Editor’s note: There is a lot going on in the world of IT, from emerging technologies to digital transformation and new cybersecurity threats. However, we can’t possibly cover it all, so we’ll bring you This Week in IT, a curated summary of IT and enterprise technology stories each week.
Microsoft Teams for Education Gets a new look
Just in time for back-to-school, Microsoft Teams has a new home page that places the most important information for educators at the center of the screen. The home page shows announcements, pinned classroom resources, upcoming assignments and more. Educators can customize the screen to add images, sections and other pertinent information. Educators can also now use Teams to create and review assignments on an iPad and Android tablets.
The new feature is expected to roll out this week and will automatically be included in all classes using Teams.
Ransomware Attacks Spike to More Than 1.2 million per month
Researchers from cloud security company Barracuda identified and analyzed 106 highly publicized ransomware attacks and determined the dominant targets are still education (15%), municipalities (12%), healthcare (12%), infrastructure (8%) and financial (6%). Ransomware attacks on educational institutions more than doubled, and attacks on the healthcare and financial verticals tripled over the last 12 months, according to Barracuda. Service providers were hit the most, and ransomware attacks on automobile, hospitality, media, retail, software, and technology organizations all increased as well.
Hackers Exploit Whole Email Inbox
A hacking group called Charming Kitten are targeting users with email accounts from Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, according to Google security researchers. The hacking group is using a tool called Hyperscraper to download whole inboxes undetected.
Learn more here.
130 Organizations Affected by Twilio Hackers
An investigation into the phishing campaign that targeted Twilio and Cloudflare in July revealed that more than 130 organizations have been affected since the initial attack. Nearly 10,000 user credentials were stolen in the campaign, which started in March 2022, as well as more than 5,000 multifactor authentication codes. Victims of the targeted attack were customers of identity and access management provider Okta. Imitation Okta authentication sites were used in each attack.
Researchers at Group-IB noted “despite using low-skills methods [the threat actors] were able to compromise a large number of well-known organizations.” Group-IB also noted the threat actors may have been inexperienced based on the “improperly” configured phishing kit used.
64% of businesses suspect they’ve been targeted or impacted by nation-state attacks
Research from machine identify management firm Venafi found that 66% of organizations have changed their cyber security strategy as a direct response to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, while nearly two thirds (64%) suspect their organization has been either directly targeted or impacted by a nation state cyber attack.
Other key findings found that 77% believed we’re in a perpetual state of cyberwar, more than two-thirds of security decision makers have had more conversations with their board and senior management in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“We’ve known for years that state-backed APT groups are using cybercrime to advance their nations’ wider political and economic goals. Everyone is a target, and unlike a kinetic warfare attack, only you can defend your business against nation-state cyberattacks. There is no cyber-Iron Dome or cyber-NORAD. Every CEO and board must recognize that cybersecurity is one of the top three business risks for everyone, regardless of industry,” said Kevin Bocek, vice president, security strategy and threat intelligence at Venafi in a statement.
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