3 Interesting Articles

Hackers claim vast access to Western Digital systems
Tech Crunch: There’s an update to a story we’ve followed since early April. The hackers who breached data from storage giant Western Digital claim that they have about 10 terabytes of data and are demanding a minimum 8 figure ransom in exchange for not publishing the data. One of the hackers spoke with Tech Crunch and it seems as though they have stolen a wide range of data, such as now being able to digitally sign files to impersonate the company, employee information and data from the company’s SAP Backoffice. A Western Digital spokesperson declined to comment or answer any questions regarding the hackers claims but it seems as though the hackers are getting ready to publish the information soon.

Just about everyone can get money from Facebook class settlement
SFGate: Meta agreed to pay $725 million dollars in a settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit. They allowed third parties access to users’ personal information and this ended a long running lawsuit where Facebook let Cambridge Analytica, and other third parties, access to data of millions of users. This case started after the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal and it will be the largest settlement for a US data privacy class action lawsuit. While Facebook has admitted no wrongdoing by agreeing to the settlement, they have since changed its user privacy practices. The settlement agreement was preliminary approved on March 29, 2023 and an estimated 250 to 280 million US adults will be eligible for payment.

What Is Personal Cyber Insurance—and Should You Buy It?
WSJ ($): Over the last five years, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has received over 3 million complaints about personal cyberattacks and these losses have amounted to over $27 billion dollars. As cybercrimes are growing and affecting many individuals, insurance policies on individual cyber protection are becoming more common. Personal policies include coverage for reputational damage from a cyberattack, money lost due to fraud, data restoration and/or cyberbullying. Costs may range from $20 to $300 a year depending on the coverage type and while many consumers already have identity fraud protection, cyber insurance may be a smart addition to risk mitigation.

2 Stats You Should Know

The median IT security budget for companies has more than tripled to $5.3 million in 2022, compared with $1.4 million in 2018. (source)

In 2020, there was a 600% increase in phishing attacks related to COVID-19. (source)

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