentagon's Hack the Defense Travel System program found 65 vulnerabilities.
Post a Comment

6 Ways Third Parties Can Trip Up Your Security

5/29/2018
Poor access control, inadequate patch management, and non-existent DR practices are just some of the ways a third party can cause problems
Post a Comment

Growing Job Pressures Increase Risk of Burnout for Cybersecurity Professionals

5/23/2018
A new Trustwave survey shows information security executives and practitioners are under increasing pressure from trying to keep up with threats and compliance mandates.
Post a Comment

Las Vegas Most Insecure Cyber City in US; St. Louis Least Vulnerable

5/22/2018
Forty-three percent chance of users connecting to high or medium-risk networks in Las Vegas - compared to less than 1% risk in least vulnerable areas, Coronet says.
Post a Comment

Federal Jury Convicts Operator of Massive Counter-Antivirus Service

5/17/2018
Scan4You helped thousands of criminals check if AV products could detect and block their malware tools.
Post a Comment

Frequency & Costs of DNS-Based Attacks Soar

5/16/2018
The average cost of a DNS attack in the US has climbed 57% over the last year to $654,000 in 2018, a survey from EfficientIP shows.
Post a Comment

Kaspersky Lab to Move Some Core Operations to Switzerland

5/15/2018
Most customer data storage and processing, software assembly, and threat detection updates will be based in Zurich.
Post a Comment

Shadow IoT Devices Pose a Growing Problem for Organizations

5/14/2018
An Infoblox survey shows many companies have thousands of non-business Internet of Things devices connecting to their network daily.
Post a Comment

Proofpoint Sounds Warning on Vega Stealer Targeted Data Theft Campaign

5/11/2018
Marketing, PR, and advertising firms are among those being targeted.
Post a Comment

Author of TreasureHunter PoS Malware Releases Its Source Code

5/10/2018
Leak gives threat actors a way to build newer, nastier versions of the point-of-sale malware, Flashpoint says.
Post a Comment

SynAck Ransomware Gets Dangerous 'Doppleganging' Feature

5/7/2018
New Process Doppelganging, obfuscation features makes the malware much harder to spot and stop.
Post a Comment

Report: China's Intelligence Apparatus Linked to Previously Unconnected Threat Groups

5/4/2018
Multiple groups operating under the China state-sponsored Winnti umbrella have been targeting organizations in the US, Japan, and elsewhere, says ProtectWise.
Post a Comment

No Computing Device Too Small For Cryptojacking

5/3/2018
Research by Trend Micro shows IoT and almost all connected devices are targets for illegal cryptocurrency mining.
Post a Comment

Password Reuse Abounds, New Survey Shows

5/1/2018
Despite heightened awareness of the security implications many users still continue to reuse passwords and rarely if ever change them, a LogMeIn survey shows.
Post a Comment

Speed at Which New Drupal Flaw Was Exploited Highlights Patching Challenges

4/30/2018
In the rush to patch, organizations can create fresh problems for themselves.
Post a Comment

US Healthcare Firms Among Dozens Hit in 'Orangeworm' Cyberattack Campaign

4/26/2018
Attackers target healthcare organizations in apparent data theft mission, but could do far more damage, according to Symantec researchers.
Post a Comment

Low-Cost Crimeware Kit Gaining Popularity in Underground Markets

4/25/2018
At $150 for a three-month subscription, Rubella Malware Builder presents a threat to enterprises, Flashpoint says.
Post a Comment

Threat Actors Turn to Blockchain Infrastructure to Host & Hide Malicious Activity

4/23/2018
.bit domains are increasingly being used to hide payloads, stolen data, and command and control servers, FireEye says.
Post a Comment

Majority of Men Think Women Have Equal Opportunity to Advance in Cybersecurity Career

4/17/2018
Not so fast, say women.
Post a Comment

Cisco, ISARA to Test Hybrid Classic, Quantum-Safe Digital Certificates

4/13/2018
Goal is to make it easier for organizations to handle the migration to quantum computing when it becomes available.
Post a Comment

Attackers Exploit Cisco Switch Issue as Vendor Warns of Yet Another Critical Flaw

4/9/2018
Cisco says companies fixing previously known protocol issue should also patch against critical remote-code execution issue.
Post a Comment

Sears & Delta Airlines Are Latest Victims of Third-Party Security Breach

4/5/2018
An insecure ecosystem of third parties connected to an enterprise network poses a growing risk, security analysts say.
Post a Comment

