Malicious hackers have been so pushy lately.

Recent reports from Cisco and its acquired unit Duo Security revealed an exhausting amount of push-based attacks, tactics that aim to tire out a targeted user with relentless prompts for access approval.

There’s a silver-ish lining hidden somewhere in the 15,000 prompt-bombing attempts that Cisco spotted between 2023 and 2024: There are a lot of multi-factor authentication (MFA) attack attempts, which means many orgs are implementing MFA.

“It’s more of a statement about how well organizations are deploying MFA because now adversaries realize they have to attack MFA,” said Nick Biasini, head of outreach at Cisco Talos, the company’s research unit, also noting that push notifications and various multi-factor bypasses have become top security concerns.

Read the rest here.—BH

Do you work in IT or have information about your IT department you want to share? Email [email protected].

Cyber insurance and cyber defenses are hot topics for IT leaders in 2024. When properly implemented, they can bring reliable cyber coverage, improved protection, and a reduced IT workload. Sounds like a win-win(-win).

To better understand the intricacies of cyber defenses + cyber insurance, Sophos surveyed 5k IT and cybersecurity leaders around the globe. The resulting report includes:

• the factors driving cybersecurity orgs to take out cyber coverage
• the impact of cyber-defense investments on insurability
• incident payouts and top reasons why costs aren’t always covered
• insurance coverage’s impact on ransomware outcomes

This report’s chock-full of timely knowledge. All you’ve gotta do is dive in.

Game, set, match, for an AI victory? The technology is often deployed across the tech industry to locate and track threats, automate processes, and assist with customer service—but some companies are utilizing it in other sectors of the economy.

That’s what IT powerhouse IBM is doing with the All England Lawn Tennis Club, home of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. The two are working together via a program called Catch Me Up, which uses AI-generated player profiles and news on the Wimbledon 2024 app.

“Generative AI allows us to scale our ability to provide different types of content for fans wherever they are in the world in a way that’s personalized for them,” the club’s digital products lead, Chris Clements, said in comments accompanying the feature’s announcement.

On top of it. Catch Me Up is the latest in a decades-long partnership between IBM and the Club, IBM SVP of Marketing and Communications Jonathan Adashek said in the announcement statement. The company is expanding its efforts to use AI in its overall offerings.

Read more here.—EH

Do you work in IT or have information about your IT department you want to share? Email [email protected].

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