Category Archives: Security Threats and Solutions

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A big tech company is working to free the internet from big tech companies

Components of the decentralized web may already be emerging, but they are not ready for prime time. Cloudflare, a company that makes its money by hosting the internet’s contents on far-flung servers and uses algorithms to deliver them to users as fast as possible, wants to help change that. The first step is what the company calls a “gateway,” to which anyone can connect a website and begin serving data stored in a peer-to-peer file-sharing network called the Interplanetary File System(IPFS).

technologyreview.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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U.S. warns of new hacking spree from group linked to China

The U.S. government on Wednesday warned that a hacking group widely known as cloudhopper, which Western cybersecurity firms have linked to the Chinese government, has launched attacks on technology service providers in a campaign to steal data from their clients.

yahoo.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Forget the new iPhones: Apple’s best product is now privacy

Apple makes its hundreds of billions every year by selling physical products that have a high markup. Facebook and Google, on the other hand, have a business model built around advertisers who want as much data about users as possible so they can better target them. This is why, for example, Google would never build the types of anti-tracking and privacy protections into the Android OS that Apple has done with MacOS and iOS. Google–and Facebook–aren’t going to cut off their access to all that black gold.

 

Fastcompany.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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If you’ve been hacked, don’t count on the police for help

Even the FBI and your local police can’t agree on who you should contact first.  The FBI and your local police both suggest that you should call them. But experts warn that in many cases, neither agency will be able to help, especially if the criminal is asking for so little money. This dynamic underscores why these kinds of hacks — and yes, the porn scam really happened — are starting to proliferate.

cnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Hackers peddle thousands of air miles on the Dark Web for pocket money

Air miles are easily available online which are issued by airlines including Delta, British Airways, Emirates, and Alaska Air, among others.  After investigating Dark Web marketplaces including Dream Market, Olympus, and the Berlusconi Market, Bischoff found that sellers are flogging hundreds of thousands of frequent flier points.

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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8 Smart Ways To Maintain Your Digital Privacy

Regardless of how you use the internet, it’s nearly guaranteed that you are being tracked in some way. Natalie Triedman recently shared how people, often unknowingly, are sharing their location. We aren’t saying that you should freak out and stop using the internet, but it’s a good idea to be smart about your browsing.

Follow these tips to start protecting your information online. We’ve included some quick steps that everyone can do, as well as some more difficult and advanced methods for keeping your web data secure.

Hackernoon.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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This new tech makes it harder for ISPs to spy on you

With the exception–perhaps–of your therapist or significant other, no one has more power to learn your secrets than your internet service provider. An ISP can see every website that you choose to access. …But new tech fixes are plugging the privacy holes that the government won’t.

fastcompany.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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This powerful off-the-shelf phone-hacking tool is spreading

Researchers at internet watchdog Citizen Lab have found that a sophisticated piece of spyware designed to break into most commercially available smartphones is now in use in 45 countries. Pegasus, designed by Israeli security firm NSO Group, has been pitched as a so-called “lawful intercept” tool for governments with highly questionable human rights records like Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

fastcompany.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Cyber security: Your boss doesn’t care and that’s not OK anymore

So why do the upper echelons of many organisations still not understand the risks they face or know what they should be doing to counter them?

One issue is that within many organisations, cyber security is still viewed as an issue for the IT department, rather than the business as a whole.

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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No, that “Google Business Manager” isn’t actually Google Calling

Taken verbatim from Google’s own Safety Center “Google does not make unsolicited sales calls from an automated system. However, we may place automated phone calls to your business, as a service to Google users, for non-sales tasks like making reservations or confirming your business hours. These calls are only enabled for businesses that offer public phone numbers for the purpose of receiving calls from the general public, and use the automated voice-calling service Duplex.”

Lemacksmedia.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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The WannaCry virus was just the beginning

WannaCry swept around the globe in what may have been the most extensive cyber attack in history. The ransomware, which gets its name from how it held a user’s data hostage, affected at least 200 000 computers in more than 150 countries, disrupting the operations of FedEx, Renault-Nissan, Russia’s interior ministry, Chinese universities, and the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Everything in your home is about to get smart. Here’s what to watch out for.

Smart devices can improve daily life by being aware of what you’re doing, so they can predict what you want them to do. For example, smart lights can learn when it’s bedtime and use that information to only use low brightness after that if you wander to the bathroom.   That convenience comes at a price, however: IoT devices generally require an internet connection to function, and harvest your information in return for helping improve your day.

