Cyber News
Cyber threats are evolving every day, keeping up with them is a full-time job. The WESTprotect Cyber News is your source for how these changes affect you in the real estate, title, mortgage, and settlement services industry. From cyber threats to new Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP’s) we’ve got you covered.
IRS Scam Emails Ask Tax Preparers for EFIN Information
March 22, 2021
Many people are familiar with U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scam letters fishing for money around tax season. Now, a new form of IRS scam targets tax professionals in a virtual version of the fake IRS letter. Read more >>>
Ransom Payments Have Nearly Tripled
March 18, 2021
In 2020, ransomware targeted the manufacturing sector, healthcare organizations, and construction companies, with the average ransom reaching $312,000, a report finds. Ransomware gangs aimed to bilk business victims of even more money in 2020, causing the average ransom paid by companies to jump 171% to more than $312,000 Read more >>>
FBI: Over $4.2 billion officially lost to cybercrime in 2020
March 18, 2021
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has published its annual report on cybercrime affecting victims in the U.S., noting a record number of complaints and financial losses in 2020 compared to the previous year. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received last year 791,790 complaints - up by 69% from 2019 - of suspected internet crime causing more than $4 billion in losses. Read more >>>
Ransomware and IoT Malware Detections Surge by Over 60%
March 18, 2021
Last year saw a double-digit surge in ransomware, IoT threats, new malware and cryptojacking, in what SonicWall has described as a “tipping point” in the cyber-arms race. Read more >>>
Twitter on Monday announced that users with two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled can now use multiple security keys to protect their accounts. Read more >>>
Google this month announced the release of patches for 37 vulnerabilities as part of the Android security updates for March 2021, including a fix for a critical flaw in the System component. Read more >>>
