Adam Janofsky
Editorial Director, The Record by Recorded Future
Articles By This Author
White House Cybersecurity Adviser Wants a ‘Cleanliness Rating’ for Software Security
Policymakers are considering a number of changes to the nation’s cybersecurity posture as a result of the SolarWinds supply chain attack discovered late last year, including data breach notification laws and greater oversight of the nation’s critical infrastructure. In one of her first public appearances since joining the Biden White House, Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger floated another idea from an unlikely place: New York City dining establishments…
What It’s Like To Run a Tech Giant’s Security Team Without Ever Setting Foot in the Office
Mark Adams was appointed Adobe’s chief security officer about four months ago after serving in the same role for four years at Blizzard Entertainment. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, his onboarding process has been untraditional, to say the least. For one, he hasn’t had a chance yet to visit the company’s physical offices. Instead, his calendar has looked like an ultramarathon of video conferences—days with a dozen back-to-back meetings during the first month to get to know his team and understand the company’s priorities…
Cybersecurity Failings Get Top Billing Among Lawmakers and Federal Watchdogs
Federal cybersecurity is in a worse place than it was two years ago, with agencies failing to implement more than 750 recommended changes, including ones that could have prevented or helped the government respond to the recent Russian cyberattack on dozens of public and private organizations. That’s the assessment the Government Accountability Office, a watchdog agency, gave Tuesday in its “high risk” report that it issues every two years to Congress….
China-Linked Hackers Target India’s Power Grid Amid Border Clashes
Over the course of the last year, hackers with suspected links to the Chinese government targeted a large portion of India’s power sector as the two countries engaged in border skirmishes that resulted in dozens of casualties, according to new research from Recorded Future. Ten distinct power sector organizations, including four of the country’s five Regional Load Dispatch Centres, have been identified as likely targets. The centers play a key role in operating India’s power grid by balancing electricity supply and demand…
Former NSA and Cyber Command Chief Keith Alexander on SolarWinds, Cyberwar, and China
“The commercial sector is trying its best to fight against a government and all its resources. That’s not a fair fight… China will tell you it’s not stealing your stuff, and then goes and steals your stuff…
It can’t be just trusting them—it’s trust but verify. Look at what’s going on in the COVID-19 arena alone and the theft of intellectual property. It’s huge… This is the biggest transfer of wealth in history, and it’s going right out the front door…”
Catalin Cimpanu Joins The Record as Its First Cybersecurity Reporter
Catalin has years of experience writing about information security, and has become a well-known name in the field for his constant scoops on new vulnerabilities, cyberattacks, and law enforcement actions against hackers. He’s been at ZDNet since 2018, where he wrote thousands of stories on everything from vulnerabilities in ballistic missile systems to the ever-changing ransomware landscape…
Hospitals, Schools Get a Crucial Break From Ransomware Attacks
After a year of what felt like nonstop cyberattacks on the most vulnerable targets, healthcare and government organizations started 2021 with ransomware incidents at their lowest point in more than a year. There were just two ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations in January, a fourfold decrease from the monthly average in 2020. State and local governments reported four ransomware incidents in January—that compares to 14 attacks in December of last year and 15 attacks from one year prior…
With Biden in Office, Global Policymakers Are Making a Renewed Push for Cyber Norms
On Tuesday, diplomats from Australia, France, and Estonia, as well as private sector cybersecurity officials, emphasized the need for a renewed focus on norms in cyberspace, and suggested that progress could be made in the coming years. “As cyber threats grow, it’s vitally important that UN discussions keep pace, or they really do risk losing credibility,” said Tobias Feakin, Australia’s ambassador for cyber affairs and critical technology, at a virtual event on cyber norms hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And one of the biggest assets for this renewed push may be the fact that there’s a new administration in the White House….
Cyber Attribution Is More Art Than Science. This Researcher Has a Plan to Change That
The Record caught up with threat intelligence researcher Timo Steffens to talk about the latest in threat hunting, and why he thinks it’s similar to disciplines like art history and criminology. He also discussed why the whole concept of APT groups—the term security professionals often use to categorize nation state or state-sponsored hacking operations—is a simplification that the industry might have to move past. “[Hacking groups] don’t necessarily have a fixed set of people—some leave, some join, they might share malware or an idea for an exploit with another group—so we have to… understand that the whole landscape is dynamic,” he said…
U.S. Authorities Take Sweeping Actions Against North Korean Hacking Operations
Several U.S. federal agencies on Wednesday released a batch of indictments, cybersecurity advisories, and malware analysis reports that represents one of the most expansive cybersecurity-related actions against North Korea in years. The U.S. Justice Department unsealed charges against three North Korean hackers who are accused of stealing and extorting more than $1.3 billion of money and cryptocurrency from financial institutions around the globe. It’s the first indictment related to North Korean hacking operations since 2018, according to an analysis by The Record…