Each business day, MSSP Alert delivers a quick lineup of news, analysis and chatter from across the managed security services provider ecosystem.
- The Content: Written for MSSPs and MSPs; threat hunters; security operations center as a service (SOCaaS), managed detection and response (MDR) and eXtended detection and response (XDR) providers; and those who partner with such companies.
- Frequency and Format: Every business morning. Typically, one or two sentences for each item below.
- Reaching Our Inbox: Send news, tips and rumors to Managing Editor Jim Masters: [email protected].
Today’s MSSP, MSP, MDR, XDR and Cybersecurity Market News
1. Cyber Threat Research: Recorded Future has published its Annual Payment Fraud Intelligence Report: 2023, a cyber threat analysis that looks at payment fraud trends over the past year by Insikt Group, the company’s threat research division. The report analyzes events and fraud trends, exploring the payment fraud threat landscape from 2023 to reveal key findings and for 2024, offering anticipations, expectations and predictions that the coming year will see continued payment fraud underground and growth in sophisticated hybrid cyber-fraud threats.
2. Cyber Insurance Offer: Cybersecurity company NordVPN is adding cyber protection benefits backed by insurance to its cybersecurity toolkit. Victims of identity theft in the United States can get reimbursed up to $1 million for expenses incurred in restoring their identity and up to $100,000 if affected by cyber extortion. Cyber protection benefits are included in the NordVPN Ultimate bundle subscription plan, together with the virtual private service NordVPN, the password manager NordPass, and other advanced features, without extra cost.
3. Industry Recognition: Darktrace Federal announced that the Technology Advancement Center (TAC) completed an independent technical evaluation of the Darktrace Federal Cyber AI Mission Defense solution for information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) environments. In the evaluation, Cyber AI Mission Defense consistently detected and responded to nation-state-like attacks in real time, providing 100% detection of anomalous behaviors without rules, signatures or white/blacklisting. TAC's evaluation also found Cyber AI Mission Defense was successful in discovering each device type connected on OT and IT networks, providing 100% visibility into network communications and asset identification, regardless of protocol, the company said.
3. Cisco Announces Acquisition: Cisco has announced its intent to acquire Isovalent, a specialist in open-source cloud native networking and security, to bolster its secure networking capabilities across public clouds. The acquisition of Isovalent will build on the Cisco Security Cloud vision, an AI-driven integrated security platform for organizations of all sizes.
4. Leadership Move: Cybersecurity company Cybrella has named Ranell Gonzales as the vice president of global sales and alliances. With a 15-year track record in the cybersecurity and technology sector, Gonzales brings expertise in threat intelligence, incident response and cybersecurity advisory, the company said.
5. Threat Intelligence Report: NCC Group has released its November 2023 Threat Pulse Report. Global levels of ransomware attacks rose 30% in November, with a total of 442 attacks, following a lower volume of attacks in October (341), NCC reported. In November, LockBit was the most active threat actor, with a 73% month-on-month increase in activity from 66 attacks recorded in October. Data from across this year shows that LockBit has maintained its position as the most prominent threat actor, except in March, June, and July, when CLOP’s mass exploitation of GoAnywhere and MOVEit vulnerabilities put them in the top spot. BlackCat takes second place in November with 49 (11%) of attacks and a month-on-month increase of 58%. Play drops down from the 2nd most active group in October to third in November, responsible for 10% of all attacks.
6. Cybersecurity Education: OPSWAT, a specialist in cybersecurity solutions for critical environments, announced that it will be launching OPSWAT Academy Bootcamp, a three-day instructor-led training program starting in April 2024. The OPSWAT Academy Bootcamp is an extension of OPSWAT Academy, an interactive and comprehensive cybersecurity training platform designed to educate and certify cybersecurity professionals responsible for safeguarding critical environments.
7. Leadership Appointments: Socure, a provider of artificial intelligence for digital identity verification, sanction screening and fraud prevention, announced the arrival of three new executives to continue its momentum into 2024. Socure has named Arun Kumar as chief technology officer, Katia Mar as senior vice president of marketing and Steve Rooney as senior vice president of global sales.
8. Malware Alert: ReasonLabs has announced the discovery of a new malware scam primarily affecting internet users looking to download torrented versions of popular video game titles, including Grand Theft Auto V, Assassin's Creed and others. ReasonLabs uncovered a developing scam where hackers target users' cashback activity to hijack sensitive, personal and financial information. ReasonLabs also found that the malware presents users with a dummy installer tool, which poses as a traditional VPN extension for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers.
