26/03/2021: Cybersecurity & Tech News Roundup

Victims of Mamba ransomware may be able to get their files back for free

The saying goes: "In the bush, an elephant can kill you, a leopard can kill you, and a black mamba can kill you. But only with the mamba is death sure." Hence its handle: "Death Incarnate." - Elle Driver, Kill Bill Volume 2

While the IRL mamba is a stone cold killer, it turns out that the ransomware that shares its name isn't anywhere near as deadly. The FBI's cyber division has recently released a statement to businesses, informing them that if they're struck by Mamba ransomware, they may still be able to get their files back for free. This is because of a weak spot in the malware's encryption process, which makes it possible to nab the encryption key from a locally stored file without having to pay a penny. Read more here.

Over half of UK businesses had no security policies in place in 2020

In a year where cyber-incidents were at an all-time high, a recent government report has revealed that a worrying number of UK businesses had no protective measures in place throughout 2020. The report came from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, which revealed that fewer organisations are making use of security monitoring tools and antivirus software when comparing 2020 to the previous year.

Here are some of their findings:

• The use of security monitoring tools fell from 40% in 2019 to 35% in 2020
• There was a reduction in organisations using employee monitoring tools from 38% to 32%
• Up-to-date antivirus use also dropped from 88% to 83%

Only 47% of charities and 52% of businesses enacted one or more cybersecurity measures in 2020. This includes monitoring tools, risk assessments, staff testing/training, penetration testing, threat intelligence, or conducting audits. This worrying decline in cyber-resilience can be blamed on the focus on business continuity during the global pandemic, with many businesses having to adjust to moving operations to the cloud and implementing remote working quickly. However, that doesn't mean that security should be ignored, especially considering phishing scams and ransomware attacks increased significantly during 2020. Read more about this story here. And for our advice on adapting to this new landscape in a secure way, check out our blog.

The US government is giving big tech companies a proper grilling over fake news.

The heads of Twitter, Google, and Facebook got a real roasting recently, as US politicians put them through their paces over the issue of fake news. Jack Dorsey - founder of Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg - founder of Facebook, and Sundar Pichai - the current CEO of Alphabet which is Google's parent company - all had to explain themselves.

Disinformation is running rampant across the internet, from anti-vaxx anti-facts, to political conspiracy theories, and all manner of clickbait-type fake news - this is  the other pandemic that the world is dealing with right now. A big chunk of the blame is being levelled at social media, with Whatsapp and Facebook, Twitter, and Google-owned Youtube baring the brunt of most of it. Are these platforms doing enough to stop fake news in it's tracks? They're all certainly very on the ball when it comes to removing copyrighted content, but can the same be done with disinformation and other types of offensive content? Only time will tell. Read more here.

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