Automation and the cyber security skills shortage, a Facebook worm is found and the best ways to protect your Facebook account from being hacked.
We’re bringing you the latest cyber security news. Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Wednesday, May 2nd. To play the podcast, click on the arrow below:
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Will automated software solutions help or hinder the shortage of cyber security employees? Some experts say that automating processes will be a boon to busy IT security teams. But research paid for by DomainTools – which makes security solutions – shows U.S. security leaders see it both ways.
(The report is available here. Registration required)
On the one hand, 44 per cent of those surveyed agreed automation will increase the need to hire people with even more advanced technical skills than they have now. On the other hand, 68 per cent of respondents believe automation will improve their IT security staff’s ability to do their jobs.
The survey also shows a good chunk of them aren’t fans of artificial intelligent solutions. Twenty-nine per cent don’t believe AI is a dependable and trusted security tool. This group says that an artificial intelligence solution can’t be trained to do all the tasks performed by their security teams. They also believe that people on the security team are more qualified to catch threats and vulnerabilities than software.
What to make of these numbers? Companies should consider offering generous compensation packages to attract and retain the best cyber security staff, says the report’s author. Organizations should also create a career path for IT security staff and promote from within.
Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends. Hundreds of millions of people have discovered that. But criminals have also discovered it’s a great way to distribute malware. This week Trend Micro said it had found a bad extension for the Google Chrome browser which spreads through Facebook Messenger. This extension, which the company calls FacexWorm, goes after usernames and passwords users store in the browser. It particularly looks for those who own digital currencies. New outbreaks have been seen in Germany, Spain, Japan, Tunisia, Taiwan and South Korea. You know you’re being attacked if a text on Facebook Messenger has a link that takes you to a YouTube page asking to install an extension to play a video.
Facebook is on the lookout for this scam. Google regularly removes the malware from the Chrome web store. Still, watch out for this.
Speaking of Facebook, ThreatBrief.com carries a piece on the Top 10 ways that hackers get into Facebook accounts. Here’s their advice on how to avoid being victimized:
- Never log into your Facebook account on devices other than your own;
- Avoid email that asks you to log into your Facebook account;
- Always use Google Chrome, as it identifies the phishing page;
- Never save login credentials on your browser;
- Always use a strong password on your computer;
- Enable 2 step authentication in your Gmail account, or the account you use to log into Facebook;
- And don’t use Free Wi-Fi or public Wi-Fi to log into Facebook – or any Web site.
That’s it for Cyber Security Today. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing. Thanks for listening. I’m Howard Solomon.