Iranian hackers planting backdoors in companies around the world

ClearSky research team has uncovered a widespread Iranian offensive campaign which we call “Fox Kitten Campaign”; this campaign is being conducted in the last three years against dozens of companies and organizations in Israel and around the world. Though the campaign, the attackers succeeded in gaining access and persistent foothold in the networks of numerous companies and organizations from the IT, Telecommunication, Oil and Gas, Aviation, Government, and Security sectors around the world. …

ClearSkySec.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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FBI: passphrases superior to complex passwords

The FBI says “Instead of using a short, complex password that is hard to remember, consider using a longer passphrase.”  “This involves combining multiple words into a long string of at least 15 characters,” it added. “The extra length of a passphrase makes it harder to crack while also making it easier for you to remember.” …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Women! Hackers are demanding nude photos to unlock files in a new ransomware attack

Ransomware typically encrypts files and demands payment in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, but security firm Emsisoft reported Wednesday that it had discovered a variant making another sort of demand: explicit photos. … In other cases, scammers on dating apps have requested nude photos from would-be suitors, then held them for ransom by threatening to leak the photos. …

FastCompany.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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US Warns: Huawei Has ‘Back Door’ Access in Its Networks

Officials from the United States presented evidence to the United Kingdom and other allies that Huawei has the ability to secretly access information on mobile networks through “back doors” typically used by law enforcement agencies, leading to fears that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may use Huawei to spy on Western nations that allow access to the company. …

Breitbart.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Official: Puerto Rico govt loses $2.6M in phishing scam

Puerto Rico’s government has lost more than $2.6 million after falling for an email phishing scam, according to a senior official. … Rivera said the government agency transferred the money on Jan. 17 after receiving an email that alleged a change to a banking account tied to remittance payments, according to a police statement. …

APnews.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Watch Out: This Verizon Smishing Scam Is Crazy Realistic

Text message scams are becoming more common, and the latest scam we’ve seen is the most sophisticated yet. The scammer impersonates Verizon, sending you an “account security” text message that takes you to a shockingly convincing copy of Verizon’s website.  We opened the link to see the scam in action. Don’t try this at home: If you receive a scam message, we recommend against opening any links attached to it. You should also delete the message and block the sender. …

HowToGeek.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Macs saw almost double the number of malware threats than Windows PCs last year

Macs don’t get viruses,” or so the long-time saying goes. But according to Malwarebytes’ annual State of Malware report, that’s far from true. In fact, there was almost double the number of threats targeting Macs compared to Windows PCs in 2019.  The report states that Macs saw an average of 11 threats per endpoint in 2019, whereas Windows systems had an average of 5.8 threats—the first time Macs outpaced PCs when it comes to malware threats. …

TechSpot.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Popular internet scams to watch out for in 2020

The internet is filled with scammers looking to steal your private information. … You should also be able to spot threats on your own. To help, here are a few scams that are currently trending online.

BigThink.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Minimize Risk While Surfing the Web on Your Phone

We simply enjoy surfing on wireless networks wherever we go… assume that none of these networks are safe. This is especially important for those of us who use our mobile devices for online banking, accessing medical records, storing our passwords with a password manager, or browsing files on Dropbox, Google Drive, or Windows OneDrive. … Here are a few tools that can help protect your most precious data from those with powerful digital tools and prying eyes.

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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This crafty malware makes you retype your passwords so it can steal them

A trojan malware campaign is targeting online banking users around the world with the aim of stealing credit card information, finances and other personal details. … Like many other hacking campaigns, Metamorfo begins with phishing emails that in this case claim to contain information about an invoice and invite the user to download a .ZIP file….

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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New service notifies companies when their employees get phished

Companies across the world now have a new free web service at their disposal that will automatically send out email notifications if one of their employees gets phished.  The service is named “I Got Phished” and is managed by Abuse.ch, a non-profit organization known for its malware and cyber-crime tracking operations.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Microsoft Issues Excel Security Alert

A well-known hacking group called TA505 is weaponizing Microsoft Excel to spread a malware payload. Researchers from Microsoft Security Intelligence have this week taken to Twitter to warn users to be alert to the ongoing campaign.

Forbes.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Patch the top ten software flaws used by crooks

The most commonly exploited vulnerabilities – and the technology they target … patch these now!  Adobe Flash Player, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, Adobe Flash Player, Microsoft WinRAR

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Someone is uninstalling malware from infected PCs

A mysterious entity appears to have hijacked the backend infrastructure of the Phorpiex (Trik) botnet and is uninstalling the spam-bot malware from infected hosts, while also showing a popup telling users to install an antivirus and update their computers… “This is truly happening,” Yaniv Balmas, Head of Cyber Research at Check Point …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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This simple malware still plagues one in 10 Mac users

A prolific trojan campaign that tries to trick macOS users into downloading malicious software remains the most common malware Mac users are likely to encounter.  The Shlayer malware first emerged in early 2018 and is predominantly used to install malicious adware on users’ systems, with the intention of generating revenue from pop-up adverts and links that relentlessly appear in the victim’s browser.  Now, two years on from Shlayer’s arrival, figures from Kaspersky Lab reveal that the malware has targeted over one in ten macOS users, making it the most widespread macOS malware threat.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Get our free tools here.