Four Gas Pipeline Firms Hit in Attack on Their EDI Service Provider

4/5/2018
Attack a warning on vulnerabilities in energy networks, security analysts say.
Post a Comment

Criminals Targeting Magento Sites with Brute-Force Password Attacks

4/3/2018
Flashpoint says it is aware of at least 1,000 sites using Magento's e-commerce platform that have been recently compromised.
Post a Comment

Microsoft Rushes Out Fix for Major Hole Caused by Previous Meltdown Patch

3/30/2018
Issue affects Windows 7 x64 and Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 systems.
Post a Comment

University Networks Become Fertile Ground for Cryptomining

3/29/2018
Sixty percent of cryptomining detections in a Vectra study occurred on higher-education networks.
Post a Comment

Attackers Shift From Adobe Flaws to Microsoft Products

3/27/2018
Seven of the Top 10 most commonly exploited vulnerabilities in 2017 were Microsoft-related - not Adobe Flash as in years past, Recorded Future found.
Post a Comment

Leader of Cybercrime APT Behind $1.2 Billion in Bank Heists Arrested

3/26/2018
The Carbanak group has caused more financial losses to financial institutions than any other cybercrime group since it surfaced in 2013.
Post a Comment

AMD Will Release Fixes for New Processor Flaws in a Few Weeks

3/23/2018
Security firm that disclosed flaws accuses chipmaker of downplaying flaws; says timeline is overly optimistic.
Post a Comment

Criminals Using Web Injects to Steal Cryptocurrency

3/22/2018
Man-in-the-browser attacks targeting Blockchain.info and Coinbase websites, SecurityScorecard says.
Post a Comment

7 Ways to Protect Against Cryptomining Attacks

3/22/2018
Implementing basic security hygiene can go a long way in ensuring your systems and website don't get hijacked.
Post a Comment

Gartner Expects 2018 IoT Security Spending to Reach $1.5 Billion

3/21/2018
Regulations, breach concerns will push spending to over $3 billion by 2021, analyst firm says.
Post a Comment

New Method Proposed for Secure Government Access to Encrypted Data

3/19/2018
'Crumple Zones' in crypto mechanisms can make it possible — but astronomically expensive — to access encrypted data, say researchers from Boston University and Portland State University.
Post a Comment

Are DDoS Attacks Increasing or Decreasing? Depends on Whom You Ask

3/15/2018
Details on DDoS trends can vary, depending on the reporting source.
Post a Comment

New Hosted Service Lowers Barriers to Malware Distribution

3/14/2018
BlackTDS is a traffic distribution service for directing users to malware and exploit kits based on specific parameters.
Post a Comment

Malware Leveraging PowerShell Grew 432% in 2017

3/12/2018
Cryptocurrency mining and ransomware were other major threats.
Post a Comment

China's Vulnerability Database Altered to Hide Govt. Influence

3/9/2018
Recorded Future says move designed to hide fact that CNNVD routinely delays publication of high-risk flaws so government can assess them for offensive use.
Post a Comment

North Korea Threat Group Targeting Turkish Financial Orgs

3/8/2018
Hidden Cobra appears to be collecting information for a later strike, McAfee says.
Post a Comment

Intel SGX Can Be Used to Hide, Execute Malware

3/7/2018
The microprocessor giant's Software Guard Extensions security feature can be abused to implement virtually undetectable malware, Graz University researchers say.
Post a Comment

Design Weakness in Microsoft CFG Allows Complete Bypass

3/6/2018
Researchers from Italy's University of Padua will demo a new technique to evade Control Flow Guard, the widely deployed security mechanism, at Black Hat Asia.
Post a Comment

Insider Threat Seriously Undermining Healthcare Cybersecurity

3/5/2018
Two separate reports suggest insiders — of the malicious and careless variety — pose more of a problem in healthcare than any other sector.
Post a Comment

Number of Sites Hosting Cryptocurrency Miners Surges 725% in 4 Months

3/1/2018
The dramatic increase in cryptocurrency prices, especially for Monero, is behind the sudden explosive growth, says Cyren.
Post a Comment

New Android Malware Family Highlights Evolving Mobile Threat Capabilities

2/28/2018
RedDrop can steal data, record audio, and rack up SMS charges for victims, says Wandera.
Post a Comment

Memcached Servers Being Exploited in Huge DDoS Attacks

2/27/2018
Multiple vendors this week say they have seen a recent spike in UDP attacks coming in via port 11211.
Post a Comment

Threats from Mobile Ransomware & Banking Malware Are Growing

2/26/2018
The number of unique mobile malware samples increased sharply in 2017 compared to a year ago, according to Trend Micro.
Post a Comment

