Ian L. Paterson

Code and Country Episode 4 — Beth Sizeland - Plurilock Latest News: Plurilock CEO Ian L. Paterson on the Insurtech Leadership Podcast — November 16, 2023

New episode of Code and Country is out now!

This week, we are joined by Elizabeth Sizeland, former UK Deputy National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Resilience and Security.

Listen now: https://buff.ly/4azVmBQ

How a badly-coded computer virus caused billions in damage | CNN Business Wearing a striped shirt and Matrix-style dark glasses, Onel de Guzman stared at the floor as he made his way through a crowd of photographers into a hastily arranged press conference in Quezon City,…

Taking a look at how love took down millions. This quote from the article still rings true:

“You can update your operating systems or you can have the best email filters in the world, but you can’t patch the human brain,” said Cluley."

How cyberattacks on grocery stores could threaten food security Grocery store shoppers at many chains recently ran into an unwelcome surprise – empty shelves and delayed prescriptions resulting from a major cyberattack.

I may need some farming tips...

PayPal to Settle New York’s Allegations of Cybersecurity Failures | PYMNTS.com PayPal will pay a $2 million penalty to New York state to settle the state’s allegations that the company had cybersecurity failures that led to a data

The key word here is "now"...after it happened.

"PayPal now requires multifactor authentication on all U.S. customer accounts, forced password resets on affected accounts, and has implemented CAPTCHA, the consent order said."

Microsoft 365 Subject to Email Bombing, 'Vishing' Attacks Sophos noted more than 15 attacks have been reported during the past three months.

365 is so widely used that "tech support impersonation" is a viable method of attack.

SOLAR SUNRISE After 25 Years: Are We 25 Years Wiser? Timing of intrusions “raised major concerns for the Department of Defense” Attacks targeted “central core of data necessary to manage [U.S.] military forces” Teenage hackers exploited known U.S.…

Another throwback from the vault - a nice look at Solar Sunrise over 25 years later.

FTC cracks down on GoDaddy for cybersecurity failings GoDaddy’s failure to use industry standard measures led to what the Federal Trade Commission called “several major security breaches” between 2019 and 2022.

"The proposed settlement order bars GoDaddy from exaggerating its security practices..."

I know the answer to this already but....why lie when you could just put good security practices in place? 🥲

Agree to disagree.

A major data broker hack may have leaked precise location info for millions It was hit by an FTC ban on location data sales last month.

Now they're after Candy Crush...

"Last week, major location data broker Gravy Analytics disclosed a data breach that may have resulted in the theft of precise location data for millions of people...appears to include data from popular mobile games like Candy Crush and more"

35 cybersecurity statistics to lose sleep over in 2025 Here's what to know about cybersecurity in 2025. These 35 eye-opening cybersecurity statistics cover cybercrime, cybersecurity jobs and industry trends.

Just in case anyone needed a few more things to chew on before sleep...

Inside the Takedown of a Notorious Malware Clearinghouse How security researchers caught the creators of counter antivirus services Scan4You.

Throwback read for the weekend. Taking a look at how they caught the creators of Scan4You.

Is the water safe? The state of critical infrastructure cybersecurity While the U.S. government works to improve critical infrastructure cybersecurity, continuing attacks reveal that more needs to be done.

Really hoping we don't see any catastrophic attacks on critical infrastructure this year but every article like this renews the concern.

PowerSchool issues nationwide data breach alert: What we know A spokesperson for the company said an "unauthorized actor" accessed and stole sensitive customer information.

Not the best way to start 2025. A quick search shows just how many schools are impacted by this. Cybersecurity *has* to be a priority.

Securing the Quantum Era: What NIST’s New Encryption Standards Mean for Cybersecurity How certain are we that new NIST standards can withstand quantum attacks? The answer is complex.

Gotta stay one step ahead of the one step ahead.

New HIPAA Security Rules Pull No Punches Healthcare organizations will be held to a stricter standard of cybersecurity starting in 2025 with new proposed rules, but not all have the budget for it.

I would hope large hospitals find it in their budget to invest more in cybersecurity. Protecting your patients goes far beyond just medically in this day and age.

Amit Yoran, chair and CEO of cybersecurity firm Tenable, dies unexpectedly after cancer battle Yoran led the cybersecurity company in its IPO in 2018.

This is certainly a big loss for the cybersecurity community. Wishing all the best for Amit's family as well as his colleagues at Tenable.

A Brief History of BonziBuddy, the Internet's Most Friendly Malware If you had a computer in the early 2000s and didn't have a ton of common sense (or proper antivirus software), you probably ended up with an allegedly helpful purple ape named BonziBuddy crowding…

Before Siri and Alexa there was Bonzi Buddy - "the internet's most friendly malware"

The Untold Story of NotPetya, the Most Devastating Cyberattack in History Crippled ports. Paralyzed corporations. Frozen government agencies. How a single piece of code crashed the world.

All the "roundup" articles for 2025 have me thinking back on some of the biggest events in cyber history. Pulling one from the archives. This deep dive on the NotPetya attack is several years old but still an interesting read.

Severe U.S. Treasury breach just the latest of several China attacks The breach is the latest in a series of cyber-attacks targeting U.S. entities.

2025 is already starting off with a bang in the cybersecurity world. I anticipate we'll be seeing a lot more big stories like this in the coming year.

Time to retrain your fingers with the new date:

2024^H^H25

Still on the “to read” list, but it’s come up!

Hello, world.