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Beware of this sneaky phishing technique now being used in more attacks

Security company researchers warn of a large increase in conversation-hijacking attacks. Here’s what they are and how to spot them.

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Get our free tools here.

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515,000+ hacked passwords+ for servers, routers, and IoT devices now online

The list, which was published on a popular hacking forum, includes each device’s IP address, along with a username and password for the Telnet service, a remote access protocol that can be used to control devices over the internet.  …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Get our free tools here.

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The Complete Guide to Avoiding Online Scams

The basic rule for surviving internet scams is simple: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A little common sense goes a long way to realizing that you aren’t going to suddenly win the Spanish National Lottery when you didn’t even know you had a ticket.  Here’s our definitive guide to helping you (and your loved ones) stay safe online. …

LifeHacker.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Get our free tools here.

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Meet the new Microsoft Edge: Your move, Google

Google Chrome and the new Microsoft Edge browser are siblings, but that doesn’t mean they’re equal. Far from it.  The most important difference between the new Edge and Google Chrome strikes right at the heart of Google’s business model. By default, the new Edge turns on tracking protection and sets it to Balanced, which blocks many ads and almost all third-party tracking code. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Iranian Hackers new attacks to breach the US Grid

Given the the threat of Iranian counterattacks, infrastructure owners should be aware of [these new campaigns] and they should consider not just new attempts to breach their networks but also the possibility that those systems have already been compromised. “My concern with the Iran situation is not that we’re going to see some new big operation spin up,” Lee says. “My concern is with access that groups might already have.” …

Wired.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Hackers Demand Ransom From Medical Patients After Breach

In a troubling new ransomware twist, hackers are demanding patients of Florida provider Richard Davis, MD pay a ransom to prevent the release of their personal information following a breach of the clinic’s server. … Patients are urged to share the notification with any known patients of The Center…

ampproject.org click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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What will happen January 15, 2020 – to your Windows 7 PC

Microsoft has been warning Windows 7 users for the past year-plus that after January 14, 2020, they’ll get no more security updates to the operating system for free. Even though users will be able to continue to run Windows 7 after that date, they’ll be more susceptible to potential security problems. To hammer that point home, Microsoft is planning to deliver a new pop-up notification to Windows 7 users on January 15, 2020.

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Homeland Security Alert: All Users to update Firefox browsers Immediately

If you use Mozilla Firefox’s web browser, you’ll want to drop what you are doing right now and update it. Now.  Failure to do so, could allow an attacker to take control of a user’s entire operating system—whether they use Windows or Mac. More alarming, the vulnerability is already being exploited…

FastCompany.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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These five tech trends will dominate 2020

We begin our list with dark clouds on the horizon for Intel: Saying Intel is going out of business … it’s simply not going to happen… That doesn’t mean it is going to be smooth sailing… 5G has plenty of benefits for the mobile operators… Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have become the goto technologies for businesses whether they want to boost productivity, increase customer engagement, or drive digital transformation…. Security in 2020: Wider, deeper, stranger threats – don’t forget the basics…

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Be Prepared: Iran can execute cyber-attacks against the US

Homeland Security Warning: Be prepared for cyber disruptions, suspicious emails, and network delays. … Implement basic cyber hygiene practices such as effecting data backups and employing multi factor authentication. Note: Make sure your business can function if there are interruptions to your internet service.

Department of Homeland Security click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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The 6 life-changing tech habits you need this year

Most of these tech recommendations will make anyone smarter and safer, except # 6.  They are saying standard antivirus programs are not as good as Windows Defender, but you need something better than Windows Defender.  We only recommend Next-Gen Antivirus programs like Cylance, Sentinel, Carbon Black.

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Chinese hackers get around two-factor authentication

Security researchers say they found evidence that a Chinese government-linked hacking group has been bypassing two-factor authentication (2FA) in a recent wave of attacks.

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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ALERT! TP-Link routers allow anyone to change your WiFi password

According to researchers in ethical hacking, if exploited, this vulnerability would allow a remote threat actor to take control of device settings via Telnet to connect to a File Transfer Protocol server (FTP) over LAN or WAN.  Exploiting this vulnerability would give the attacker administrator privileges…

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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