Mozilla Advances Cybersecurity Education

Cybersecurity education and security awareness have been important components of security for some time, but it’s never been easy to get companies to buy into the effort. One web browser is making an effort to change that.

Cybersecurity Education Takes Center Stage

Mozilla is working to integrate the data breach service Have I Been Pwned into Firefox’s user interface (UI). According to GitHub, Mozilla aims to use the service to alert users about data breaches and provide them with a bit of cybersecurity education.

Have I Been Pwned is a widely respected site run by Australian security researcher Troy Hunt. Its integration into a browser will alert users to data breaches that have led to credential leaks, potentially preventing Firefox users from falling prey to attacks.

Users will be automatically notified when they enter a site that has been recently breached. The browser will also offer a “Learn more” link when alerting users so that they can access additional information about data breaches within the Firefox UI. Those who are interested can then choose to join a service that will notify them about when they might be affected by future breaches, the information on GitHub explained.

Maintaining Data Security

According to Infosecurity Magazine, Hunt expressed some concerns about preserving data security during the process. “What I can say for sure is that no passwords will be involved here — I don’t store them nor do I provide any means of querying them, and I won’t be providing them to anyone else either,” he noted.

Mozilla is sensitive to these privacy issues. The company is working to determine who the custodian of this data will be and how it can offer functionality to users who opt out of subscribing to notifications. As noted by InfoSecurity Magazine, “While the project is still in infancy, the idea is to offer as much utility as possible while respecting the user’s privacy.”

It remains to be seen if Have I Been Pwned will make a big difference for Firefox users, but it’s a step in the right direction for a more secure future.

Larry Loeb

Principal, PBC Enterprises

When ransomware kills: Attacks on healthcare facilities

4 min read - As ransomware attacks continue to escalate, their toll is often measured in data loss and financial strain. But what about the loss of human life? Nowhere is the ransomware threat more acute than in the healthcare sector, where patients’ lives are literally on the line.Since 2015, there has been a staggering increase in ransomware attacks on healthcare facilities. And the impacts are severe: Diverted emergency services, delayed critical treatments and even fatalities. Meanwhile, the pledge some ransomware groups made during…

AI and cloud vulnerabilities aren’t the only threats facing CISOs today

6 min read - With cloud infrastructure and, more recently, artificial intelligence (AI) systems becoming prime targets for attackers, security leaders are laser-focused on defending these high-profile areas. They’re right to do so, too, as cyber criminals turn to new and emerging technologies to launch and scale ever more sophisticated attacks.However, this heightened attention to emerging threats makes it easy to overlook traditional attack vectors, such as human-driven social engineering and vulnerabilities in physical security.As adversaries exploit an ever-wider range of potential entry points…

4 trends in software supply chain security

4 min read - Some of the biggest and most infamous cyberattacks of the past decade were caused by a security breakdown in the software supply chain. SolarWinds was probably the most well-known, but it was not alone. Incidents against companies like Equifax and tools like MOVEit also wreaked havoc for organizations and customers whose sensitive information was compromised.Expect to see more software supply chain attacks moving forward. According to ReversingLabs' The State of Software Supply Chain Security 2024 study, attacks against the software…

Security Intelligence

{{title}}

{{title}}

{{title}}

Topics

Cybersecurity Education Takes Center Stage

Maintaining Data Security

More from

When ransomware kills: Attacks on healthcare facilities

AI and cloud vulnerabilities aren’t the only threats facing CISOs today

4 trends in software supply chain security

Topic updates