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Authentic8 and CISA Launch Silo Shield to Safeguard High-Risk Communities

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Authentic8, provider of the leading OSINT research platform Silo for Research, today launched its Silo Shield Program to enhance online security for high-risk communities.

Also today, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) launched a webpage listing free tools and services to strengthen defenses of high-risk communities, including Authentic8’s new Silo Shield Program.

These “high-risk” communities—non-governmental organizations, journalists, and academics—face digital risks that threaten their missions, as they are targeted by some of the world’s most capable advanced persistent threats (APTs).

The new Silo Shield Program enables eligible persons to apply for access to Authentic8’s Silo for Research platform, which provides a secure solution to collect publicly available information.

Securely collecting web-based information is essential for these groups to conduct research, investigate, and advocate.

“In an era where adversaries threaten those striving for social change and transparency, Authentic8 is proud to launch the Silo Shield Program.

This pioneering initiative offers robust online protection for high-risk communities at the forefront of pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo.

While we have supported similar organizations for years, recent work with CISA prompted us to formalize and expand access to those at risk,” says Ramesh Rajagopal, CEO and co-founder of Authentic8.

High-risk communities eligible to apply to the Silo Shield Program include:

Journalists focusing on topics like security, transparency and global affairs who perform online research and may be targeted by adversaries as a part of their work.

Activists and non-profit groups are eligible for Silo Shield as they work to safeguard human rights, prevent abuse and effect justice, as they rely on online research to uncover and document abuses, legal violations and advocacy opportunities.

Academics in fields like security, political science, sociology and environmental studies, whose research on global issues demands access to information across geographical boundaries — often in restrictive environments — are eligible.

Humanitarian aid organizations, including those focusing on direct support, anti-corruption efforts and digital freedom are eligible for Silo Shield, as their efforts to compile evidence, vet suppliers and aid recipients, and communicate safely online are critical to their missions.

“Our commitment to high-risk communities is more than just a promise; it’s a mission to arm them with the tools they need to conduct their vital work securely and confidently.

We are proud to enable their access to global online resources without fear of adversary surveillance or compromise,” says Matt Ashburn, a former CIA cyber officer and White House NSC Director who now serves as Authentic8’s vice president of Customer Success.

Through the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), Authentic8 collaborated with CISA on their High-Risk Communities Protection effort to elevate awareness of the cyber threats that high-risk communities experience and resources available to mitigate them.

CISA’s High-Risk Communities webpage serves as a one-stop-shop for cybersecurity guidance and free or discounted tools and resources tailored to meet the needs of high-risk organizations that want to improve their cybersecurity baseline.

For more information on the Silo Shield program or the Silo for Research digital investigations platform, visit https://authentic8.com.

Contact

Head of Strategic Initiatives
Abel Vandegrift
Authentic8
abel@authentic8.com

The post Authentic8 and CISA Launch Silo Shield to Safeguard High-Risk Communities appeared first on Cyber Security News.

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Chrome Update Patches Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Exploited at Pwn2Own

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Google ships a security-themed Chrome browser refresh to fix flaws exploited at the CanSecWest Pwn2Own hacking contest.

The post Chrome Update Patches Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Exploited at Pwn2Own appeared first on SecurityWeek.

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Tracing what went wrong in 2012 for today’s teens, with Dr. Jean Twenge: Lock and Code S04E10

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This week on the Lock and Code podcast…

You’ve likely felt it: The dull pull downwards of a smartphone scroll. The “five more minutes” just before bed. The sleep still there after waking. The edges of your calm slowly fraying.

After more than a decade of our most recent technological experiment, in turns out that having the entirety of the internet in the palm of your hands could be … not so great. Obviously, the effects of this are compounded by the fact that the internet that was built after the invention of the smartphone is a very different internet than the one before—supercharged with algorithms that get you to click more, watch more, buy more, and rest so much less.

But for one group, in particular, across the world, the impact of smartphones and constant social media may be causing an unprecedented mental health crisis: Young people.

According to the American College Health Association, the percentage of undergraduates in the US—so, mainly young adults in college—who were diagnosed with anxiety increased 134% since 2010. In the same time period for the same group, there was in increase in diagnoses of depression by 106%, ADHD by 72%, bipolar by 57%, and anorexia by 100%.

That’s not all. According to a US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the prevalence of anxiety in America increased for every age group except those over 50, again, since 2010. Those aged 35 – 49 experienced a 52% increase, those aged 26 – 34 experienced a 103% increase, and those aged 18 – 25 experienced a 139% increase.

This data, and much more, was cited by the social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt, in debuting his latest book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” In the book, Haidt examines what he believes is a mental health crisis unique amongst today’s youth, and he proposes that much of the crisis has been brought about by a change in childhood—away from a “play-based” childhood and into a “phone-based” one.

This shift, Haidt argues, is largely to blame for the increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidality, and more.

And rather than just naming the problem, Haidt also proposes five solutions to turn things around:

Give children far more time playing with other children. 

Look for more ways to embed children in stable real-world communities.  

Don’t give a smartphone as the first phone.

Don’t give a smartphone until high school.  

Delay the opening of accounts on nearly all social media platforms until the beginning of high school (at least).

But while Haidt’s proposals may feel right—his book has spent five weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list—some psychologists disagree.

Writing for the outlet Platformer, reporter Zoe Schiffer spoke with multiple behavioral psychologists who alleged that Haidt’s book cherry-picks survey data, ignores mental health crises amongst adults, and over-simplifies a complex problem with a blunt solution.  

Today, on the Lock and Code podcast with host David Ruiz, we speak with Dr. Jean Twenge to get more clarity on the situation: Is there a mental health crisis amongst today’s teens? Is it unique to their generation? And can it really be traced to the use of smartphones and social media?

According to Dr. Twenge, the answer to all those questions is, pretty much, “Yes.” But, she said, there’s still some hope to be found.

“This is where the argument around smartphones and social media being behind the adolescent mental health crisis actually has, kind of paradoxically, some optimism to it. Because if that’s the cause, that means we can do something about it.”

Tune in today to listen to the full conversation.

Show notes and credits:

Intro Music: “Spellbound” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Outro Music: “Good God” by Wowa (unminus.com)

Listen up—Malwarebytes doesn’t just talk cybersecurity, we provide it.

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