Tag: cyberattack

  • The Cost of a Cyberattack: Why Investing in Cybersecurity is Essential

    The Cost of a Cyberattack: Why Investing in Cybersecurity is Essential


    In today’s digital age, cyberattacks have become a serious threat to businesses of all sizes. The cost of a cyberattack can be devastating, both financially and in terms of reputation. This is why investing in cybersecurity is not just important, but essential for the survival of any organization.

    The financial cost of a cyberattack can be staggering. According to a report by IBM, the average cost of a data breach in 2020 was $3.86 million. This includes costs such as remediation, legal fees, regulatory fines, and loss of revenue. In addition, there are often hidden costs such as damage to brand reputation, customer trust, and employee morale.

    Furthermore, the impact of a cyberattack can be long-lasting. A study by the Ponemon Institute found that 60% of small businesses go out of business within six months of a cyberattack. This is due to the high cost of recovery, as well as the loss of customers who no longer trust the organization to protect their data.

    Investing in cybersecurity is essential to protect your organization from these risks. By implementing strong security measures, such as firewalls, encryption, and regular security audits, you can reduce the likelihood of a successful cyberattack. In addition, having a robust incident response plan in place can help minimize the damage in the event of a breach.

    While the upfront cost of investing in cybersecurity may seem high, the cost of not investing can be even higher. In the long run, the financial and reputational damage caused by a cyberattack can far outweigh the initial investment in security measures.

    In conclusion, the cost of a cyberattack is high, both in terms of financial losses and damage to reputation. Investing in cybersecurity is essential for any organization looking to protect itself from these risks. By implementing strong security measures and having a robust incident response plan in place, you can minimize the impact of a cyberattack and ensure the long-term success of your business.

  • DeepSeek hit with large-scale cyberattack, says it’s limiting registrations


    DeepSeek on Monday said it would temporarily limit user registrations “due to large-scale malicious attacks” on its services, though existing users will be able to log in as usual.

    The Chinese artificial intelligence startup has generated a lot of buzz in recent weeks as a fast-growing rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and other leading AI tools.

    Earlier on Monday, DeepSeek took over rival OpenAI’s coveted spot as the most-downloaded free app in the U.S. on Apple‘s App Store, dethroning ChatGPT for DeepSeek’s own AI Assistant. It helped inspire a significant selloff in global tech stocks.

    Buzz about the company, which was founded in 2023 and released its R1 model last week, has spread to tech analysts, investors and developers, who say that the hype — and ensuing fear of falling behind in the ever-changing AI hype cycle — may be warranted. Especially in the era of the generative AI arms race, where tech giants and startups alike are racing to ensure they don’t fall behind in a market predicted to top $1 trillion in revenue within a decade.

    Read more CNBC reporting on AI

    DeepSeek reportedly grew out of a Chinese hedge fund’s AI research unit in April 2023 to focus on large language models and reaching artificial general intelligence, or AGI — a branch of AI that equals or surpasses human intellect on a wide range of tasks, which OpenAI and its rivals say they’re fast pursuing.

    The buzz around DeepSeek especially began to spread last week, when the startup released R1, its reasoning model that rivals OpenAI’s o1. It’s open-source, meaning that any AI developer can use it, and has rocketed to the top of app stores and industry leaderboards, with users praising its performance and reasoning capabilities.

    The startup’s models were notably built despite the U.S. curbing chip exports to China three times in three years. Estimates differ on exactly how much DeepSeek’s R1 costs, or how many GPUs went into it. Jefferies analysts estimated that a recent version had a “training cost of only US$5.6m (assuming US$2/H800 hour rental cost). That is less than 10% of the cost of Meta‘s Llama.”

    But regardless of the specific numbers, reports agree that the model was developed at a fraction of the cost of rival models by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others.

    As a result, the AI sector is awash with questions, including whether the industry’s increasing number of astronomical funding rounds and billion-dollar valuations is necessary — and whether a bubble is about to burst.



    DeepSeek, a popular search engine known for its commitment to user privacy, has recently been hit with a large-scale cyberattack. In response to the breach, the company has announced that it is limiting new user registrations in order to protect its existing users.

    The cyberattack, which targeted DeepSeek’s servers and infrastructure, has raised concerns about the security of the search engine and the safety of user data. DeepSeek has assured users that it is working diligently to investigate the breach and strengthen its defenses against future attacks.

    In the meantime, DeepSeek has announced that it will be limiting new user registrations in order to prevent any further security vulnerabilities. Existing users are encouraged to update their passwords and enable two-factor authentication to enhance their account security.

    As one of the most trusted search engines in the industry, DeepSeek is committed to protecting user privacy and security. The company’s proactive response to this cyberattack demonstrates its dedication to safeguarding user data and maintaining a safe online environment.

    Tags:

    1. DeepSeek cyberattack
    2. Cybersecurity breach at DeepSeek
    3. DeepSeek registration limitations
    4. Large-scale cyberattack on DeepSeek
    5. DeepSeek data breach
    6. DeepSeek security breach
    7. DeepSeek registration restrictions
    8. Cyberattack impact on DeepSeek
    9. DeepSeek cyber incident
    10. DeepSeek cyber defense measures

    #DeepSeek #hit #largescale #cyberattack #limiting #registrations

  • UnitedHealth Now Estimates 190 Million Were Impacted by Cyberattack


    UnitedHealth now estimates that 190 million people were impacted as a result of the cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit last February—almost double previous estimates.

