Happy Monday! The Department of Defense just released a new draft of the CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) for all contractors. The CMMC is going to be used as a simpler way to ensure all contractors and subcontractors comply with cybersecurity frameworks such as the NIST SP 800-171. The CMMC audits will begin sometime early 2020, and the contractors are expected to at least be certified at a level 3 (out of 5) to be considered compliant with NIST SP 800-171 and be able to continue working within the DoD supply chain.
In other news, hackers are back at it again and this time, hitting closer to home than usual. Last week, we talked about the hackers in Texas and Idaho, and this week, Massachusetts’ New Bedford mayor revealed there was an attack on an IT network back in July. The attack was another case of ransomware. The hackers demanded $5.3 million and the city handled the situation by making a counteroffer of $400,000, which the hackers declined. The city resolved the situation by restoring their data from backups.
Another hit to the cyber world came last week when Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, had his account hacked. Twitter, as a result of this incident, has disabled the “Tweeting via SMS” feature, which was the method of attack. The hackers mimicked the CEO’s cell phone number and sent numerous offensive tweets on Jack Dorsey’s behalf. It is unknown whether or not Twitter will re-enable the “Tweeting via SMS” feature.
One last thing! Don’t forget, our CEO, Richard Astle, will be sitting on the panel at the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce Cybersecurity event this Thursday, September 12th, 2019 at 4:00 P.M. Register online here ASAP if you are planning to attend!
That’s all for today! Thank you for tuning in to this week’s segment of “Mondays With Miranda!” Keep up to date with current news by following NeQter Labs on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. We love comments and questions, so drop me an email [email protected]. Enjoy your week!
