Cybersecurity News. PHOTO: Cybercrime Magazine.

Cybercrime Bytes: Security Help Wanted, Ransomware Ticks Up, How WiCyS Started

Weekly news that keeps you on the cutting edge of cybersecurity

Steve Morgan, Editor-in-Chief

Sausalito, Calif. – Jun. 8, 2020

This week’s rundown is sponsored by Arcserve – your source for smarter, easier data and ransomware protection.

— With the COVID-19 pandemic shifting the world more toward remote working and cloud-based services, there is a large increase in demand for cybersecurity professionals. In an already burdened labor market, finding experienced talent has become more difficult. Forbes

— Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that a business will be the victim of a ransomware attack every 11 seconds by 2021, up from every 14 seconds in 2019, and every 40 seconds in 2016. When factoring in consumers, the estimated figures are closer to a ransomware attack (on a business or individual) occurring every 5 seconds by 2021. Cybercrime Magazine

— WiCyS (Women In Cybersecurity) founder Ambareen Siraj recently talked about starting her organization as a grant-funded initiative in 2013 and growing WiCyS into a nonprofit with more than 6,000 members. Cybercrime Magazine

— From Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer, to Margaret Hamilton, who was instrumental in NASA’s moon landing, history is filled with women who have programmed giant leaps for mankind. That’s why it’s a problem that, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, only 20 percent of the cybersecurity industry is female. Cyber Security Challenge UK

— Ashley Rose, CEO at Living Security, announced the Breaking Security Awareness virtual conference, which will take place on June 25, Noon to 5 p.m. EST. An exciting lineup of top cybersecurity experts globally are headlining a unique event focused on security awareness training for employees. Cybercrime Radio


Cybercrime Radio: CISO Minute with Former White House CIO Theresa Payton

What CISOs need to know about cyber liability insurance


— In these uncertain times, finding a secure job is a priority for everyone. While many well-paid careers require college degrees, white hat hacking is open to just about anyone. These cybersecurity experts are paid good money to find the weaknesses in networks, and there is a huge demand for new talent. Windows Central

Cybercriminals are experimenting with what works well and adjusting their approaches. Chief security officers (CSOs), for instance, may associate ransomware purely with data encryption. But there’s also threats from sensitive data being uploaded publicly — in these cases the ransom is demanded to stop this from happening. SC Magazine UK

— Cybersecurity vs. cyber resilience, what’s the difference? Cybersecurity is a pre-emptive strategy. Cyber resilience assumes that you are going to be hacked, and you’ll remain standing, according to Avast’s Global CISO Jaya Balo. Cybercrime Radio

— In response to escalating cybercrime rates during the COVID-19 crisis, Fullstack Cyber Bootcamp, New York City’s cybersecurity bootcamp partner, today announced an initiative to offer free introductory courses to people nationwide, providing an opportunity for individuals to explore the cybersecurity industry as a potential career path. PR Newswire

The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, requiring security professionals to regularly upgrade their skills and knowledge. The costs of acquiring new certifications and renewing existing ones becomes a significant hurdle for existing and upcoming professionals if they’re forced to pay for these expenses out-of-pocket. ValueWalk


Cybercrime TV: 1-Minute Preview of the CISO 500 Data File

Cybersecurity expert Scott Schober uses the powerful list


Women and minorities are either not choosing the cybersecurity field or are not staying in the field. Why should we care about the balance? If we look at the projected 3.5 million job gap (according to Cybersecurity Ventures), we should ask whether we can afford not to recruit and hire the best talent from all backgrounds. Infosecurity Magazine

A child’s data is worth 51 times that of an adult’s. That’s because most parents don’t check their child’s credit until age 18, around the time they’re applying for financial aid for college. By then, the damage has been done — cybercriminals have already stolen the child’s ID. 401kTV

The number of phishing scams and website attacks related to the COVID-19 virus has escalated exponentially around the world, according to Trend Micro. ​The global solutions provider says that virus-related attacks multiplied more than 220 times from February to March alone. Euronews

— There is a growing appetite for insurance coverage of damages caused by security incidents. It is estimated that about one-third of larger businesses have now procured some type of cyberinsurance. Cranium

 — A beta version of the 2020 CISO 500 Data File from Cybersecurity Ventures has been released. This special compilation contains the CISO names at the 500 largest companies in the United States. The official file will be released in June 2020. Cybercrime Magazine

More next week.

Cybercrime Bytes Archives

More next week.

Steve Morgan is founder and Editor-in-Chief at Cybersecurity Ventures.

Go here to read all of my blogs and articles covering cybersecurity. Go here to send me story tips, feedback and suggestions.


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