'OMG': New Mirai Variant Converts IoT Devices into Proxy Servers

2/23/2018
The new malware also can turn bots into DDoS attack machines, says Fortinet.
Post a Comment

Criminals Obtain Code-Signing Certificates Using Stolen Corporate IDs

2/22/2018
The certificates are available on demand at prices ranging from $299 to $1,599, says Recorded Future.
Post a Comment

Global Cybercrime Costs Top $600 Billion

2/21/2018
More than 50% of attacks result in damages of over $500K, two reports show.
Post a Comment

7 Cryptominers & Cryptomining Botnets You Can't Ignore

2/21/2018
Cryptominers have emerged as a major threat to organizations worldwide. Here are seven you cannot afford to ignore.
Post a Comment

Cybercrime Gang Ramps up Ransomware Campaign

2/15/2018
In the last few weeks, Gold Lowell group has collected over $350K after infecting victims with SamSam crypto malware, researchers at Secureworks found.
Post a Comment

Attackers Use Infected Plug-In to Install Cryptomining Tool on Over 4200 Websites

2/12/2018
Victims include UK's ICO, and National Health Service and USCourts.gov.
Post a Comment

New POS Malware Steals Data via DNS Traffic

2/8/2018
UDPoS is disguised to appear like a LogMeIn service pack, Forcepoint says.
Post a Comment

US, International Law Enforcement Shut Down Massive Cybercrime Marketplace

2/7/2018
The Infraud Organization was responsible for over $500 million in losses to institutions and individuals worldwide, the US Department of Justice says.
Post a Comment

Uber's Response to 2016 Data Breach Was 'Legally Reprehensible,' Lawmaker Says

2/6/2018
In Senate hearing, Uber CISO admits company messed up in not quickly disclosing breach that exposed data on 57 million people.
Post a Comment

Abusing X.509 Digital Certificates for Covert Data Exchange

2/5/2018
Newly discovered hack would allow attackers to send data between two systems during TLS negotiation, researchers say.
Post a Comment

7 Ways to Maximize Your Security Dollars

2/5/2018
Budget and resource constraints can make it hard for you to meet security requirements, but there are ways you can stretch your budget.
Post a Comment

Crypto-Mining Attacks Emerge as the New Big Threat to Enterprises

2/1/2018
Attackers looking to hijack systems for illegally mining digital currencies have begun eyeing business systems, security vendors say.
Post a Comment

Phishing Campaign Underscores Threat from Low Budget, Low Skilled Attackers

1/30/2018
For just over $1,000, a phishing operation successfully spied on members of the Tibetan community for 19 months, Toronto University's Citizen Lab found.
Post a Comment

Thieves Target ATMs In First US 'Jackpotting' Attacks

1/29/2018
Attackers have been getting ATMs to illegally dispense cash by tampering with their internal electronics, US Secret Service warns.
Post a Comment

Dutch Intel Agency Reportedly Helped US Attribute DNC Hack to Russia

1/26/2018
The General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands broke into Cozy Bear's network in 2014 and spotted the group launching attacks, de Volkskrant says.
Post a Comment

This Year's Pwn2Own Hackfest Will Offer Up to $2 Million in Rewards

1/25/2018
Microsoft is a partner at annual contest for the first time.
Post a Comment

Ransomware Actors Cut Loose on Health Care Organizations

1/24/2018
An attack on Allscripts last week that knocked out EHR services to 1,500 clients is the third reported incident just this month.
Post a Comment

Dark Caracal Campaign Breaks New Ground with Focus on Mobile Devices

1/23/2018
This is the first known global-scale campaign primarily focused on stealing data from Android devices, Lookout and EFF say.
Post a Comment

Satori Botnet Malware Now Can Infect Even More IoT Devices

1/22/2018
Latest version targets systems running ARC processors.
Post a Comment

Kaspersky Lab Seeks Injunction Against US Government Ban

1/19/2018
Revenues and reputation have taken a hit in the wake of the US Department of Homeland Security's decision to prohibit use of its products and services by the feds, the company says.
Post a Comment

Rogue Chrome, Firefox Extensions Hijack Browsers; Prevent Easy Removal

1/18/2018
Malwarebytes describes malicious extensions as 'one of a kind'
Post a Comment

Threats from Russia, North Korea Loom as Geopolitics Spills into Cyber Realm

1/17/2018
Threat actors from both nations ramped up their activities sharply in 2017, Flashpoint says in a new threat intelligence report.
Post a Comment

