The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (“IC3”) has released its 2019 Internet Crime Report (“Report”) on trends and statistics of suspected cybercrimes from 2019. The Report gathers data from 467,361 complaints, an increase from prior years, with dramatic losses in excess of $3.5 billion. In addition to an explanation of the IC3’s history and operations, […]
National Security & Digital Crimes
DOJ Indicts Chinese Military Personnel for Involvement in 2017 Equifax Breach
On February 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against four members of China’s People’s Liberation Army (“PLA”) for their alleged involvement in the 2017 Equifax hack that resulted in the theft of the personal information of 145 million Americans. In the nine-count indictment, the four individuals, Wu Zhiyong, Wang Qian, Xu Ke, […]
NIST Publishes Privacy Framework Version 1.0
On January 16, 2020, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) published Version 1.0 of its Privacy Framework: A Tool for Improving Privacy through Enterprise Risk Management (“Privacy Framework”). A draft version was initially published for public comment on September 6, 2019. The new Privacy Framework is designed to support organizations in building customer’s […]
Warning: Iranian Cyber Response Possible Against Private Industry
After Friday’s announcement of the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani, a leader of Iran’s Quds Force, several regulators have put industry on high alert of the increased potential for cyber-attack. Iran has a known history of launching cyber-attacks against US industry, and regulators warn industry to prepare for a possible rise in cyber-attacks. The […]
Treasury Announces Sanctions Against Cybercriminal Group Behind ‘Dridex’ Malware, Offering Mitigation Strategies for Businesses
On December 5, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sanctions against Evil Corp, a Russian cybercriminal organization that is known for distributing the Dridex malware. Dridex is a banking trojan that has been used to target financial institutions across the globe and has resulted in more than $100 million […]