When you think about distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, you probably envision them being carried out by experienced hackers. And while it's true that your "typical" hackers are responsible for the majority of these attacks, we are beginning to see an unsettling trend. More and more, children are launching DDoS attacks against their own schools. DDoS Attacks: Not Just for Advanced Hackers In the United Kingdom, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has seen an increase in DDoS attacks carried out against schools since the pandemic hit at the beginning of 2020. Upon further investigation, researchers determined that these attacks were not being launched by criminal masterminds. They were being spearheaded by school children themselves – some of them as young as nine years old. These attacks, which have increased in both size and scope, have been responsible for crashing school servers and causing disruption to eLearning services during the

In January of 2021, the "HelloKitty" ransomware group first made a name for itself across the globe. During this time, the group began carrying out a number of ransomware attacks against video game developer CD Projekt Red, wreaking a great deal of havoc across the industry. Unfortunately, it seems that HelloKitty threats are still here to stay a year later. Reports are even emerging that these attacks are now incorporating a double-extortion tactic in the form of DDoS. More About HelloKitty Ransomware Threats Throughout 2021, the HelloKitty ransomware group created many problems in the gaming industry, particularly for the video game developer CD Projekt Red. Specifically, the group breached the developer's servers, stole source code for several video games, and encrypted many vital files. During this time, the attacks were purely ransomware in nature. The game developer was forced to pay a hefty ransom in exchange for the decryption of

Suppose you're one of an estimated 2.65 billion people across the globe who uses Google Chrome to browse the web. In that case, you need to be aware of some ongoing security threats plaguing this browser — particularly in the past year. While browser attacks are not uncommon, the sheer number of security vulnerabilities discovered (and exploited by hackers) on Google Chrome in 2021 alone have been troubling. When you’re aware of these attacks and what Google is doing about them, you can take the necessary steps to keep your information secure while you browse the web. Ongoing Attacks on the Google Chrome Browser In September of 2021, Google confirmed that the number of attacks on the popular Chrome browser had been steadily increasing, with one "critical" attack confirmed. This zero-day attack, which was the 11th carried out against the browser this year, affected Windows, macOS, and Linux users. Even

Across the healthcare field, data security is a top priority. From HIPAA laws designed to secure sensitive patient data to other safeguards, healthcare facilities have a responsibility to keep them safe. Unfortunately, there is simply too much information to take advantage of in the healthcare field — and hackers are doing just that. At ReliableSite, we've frequently discussed the necessity of dedicated servers and other security safeguards in healthcare. While the industry has made some strides, there is still a severe need for change, which is apparent by recent healthcare data breaches affecting California's Community Medical Centers Healthcare (CMC) Network. What Happened at California's Community Medical Centers Healthcare Network? In October of 2021, CMC discovered a major data breach that compromised the data of more than 650,000 patients in their system. Consequently, this data breach forced CMC's communications systems offline for more than three weeks. It was later discovered that

You might be familiar with ransomware attacks and phishing scams, both of which have become increasingly common in recent years. However, one type of attack that you may not have heard of is vishing. Unfortunately, vishing attacks have been on the rise in recent months — and more people are falling victim to them. What is vishing, and what are the dangers of this type of attack? What steps can you take to protect yourself? We've got all the answers to these questions and more below. What is Vishing? Even if you haven't explicitly heard the term "vishing" before, there's a good chance you already understand the concept. Specifically, vishing is an attack that aims to trick you into providing your personal/sensitive information to scammers over the phone. This could include anything from credit card and bank information to personal data, such as a Social Security number or a password.

Sadly, there is no shortage of security threats lurking around the web. In fact, with new threats emerging seemingly daily, it can be challenging to keep up. One of the latest security risks to be aware of is the password spraying attack. This type of attack has become increasingly common in recent years – to the point that the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued advisories on this threat in 2022. What is Password Spraying? Specifically, a password spraying attack is a type of brute force attack involving picking one potential password and logging in across numerous accounts. This allows the attacker to try common passwords (such as default passwords often issued by third-party applications and programs) on an endless number of accounts without getting "locked out" for multiple failed login attempts. In a password spraying attack, one password may be used to access multiple accounts before the attacker

No news is often good news in the cybersecurity world, so you rarely hear "success stories" related to DDoS attacks. However, DDoS attacks are thwarted on a fairly regular basis when the right security measures are in place. In fact, Microsoft reportedly stopped a huge DDoS attack in October 2021 that could have caused severe damage. Unfortunately for Microsoft, a host of security vulnerabilities continue to plague their cloud services, which is why more people are making the switch to dedicated hosting. More About the Attempted DDoS Attack Microsoft Azure’s cloud-based service was hit with an attempted DDoS attack in October of 2021. According to Microsoft, the size of this attack was massive – 2.4 terabits per second. This would make it the second-largest DDoS attack ever logged, according to Catalin Cimpanu of The Record. Microsoft reported that the attack came in a series of three waves across the span

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have been on the rise for years. Not only has the size and scope of these attacks grown, but they have been occurring with greater frequency as well. And unfortunately, it seems as though nobody is safe from these types of attacks and the havoc they can wreak. In fact, the Sinclair Broadcast Group was hit by a major DDoS attack in October of 2021, resulting in major network disruptions and data loss. More About the Sinclair Broadcast Group Attack The Sinclar Broadcast Group, which has headquarters in Maryland, operates dozens of television stations across the country. In October of 2021, the broadcast group's servers were reportedly hit by a huge DDoS attack that resulted in numerous network outages and technical issues across some of its TV stations. Likewise, some servers were hit with a ransomware attack that compromised some of the company's sensitive

It's no secret that having a data backup strategy is more important than ever before, especially in the wake of increasing security threats online. However, one of the greatest challenges people and businesses face when developing a data backup strategy is simply knowing where their information is being stored. Enter data mapping. By having a solid understanding of what data mapping entails and how it can be used to improve your backup strategy, you can take the steps necessary to keep your information safe. What Is Data Mapping? Data mapping is a process that involves carefully identifying what information you have stored and where these files are located. Data mapping also refers to how long files and data may be held on certain systems before being moved elsewhere or deleted. Often, the process of mapping data involves sitting down with other members of your organization and listing out different types

Internet of Things (IoT) devices seem to be everywhere you look these days. In your own home, you'll find them in the form of your smart doorbell, digital assistant (Amazon Alexa or Google Home), and other small devices that are connected to your Wi-Fi network. IoT devices can make our lives easier in many ways, but with the rise of IoT botnet attacks, they're also complicating our digital security, creating significant vulnerabilities. What Is an IoT Botnet? An IoT botnet attack refers to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that is carried out using an army of compromised IoT devices. All too often, IoT devices have weak security settings; users of these devices don't take the proper precautions to protect these accounts because they figure, "Who's going to hack into my smart speaker?" Unfortunately, when a large number of IoT devices are compromised, they can be pooled together to