Kaspersky Lab Warns of Extremely Sophisticated Android Spyware Tool

1/16/2018
Skygofree appears to have been developed for lawful intercept, offensive surveillance purposes.
Post a Comment

Survey Suggests Many Are Still Waiting for Spectre, Meltdown Windows Updates

1/11/2018
Microsoft's insistence on a specific registry key setting for offering the updates on systems appears to be the issue, security vendor Barkly says.
Post a Comment

Cisco Adds Encrypted Traffic Analysis Function

1/10/2018
New Encrypted Traffic Analytics is designed to help enterprises inspect encrypted traffic for malicious activity without having to decrypt it first.
Post a Comment

Turla Cyberespionage Gang Employs Adobe Flash Installer

1/9/2018
In recent data theft campaigns, the APT group has been downloading malware from what appears to be legitimate Adobe URLs and IP addresses, ESET says.
Post a Comment

New Cryptocurrency Mining Malware Has Links to North Korea

1/8/2018
A malware tool for stealthily installing software that mines the Monero virtual currency looks like the handiwork of North Korean threat actors, AlienVault says.
Post a Comment

Vendors Rush to Issue Security Updates for Meltdown, Spectre Flaws

1/4/2018
Apple says all Mac and iOS systems are affected by new side-channel attack vulnerabilities.
Post a Comment

Open Source Components, Code Volume Drag Down Web App Security

1/3/2018
The number of new Web application vulnerabilities published last year was 212% greater than the number disclosed in 2016, Imperva says in a new report this week.
Post a Comment

Hackers Who Disabled Police Cameras Prior to Trump Inauguration Left Trail of Clues

1/2/2018
Romanian police last month arrested Mihai Isvanca, and Eveline Cismaru for allegedly breaking into 123 computers controlling surveillance cameras at DC's police department in 2017.
Post a Comment

Hit the Cyber Underground for the Hottest Travel Deals

12/22/2017
You can get everything from inexpensive flights and hotels to fake passports in the cyber underground, says Trend Micro.
Post a Comment

Russia's Fancy Bear APT Group Gets More Dangerous

12/21/2017
Encryption and code refreshes to group's main attack tool have made it stealthier and harder to stop, ESET says.
Post a Comment

Attack Attribution Tricky Say Some as US Blames North Korea for WannaCry

12/20/2017
There's not enough evidence to conclusively tie the rogue regime to the ransomware attacks, some security experts say.
Post a Comment

Another Cyberattack Spotted Targeting Mideast Critical Infrastructure Organizations

12/19/2017
Operation Copperfield appears focused on data theft and reconnaissance, Nyotron says.
Post a Comment

TRITON Attacker Disrupts ICS Operations, While Botching Attempt to Cause Physical Damage

12/14/2017
TRITON malware is discovered after an attack on a safety monitoring system accidentally triggered the shutdown of an industrial process at an undisclosed organization.
Post a Comment

Former Rutgers Student, Two Others Plead Guilty to Operating Mirai Botnet

12/13/2017
Trio faces up to five years in federal prison and fines of up to $250,000
Post a Comment

Security Compliance: The Less You Spend the More You Pay

12/12/2017
The costs of complying with data protection requirements are steep, but the costs of non-compliance are even higher, a new study shows.
Post a Comment

Russian-Speaking 'MoneyTaker' Group Helps Itself to Millions from US Banks

12/11/2017
Banks in Latin America appear to be next big target, Group-IB says.
Post a Comment

Conficker: The Worm That Won't Die

12/7/2017
More than nine years after it infected millions of systems worldwide, the malware continues to be highly active, according to a Trend Micro report.
Post a Comment

NIST Releases New Cybersecurity Framework Draft

12/6/2017
Updated version includes changes to some existing guidelines - and adds some new ones.
Post a Comment

Bitcoin Sites Become Hot Targets for DDoS Attacks

12/5/2017
The Bitcoin industry is now one of the top 10 most-targeted industries for DDoS campaigns. Price manipulation could be one goal, Imperva says.
Post a Comment

NSA Employee Pleads Guilty to Illegally Retaining National Defense Secrets

12/4/2017
Nghia Hoang Pho faces up to eight years in prison for removing highly classified NSA data from workplace and storing it at home.
Post a Comment

Developers Can Do More to Up Their Security Game: Report

11/28/2017
Developers can play a vital role in accelerating the adoption of AppSec practices, security vendor says.
Post a Comment

New OWASP Top 10 List Includes Three New Web Vulns

11/21/2017
But dropping cross-site request forgeries from list is a mistake, some analysts say.
Post a Comment