3 Interesting Articles

Cybersecurity ops budgets expected to climb: KPMG 

CFO Dive: According to a recent KPMG study, 68% of security leaders anticipate budget increases over the next two years, with allocations varying: 13% expect an increase of 20% or more, 41% foresee a rise of 10-20%, and 46% predict a boost under 10%. Only 1% anticipate a decrease in budget. This increase is partly driven by the rise in sophisticated cyberattacks and tightening regulations, such as the SEC’s requirement for businesses to report significant cybersecurity incidents within four days. These regulations underscore cybersecurity as a critical business risk, challenging CISOs to quantify the financial benefits of security investments.The allocation of SOC budgets spans various functions, from prevention (19% of the budget) to response and remediation (16%). Despite a shift towards more preventive measures in cybersecurity strategies, response and remediation remain significant due to the immediate need to address breaches when they occur. This necessity explains the focus on response expenditures, as immediate action takes precedence over preventive strategies during active breaches.

House bill calls on CISA to form AI task force 

FedScoop: Two Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee, Reps. Troy Carter and Bennie Thompson, have proposed legislation urging CISA to establish a task force focused on AI. This proposal, known as the CISA Securing AI Task Force Act, mandates the creation of an AI-centric task force within one year of the bill’s enactment. This group would consist of personnel from various CISA divisions, tasked with implementing directives from President Joe Biden’s executive order on AI, which includes coordination on red-teaming for generative AI. The task force’s responsibilities would involve evaluating existing security initiatives and providing guidance on AI technology, ensuring safe and secure AI development and deployment across critical sectors. Furthermore, the task force would offer advice on AI-related cyber risks, help in the rollout of secure AI products, and support the compilation of CISA’s AI use case inventory. Reps. Carter and Thompson emphasized that this initiative is crucial as AI technologies become more ingrained in everyday life, highlighting the bill’s role in proactive risk mitigation and enhancing the U.S. cybersecurity framework. The introduction of this bill is particularly timely given the upcoming November presidential election, with Rep. Thompson expressing concerns about the potential political influences on CISA, especially if Donald Trump were to be re-elected.

Black Basta ransomware has become one of the biggest threats worldwide, CISA and FBI say

TechRadar: Since its emergence in April 2022, the Black Basta ransomware-as-a-service has compromised over 500 organizations globally, as reported in a joint security advisory by the FBI, CISA, HHS, and MS-ISAC. The advisory highlights Black Basta’s tactics, techniques, procedures, and indicators of compromise, offering guidance to help organizations bolster their defenses. First observed in April 2022, Black Basta has targeted entities in 12 out of 16 critical infrastructure sectors, including healthcare. Its victims include major organizations such as Hyundai Europe, Capita, The American Dental Association, and Dish. The group likely formed from the remnants of Conti, which disbanded amid geopolitical tensions due to its declared support for the Kremlin, leading to a split among its affiliates. 

2 Stats You Should Know

In a recent survey of tech sector CISOs, 78% of respondents are contemplating a job change within the next year, marking a significant 13 percentage point rise from previous figures. (source)

24 years ago, the ILoveYou virus emerged as one of the first and most destructive social-engineering attacks, infecting around 50 million systems worldwide and causing over $15 billion in damages, marking a new era of large-scale Internet threats driven by malicious emails. (source)

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