    The attack disabled the company’s IT systems and affected treatment for months. It led to personal information like names, physical addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, as well as medical and financial data being compromised. The company began notifying impacted customers in July 2024.

    “The vast majority of those people have already been provided individual or substitute notice,” said Tyler Mason, a spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group, in an email to TechCrunch, which first reported the updated numbers.

    “The final number will be confirmed and filed with the Office for Civil Rights at a later date,” he added. Mason said he was “not aware” of “any misuse of individuals’ information as a result of this incident” and said the company has “not seen electronic medical record databases appear in the data during the analysis.”

    Personal data captured in ransomware attacks—a type of cyberattack in which criminals encrypt a company’s data and demand payment to unlock it—is often sold on online black markets and used for identity theft, scam calls, and phishing emails.

    The hack is thought to have been carried out by the Russian-speaking AlphV/BlackCat ransomware group, which used a loophole in remote-access Citrix software to gain access to the company’s systems and lock up its data for ransom. The attack is expected to cost UnitedHealth from $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion. It made at least one ransomware payment of roughly $22 million.

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    In December, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recommended that healthcare providers implement multi-factor authentication, encrypt patient data to safeguard it in case of a data breach, and undergo compliance checks to ensure their networks meet cybersecurity rules. It’s unclear if the Trump administration will pursue this.

    Profits at UnitedHealth fell by more than a third in 2024, dropping from roughly $22.3 billion in 2023 to about $14.4 billion.

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    About Will McCurdy

    Contributor

    Will McCurdy

    I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

    I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.


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    UnitedHealth, one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States, has recently announced that they now estimate a staggering 190 million individuals were impacted by a cyberattack on their systems. This cyberattack, which occurred earlier this year, has raised major concerns about the security of personal and sensitive information held by insurance companies.

    The attack, which targeted UnitedHealth’s IT systems, has potentially exposed vast amounts of personal data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and medical information. This breach of security has left millions of individuals vulnerable to identity theft and other forms of cybercrime.

    UnitedHealth is working diligently to address the breach and secure their systems to prevent future attacks. They are also offering credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to those affected by the cyberattack.

    This incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of cybersecurity and the need for companies to invest in robust security measures to protect their customers’ sensitive information. It also highlights the growing threat of cyberattacks on large corporations and the potential impact they can have on millions of individuals.

    As more details emerge about the scope of the breach and the steps being taken to mitigate its effects, it is crucial for individuals to remain vigilant and take proactive steps to protect their personal information. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

    Tags:

    1. UnitedHealth cyberattack
    2. 190 million affected
    3. UnitedHealth data breach
    4. Cybersecurity incident
    5. Healthcare cybersecurity
    6. UnitedHealth cyber threat
    7. Data breach impact
    8. UnitedHealth cyber incident
    9. Cybersecurity breach
    10. UnitedHealth data security.

    #UnitedHealth #Estimates #Million #Impacted #Cyberattack

  • Microsoft Defender for Identity in Depth: An exhaustive guide to ITDR, breach prevention, and cyberattack response

    Microsoft Defender for Identity in Depth: An exhaustive guide to ITDR, breach prevention, and cyberattack response


    Price: $44.99
    (as of Dec 25,2024 23:34:26 UTC – Details)




    ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DK1HW2KX
    Publisher ‏ : ‎ Packt Publishing (December 20, 2024)
    Language ‏ : ‎ English
    Paperback ‏ : ‎ 380 pages
    ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1835884482
    ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1835884492
    Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.8 pounds
    Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.9 x 7.5 x 9.25 inches


    Microsoft Defender for Identity is a powerful tool that helps organizations protect their networks, data, and users from cyber threats. In this guide, we will explore the features and capabilities of Microsoft Defender for Identity in detail, providing an exhaustive overview of its capabilities in IT disaster recovery (ITDR), breach prevention, and cyberattack response.

    IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR) with Microsoft Defender for Identity

    Microsoft Defender for Identity helps organizations build a robust IT disaster recovery plan by continuously monitoring user activities, detecting suspicious behavior, and providing real-time alerts on potential threats. By analyzing user behavior and flagging any anomalies, Defender for Identity helps IT teams identify and mitigate potential risks before they escalate into full-blown disasters.

    Breach Prevention with Microsoft Defender for Identity

    One of the key features of Microsoft Defender for Identity is its ability to detect and prevent breaches before they occur. By leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms, Defender for Identity can identify unauthorized access attempts, unusual user behavior, and other potential security threats. With its robust threat detection capabilities, organizations can proactively protect their networks and data from cyberattacks.

    Cyberattack Response with Microsoft Defender for Identity

    In the event of a cyberattack, Microsoft Defender for Identity provides organizations with the tools they need to respond quickly and effectively. By identifying the source of the attack, analyzing its impact, and containing the threat, Defender for Identity helps IT teams minimize the damage and restore normal operations as soon as possible. Additionally, Defender for Identity offers detailed reports and insights that can help organizations learn from past incidents and strengthen their cybersecurity posture for the future.

    In conclusion, Microsoft Defender for Identity is a comprehensive solution for IT disaster recovery, breach prevention, and cyberattack response. By leveraging its advanced capabilities, organizations can enhance their security posture, protect their networks and data, and respond effectively to cyber threats. If you’re looking to strengthen your organization’s cybersecurity defenses, Microsoft Defender for Identity is a tool worth considering.
    #Microsoft #Defender #Identity #Depth #exhaustive #guide #ITDR #breach #prevention #cyberattack #response, Cybersecurity

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