Lysa Myers, Author at WeLiveSecurity

Bio

Lysa Myers

Security Researcher

Education? 20 years helping – helping users, analyzing malware, talking with people implementing security technology, and testing security software.

Highlights of your career? Seeing the first few droplets before the Melissa virus storm hit, surviving the Worm Wars of 2004, my first presentation at VB in 2006, and having an article published in USA Today in 2013.

Position and history at ESET? Joined ESET: 2013. Current title: Security Researcher

What malware do you hate the most? The ExploreZip family – it overwrote files, thus destroying the data. Plenty of people lost a lot of work as a result of those outbreaks.

Favorite activities? Adventuring and whimsy-seeking.

What is your golden rule for cyberspace? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

When did you get your first computer and what kind was it? 1981 Commodore VIC-20. And then I continued using a variety of early-80s technology until roughly 1993 (oof!).

Favorite computer game/activity? Checking my Twitter feed.

Articles by author

Banking

How goes the switch to Chip & Signature cards in the US?

With the deadline for the switchover now just months away, how are vendors doing? Have they begun the conversion already, or will they likely be scrambling at the last minute?

Lysa Myers 1 Jun 2015 - 12:00PM

How To

The future of security in healthcare: Mobile devices

The pressure for businesses to allow their employees to access work resources with their personal mobile devices may be overwhelming. How can healthcare IT and Security staff implement this without giving criminals the keys to the castle?

Lysa Myers 20 Mar 2015 - 12:38AM

How To

Premera Breach: Healthcare businesses in the crosshairs

Criminals are targeting medical records because of their value, and as a result, medical breaches are the fastest growing type of breach. What can healthcare businesses do to get themselves out of the crosshairs?

Lysa Myers 18 Mar 2015 - 06:08PM

Cybercrime

Women in Federal cybersecurity – How did they get their start?

While there may still be only a handful of women in Information Security, they can be found in increasing numbers in important, high-profile positions. In this post we look at how three women in Federal cybersecurity got their start.

Lysa Myers 13 Mar 2015 - 05:38PM

News

Security terms explained: What does Zero Day mean?

One of the terms I’m most often asked to explain is what a “zero day” vulnerability or exploit is; let’s look at what that phrase entails.

Lysa Myers 11 Feb 2015 - 06:22PM

Malware

Patch Now – Adobe Vulnerabilities Under Attack

This has not been a great week for Adobe; they have been scrambling to fix a number of critical vulnerabilities in their Flash Player product that are being used in active attacks. But a patch is now available to cover all these vulnerabilities - so patch now!

Lysa Myers 6 Feb 2015 - 05:45PM

Cybercrime

Anthem breach: 5 defensive tips to take now

Yesterday the Anthem breach, the biggest healthcare-related breach to date was announced, as attackers accessed a database containing the records of current and former employees. As we discussed earlier this morning on We Live Security, this could affect as many as 80 million people.

Lysa Myers 5 Feb 2015 - 07:14PM

Malware

Do I need to worry about state-sponsored threats like Regin?

Since the discovery of Stuxnet several years ago, there has been a parade of targeted malware that may have been created or sponsored by nation states. Does an average person or business really need to worry about these things?

Lysa Myers 26 Nov 2014 - 10:58PM

How To

Ready, set, shop: 10 top tips for a safe shopping season

Tips for safe holiday shopping: whether you shop online or at the mall, there are some simple strategies that can protect your bank accounts and payment cards against criminal hackers and scammers.

Lysa Myers 24 Oct 2014 - 02:45PM

Malware

Top 5 Scariest Zombie Botnets

An army of the undead, wreaking havoc on the Internet – it's a nightmare scenario that has played out many times as the population of humans online has exploded. Some zombie plagues have been particularly troubling, and we will take a look at the worst of the worst.

Lysa Myers 23 Oct 2014 - 03:45PM

Cybercrime

Chase breach: Stolen personal info brings headaches too

On the one hand, the breach of JP Morgan Chase is not as bad as it could have been. But how do you measure relative “badness” of a breach?

Lysa Myers 16 Oct 2014 - 12:59AM

How To

How to protect yourself after the Home Depot breach

Home Depot has issued a statement today that provides more details about their recent breach, as well as indicating that the malware used by the attackers has now been removed from their systems. This breach appears to be even larger than Target’s, as it exposed payment information for 56 million customers in their US and Canada locations.

