iNews - Around The World This Week

1)     Hospital pays $55,000 in bitcoin to hackers after 'SamSam' ransomware locks systems - A US hospital has reportedly paid hackers $55,000 (£39,900) to restore control over its computer systems after they were infected with a strain of ransomware known as 'SamSam'. Last Thursday (11 January), staff at Hancock Regional Hospital, Indiana, found their computers had been infected with malware, which was demanding bitcoin to regain access. As reported, the hack impacted emails and health records, but no patient data is believed stolen.

2)     Privacy: The Dark Side of the Internet of Things - Before letting an IoT device into your business or home, consider what data is being collected and where it is going. There's a lot of buzz about the Internet of Things (IoT), but people aren't quite sure what to think of it. Back in fall 2016, there was a big attack on an Internet service provider in which a bunch of IoT devices became a botnet and made much of the Internet unavailable. It was a big moment that made people question the security of IoT. And although security risks are getting the headlines right now, and should certainly be considered, the bigger risk with IoT is privacy.

3)     Hackers hijack Twitter account of India's top diplomat to post photos of Pakistan's flag - The verified Twitter account of India's top diplomat to the United Nations was briefly taken over by suspected Turkish hackers early on Sunday, 14 January, morning. The Turkish hacking group Ayyıldız Tim claimed responsibility for the attack and managed to take over the president of the World Economic Forum's account over the weekend as well.

4)     IT Security Spending to Reach $96 Billion in 2018 - Worldwide IT security spending is expected to climb 8% next year to $96.3 billion, fueled by investments in identity access management and security services – two areas on tap to rise faster than the overall spending growth rate, according to a Gartner report released this week. Identity access management and security services to drive worldwide spending growth.

5)     The state of Israel’s cybersecurity market - The Equifax breach, WannaCry, NotPetya, the NSA leak, and many more cyber incidents – 2017 was certainly a busy year for hackers, illustrating yet again just how vital innovative cybersecurity solutions are in the fight against cyber threats. Second only to the U.S., in terms of cybersecurity investment 2017 was another excellent year for Israeli cybersecurity startups, with dozens of companies being formed, breaking fundraising records and producing solid exits. The 2017 data also suggest that the Israeli cybersecurity industry is maturing, as we see a shift in funding towards later stage companies.

6)     Top think tank warns cyberattacks could lead to 'inadvertent nuclear launches' - A new report from the Chatham House think tank has warned that cybersecurity vulnerabilities could lead to accidental nuclear war if countries carrying the hugely destructive warheads do not introduce new measures. While cybersecurity is a prevalent issue many sectors of society now have to consider, nuclear weapons systems were developed during a technological era when " little consideration was given to potential malicious cyber vulnerabilities", the report states.

7)     What is FakeBank? New banking malware can intercept SMS messages to steal sensitive data and funds – Security researchers have discovered a mobile malware strain that can intercept users' sensitive SMS messages to steal their banking details and funds, phone numbers, balance on a linked bank card and location data. According to Trend Micro researchers, the malware dubbed "FakeBank" has been spotted in several SMS/MMS management software apps and primarily targets victims in Russia and other Russian-speaking countries.

8)     Watch out for this Netflix phishing scam that will steal your credit card details - Netflix users are being warned to avoid clicking on any suspicious email links after a phishing scam was uncovered, which security experts say is designed to steal credit card details. Found by Australian cybersecurity firm MailGuard, and shared on Twitter by the New South Wales police, the fake emails use convincing social engineering tactics – including the official Netflix website layout – in an attempt to dupe recipients into entering financial details.

9)     Hyper-Converged Infrastructure To Accelerate IT Transformation - Technology is fast becoming the key pillar for organizations to stay competitive, spur innovations, and seize new growth opportunities. Despite increasing IT budgets, the traditional three-tier architecture, is proving to be a hindrance to meeting the rising business and market demands due to its inbuilt complexities. Apart from that, the stress to reduce operational costs and improve productivity is also forcing technology teams to explore alternative means to bring down complexity and costs through the adoption of agile architectures.

Blockchain Technology Goes Beyond Cryptocurrency - Cryptocurrency, the digital currency system that enables global monetary transactions between two parties without the need for a trusted third party financial institution, has gained tremendous momentum over the last few years. Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, came into existence in January 2009. Its inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto (an anonymous person or a group) published a whitepaper prior to this in October, 2008. Since then, numerous cryptocurrencies have come into existence. More recently, bitcoin has gained mainstream attention. Under the hood, the technological innovation is the blockchain that is seen as revolutionary foundational technology having a tremendous potential across different verticals.