Info Risk Today Podcast

Researchers at Dell SecureWorks have identified some 146 unique malware families that are targeting cryptocurrencies. Approximately 100 of those have emerged in just the last year, says Pat Litke, security analysis adviser for the company's CyberThreat unit.

Log analysis is often used for managed security, but are organizations going far enough with the information they have at their fingertips? Don Gray, chief security strategist for Solutionary, says there is much more organizations could be doing to predict breaches.

Advanced, ever-evolving threats call for security solutions vendors to counter with equally advanced and sophisticated solutions. JD Sherry of Trend Micro discusses new strategic alliances and product sets dedicated to creating new measures of threat defense.

Two critical steps that banking institutions need to take in 2014 to help prevent fraud are implementing big data analytics and adopting far more sophisticated customer and employee authentication, says Gartner analyst Avivah Litan.

Distributed generation and plug-in motor vehicles are among the emerging security challenges to the smart grid. In an RSA 2014 preview, Gib Sorebo of Leidos discusses the threats to utilities and consumers.

What is the venture capital view of the security trends and technologies that will have the most impact on careers in 2014? Alberto Yépez of Trident Capital weighs in with his insights and predictions.

Merrill Halpern of the United Nations Federal Credit Union, a pioneer in the use of chip cards, says high-profile retail breaches reinforce the long-term value of EMV for various forms of payment within the U.S.

Michael Daugherty, CEO of LabMD, offers his perspective on a longstanding dispute with the Federal Trade Commission over two data security incidents. He has even written a book on the subject.

Editor's Note: Excerpts of this interview appear in ISMG's Security Agenda magazine, distributed at RSA Conference 2014. Privacy should be built into the design of all healthcare information technology and related processes, says Michelle Dennedy, who's writing a book on the concept of "privacy by design."

Expenses linked to the data breach at Target Corp. have already cost the 58 member institutions of the Consumer Bankers Association more than $170 million - a price they should not have to pay, says the association's David Pommerehn.

Employing quantum physics, Yi-Kai Liu, a computer scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is attempting to devise a way to create a one-shot memory device that could help secure transactions or administrative passwords.

Organizations in all sectors can improve their compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard by taking five critical steps, says Rodolphe Simonetti of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, which just issued a new PCI compliance report.

A new identity fraud study shows that consumers who are victims of a payment card breach are at greater risk of fraud than victims of other types of breaches, says Al Pascual of Javelin.

When breaches result from retailers' lax security practices, merchants should be obligated to help banking institutions cover fraud losses and other post-breach expenses, says Viveca Ware of the Independent Community Bankers of America.

Expanded with more educational tracks and sessions on emerging hot topics, the 2014 edition of the RSA Conference will be the largest ever, says Hugh Thompson, program committee chair.

The PCI Security Standards Council has no plans to modify its standards for payment card data security in response to high-profile payment card breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus, says Bob Russo, the council's general manager.

Karen Evans, formerly the federal government's top IT executive, prescribes a way to get inspectors general and federal agencies on the same page in regards to annual IT security audits.

Retail data breaches are growing. ISight Partners' Tiffany Jones, a researcher who helped the Department of Homeland Security prepare its report about malware attacks, offers new insight into the latest cyber-attacks.

Cybercriminals exploiting weaknesses in how users employ passwords is a significant factor behind an increase in records exposed in breaches during 2013, says Craig Spiezle of the Online Trust Alliance.

In 2013, attackers proved that sophisticated DDoS attacks could be launched as effective disruptions and distractions. What are the evolving solutions that now help organizations mitigate these strikes?