Lysa Myers 19 Sep 2014 - 08:01PM

How To

National Health IT Week – tips for starting Risk Assessment

This week is National Health IT Week, and you may be wondering – what is the best way to observe this occasion? While planning for catastrophe may not seem the most celebratory activity, this week is a great occasion to start or review your organization’s risk assessment.

Lysa Myers 19 Sep 2014 - 06:01PM

How To

How to protect your identity at school

Young people are targeted for data theft at 35 times the rate of adults – they are considered an easy target for both digital and physical theft. You can make going back to school an easier transition by ensuring your data and devices are secure both at school and at home.

Lysa Myers 22 Aug 2014 - 07:25PM

Malware

Homeland Security warns of new Point of Sale attacks

New malware targeting point of sale (PoS) systems, detected by ESET as Win32/Spy.Agent.OKG is described in a warning and analysis distributed by US-CERT, a reminder to increase security around PoS access.

Lysa Myers 1 Aug 2014 - 04:40PM

How To

Is your Point of Sale machine protected against attacks?

Criminals are very interested in retailers’ Point of Sale (PoS) machines. Recently, a new type of malware has been found that specifically tries to break into PoS machines, called Win32/BrutPOS.A.

Lysa Myers 22 Jul 2014 - 09:07PM

Opinion

Don’t let social media undermine the promise of graduation

Graduation is a great time to review your social media profile. Don't let a wild and crazy social network presence undermine the promise of graduation, your chances for a scholarship, job, internship or other career choices.

Lysa Myers 14 Jun 2014 - 01:41PM

Cybercrime

eBay breach news: Posted data dump not valid, password reset issues

As the 145 million people affected by the security breach at online giant eBay get used to the idea that their personal information may be "out there" and their passwords need to be changed, we wanted to update yesterday's coverage of the story.

Lysa Myers 22 May 2014 - 11:10PM

Privacy

eBay customers urged to change their passwords after breach

eBay customers should change passwords following this latest high profile breach. The Internet giant says the hack exposed names, addresses, phone numbers, and encrypted passwords of customers.

Lysa Myers 21 May 2014 - 05:50PM

Malware

Ransomware on Android: Keep calm but get protected

There has been a lot of talk in the news lately of a new ransomware for Android. While this does sound dire, and the possibility exists for more problematic threats on Androids in the future, it is not yet time to panic.

Lysa Myers 12 May 2014 - 07:31PM

Kids Online

How do you know if your child’s ID has been stolen?

When it comes to identity theft, the most successful attack is on the person least likely to be aware of activity being carried out in his or her name. That being the case, it is hard to imagine anyone who better fits the bill than a child.

Lysa Myers 22 Apr 2014 - 03:13PM

Cybercrime

Myths of the Target Breach

One of the realities of news that happens at Internet-speed is that it may not be wholly accurate. Much of what has come out about the Target breach contains factual errors that may not seem obvious, especially as they are repeated by many news outlets. So let us take a moment to examine some of the more common myths that have been flying around.

Lysa Myers 30 Jan 2014 - 03:03AM

Opinion

Why are so many kids still not receiving computer science education?

The city of Chicago recently announced a change to the curriculum for schools in their district that would introduce children as young as primary school to computer science concepts. It would also allow students to count computer science as a core subject that fulfills graduation requirements. What does this say about the current state of computer-related education?

Lysa Myers 21 Jan 2014 - 09:33AM

Cybercrime

11 things you can do to protect against ransomware, including Cryptolocker

11 things you can be doing to better protect your computers and data from ransomware such as Cryptolocker that is currently targeting businesses big and small.

Lysa Myers 12 Dec 2013 - 06:42PM

Kids Online

How do we protect kids from online predators?

The Internet is a vast source of information for all of us, and naturally some people use that information for good, and some for ill, like grooming and stalking children. So what things can you as a parent, teacher, or other concerned adult do to protect kids against online predators and solicitation?

Lysa Myers 27 Nov 2013 - 05:59PM

Opinion

How can domestic violence survivors protect their privacy?

Domestic violence is not something that gets discussed much in information security circles, but there are few people that need advice on assuring their online safety more urgently than victims of stalking and domestic abuse. What can people do to protect themselves when there is a known and persistent threat?

Lysa Myers 7 Nov 2013 - 01:46PM