ThinkGrowth.org click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Online security 101: Tips for protecting your privacy from hackers and spies

People often don’t think about their rights until they need them — whether it’s when they’re arrested at a protest or pulled over for a routine traffic stop.


Zdnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Ultimate guide to finding and killing spyware and stalkerware on your smartphone

This guide will run through what spyware is, what the warning signs of infection are, and how to remove such pestilence from your mobile devices.

Zdnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Beware: Hackers are trying to scam your company with this attack

Criminals use BEC attacks to gain access to a business email account and pretend to be the account owner to defraud the company and its employees, customers, or partners, the report noted. Scammers typically target employees with access to company finances or payroll data, and other personally identifiable information (PII).

TechRepublic.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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If You’re Using a Free VPN, You’re Being Farmed For Data

The major free VPN services. Spoiler alert: They’re all pretty much as bad as Onavo, and some are arguably much worse. The cliché “If you aren’t paying for the product you are the product” really isn’t true these days, given how many companies now hoover your private data whether you sign up for a paying service or not, but it’s absolutely true that “free” VPNs are little more than scams.

extremetech.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Hackers steal more than $1M from global economy in a single minute: analysis

Approximately 1,861 people fall victim to cyberattacks in a span of 60 seconds, while some $1.14 million is stolen, cybersecurity firm RiskIQ found.

TheHill.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Password and Credential Management in 2018

Many people will read the headline and probably think: “No, not another piece of advice that I should hash passwords — uh”. But stop. You’ll learn a lot more here. Promised.

We will cover the “perfect” (Nothing is absolutely perfect and of course I would be more than happy for any suggestions for improvements in the comments ?) way to handle password credentials

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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A quick introduction to web security

There are many reasons to learn about web security:

  • You’re a concerned user that is worried about your personal data being leaked
  • You are a concerned web developer that wants to make their web app secure
  • You are a web developer going through an interview process

and so on.

The purpose of this post is to explain common web security acronyms in a way that is easy to understand but still accurate.

FreeCodeCamp.org click the link to read the rest of the story.

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How To Survive A Ransomware Attack — And Not Get Hit Again

Ransomware comes in two types. The first encrypts the files on a computer or network; the second locks a user’s screen. “Some ransomware will also act like a worm – as was the case with WannaCry – and once inside a network, will spread laterally to other machines without interaction by the attacker or the infected user,” says a NCSC spokesman.

Forbes.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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The next 50 years of cyber security

Observable gaps prevent our industry from operating in a rational, scientific and organized way. I think that the information security industry is currently stalling due to:

  1. A lack of classification methods around the root causes of breaches.
  2. A lack of transparency into the root causes of data breaches.
  3. A lack of probabilistic methods for those who practice cyber security.

Only a collective drive from this industry and its communities toward quantifiable methods and goals will allow us to build a future we’re proud of.

TheMedium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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The Pandora’s Box of the Digital Age

In the past year alone, a series of hacks and ransomware attacks by hostile governments and other malign actors have raised alarms about a major threat to global stability. Unfortunately, many governments are responding by developing still more cyber weapons, on the mistaken assumption that offense is the best defense.

Project-Syndicate.org click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Apple iOS Users Targeted By New Exploit

The scam starts with an email informing users that their phones have been locked due to “illegal activity” and instructing them to call “Apple Care” to get the problem fixed.

DWPia.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Antivirus Detects Fewer Than Half of Cyberattacks

Traditional tools are no longer sufficient to detect cyberattacks, the data shows: Antivirus systems only detected endpoint compromise 47% of the time; other attacks were caught through automated SIEM alerts (32%) and endpoint detection and response platforms (26%).

Darkreading.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Why Nation-State Hacking Should Matter To Everyone

Perhaps most critical, particularly for business networks who also support employee or consumer devices, is to ensure every device receives these necessary updates and patches. One vulnerable entry point can spell the downfall of an entire organization or a household of connected devices.

Forbes.com click the link to read the rest of the story.

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Security Spending is Up – But on Old Technologies that Don’t Work

Most organizations are spending their increased dollars on the same type of solutions that they implemented in the past. But these legacy solutions are no longer effective at preventing modern breaches. Today’s attackers use new methods that old security systems don’t detect.

lastline.com learn more here

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DeepLocker: will malware weaponize artificial intelligence?

Traditional cyber security solutions, such as bolt-on antivirus software, are no longer enough. Cyber attackers are exploiting every possible avenue to steal data, infiltrate networks, disrupt critical systems, rinse bank accounts, and hold businesses to ransom.

PCMag.com learn more here

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