VirusTotal adds WhiteArmor to its lineup
VirusTotal has announced the addition of WhiteArmor’s engine to its antivirus lineup. The Chinese developer explains:
WhiteArmor is [a] mobile antivirus engine armed with artificial intelligence and machine learning. WhiteArmor offers enterprise Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) solutions as complementary to EMM [Enterprise Mobility Management] for securing enterprise mobility.
Why cloud? Justification for non-techies
Cloud computing is all the rage today, to the point that it feels like you can’t fill out your "buzzword bingo" card at any meeting without using the phrase. There are all kinds of technical reasons why cloud has the market momentum it does, but what if you aren’t swayed by such things? If you’ve seen technology trends come and go, you need non-technical justification for moving your business in any direction, and cloud computing is no different for you.
So, what is the main justification for business owners to use cloud that doesn’t involve a lot of technical jargon? Let’s get to the bottom line and talk ROI and payback instead.
Deseat.me helps you delete yourself from the internet with a few clicks
Everyone has a digital footprint these days, and it can be terrifying to think about the amount of personal information stored online in various accounts. You may have resolved to clean up your act and close a few of your accounts, and this is where Deseat.me can help.
The site takes advantage of the fact that many of your online accounts are linked together by a common thread -- Google. By signing into the site with your Google credentials, Deseat.me will find all of your linked accounts and give you the option of wiping them out in one fell swoop.
UK bank will let customers withdraw cash using their smartphone
UK bank Barclays is testing a new feature for cash withdrawals which should eliminate skimming at ATM machines, the BBC reports. The idea is similar to contactless and mobile payment systems -- you wave your smartphone close to an ATM machine and, when prompted, type in your PIN code in either the smartphone or the ATM.
The bank says that way it will make it much harder to hijack card details. The new feature is being tested for Android-powered devices only, with iPhones being out of the picture. Apple has limited the use of iPhone NFC chips to their own Apple Pay technology, making it impossible for Barclays to use the device. However, those that don't have an Android phone will be able to use an NFC-enabled card.
Kaspersky: DDoS attacks are a smokescreen
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks make a lot of noise, and according to a new Kaspersky Lab report, that’s exactly what hackers are using them for.
As businesses are preoccupied with handling DDoS attacks, hackers use the opportunity for another, more targeted, and more deadly type of attack. Basically, DDoS is nothing more than a smokescreen. The conclusion comes in Kaspersky Lab’s report, which polled businesses about their cybersecurity experiences. More than half (56 percent) say DDoS is being used to cover something else.
Black Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre: Is social media the future of car insurance?
A multinational company with thousands of employees and a turnover of more than £2 billion in 2015 requests access to young customers’ private social media history to predict their likely future behavior.
While this might sound like the basis for an episode of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian TV series Black Mirror, it’s actually a real plan formulated by insurance provider Admiral to create more accurate quotes for young drivers. The initiative, aptly named firstcarquote, was intended to examine a user’s Facebook presence -- including the pages they like and the content they post -- to identify key personality traits. These traits, in turn, would be used to predict the prospective customer’s driving style.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise laptop hack exposes personal details of 130,000 US Navy sailors
A data breach has exposed the personal details of more than 130,000 US Navy sailors, including social security numbers.
Rather than being a breach of the Navy's own defences, the data leak came about after a laptop owned by a Hewlett Packard Enterprise employee was compromised. In total, 134,386 current and former sailors are affected by the problem.
Microsoft shares Windows 10 telemetry data with third parties [Updated]
It’s no secret that Windows 10 records all sorts of usage information, some of which it feeds back to Microsoft. To help with the smooth running of Windows 10, and to get an idea of how users interact with the operating system, Microsoft collects telemetry data, which includes information on the device Windows 10 is running on, a list of installed apps, crash dumps, and more.
Telemetry data recorded by Windows 10 is, in a nutshell, just technical information about the device the OS is on, and how Windows and any installed software is performing, but it can occasionally include personal information. If you’re worried about that, the news that Microsoft is sharing telemetry data with third parties might concern you.
CERT warning: Windows 10 is less secure than Windows 7 with EMET
In direct contrast to Microsoft's assertion that Windows 10 is its most secure operating system ever, the US-CERT Coordination Center says that Windows 7 with EMET offers greater protection. With EMET due to be killed off, security experts are concerned.
A vulnerability analyst from CERT, Will Dormann, advises Microsoft to continue the development of EMET. Microsoft says 'many' of EMET's features have been integrated into Windows 10, but the concern is that key components are missing, and others have been implemented in such a way that reduces their security.
Making sports smarter with big data
Big data and analytics have transformed the way businesses operate, and big data increasingly has a profound influence on the daily lives of consumers. The sports world isn’t immune to the impact of big data: Statistics-driven sports like Major League Baseball and the National Football League have long crunched numbers to make key decisions, so using big data is a natural progression.
During last summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, analysts and trainers pored over data to predict performance and develop strategies. Whether motivated by profit or the quest for a win, greater efficiency and increased accuracy, the sporting world is embracing big data to improve performance. Here are three ways big data is making sports smarter:
Caught red-handed: Reddit CEO edited comments that disparaged him
If you leave a comment on a website you expect one of two things. First, and most likely, is for your comment to be left alone and posted as-is. The second possibility is that you might find your comment has been deleted because of violating site terms. Reddit, however, has a third option.
The self-styled 'front page of the internet' is a little red-faced after CEO Steve Huffman admitted editing comments that were critical of him. Posting using the name 'spez', Huffman was able to anonymously edit comments and replace references to his name with those of Reddit moderators.
Tech salaries are up in the UK
The technology skills gap is working well for those already in the industry, as the salaries for these positions in the UK just keep going up. According to a new Dice report, tech jobs have seen an increase of five percent, on average, in salaries, in the last 12 months.
The highest average pay was spotted for program managers, with these positions getting a six percent increase in salaries, up to £78,847 for permanent roles. Contractors have day rates of £600 now, 1.5 percent up compared to last year.
Travel firm Skyscanner sold to Chinese site Ctrip in $1.74 billion deal
Edinburgh-based Skyscanner -- a site specializing in price comparison for travellers -- has been bought by its Chinese counterpart Ctrip. The deal values Skyscanner Holdings at $1.74 billion (around £1.4 billion) and sees the Scottish firm joining China's largest travel site, Ctrip.cn.
Despite the sale, Skyscanner says that it will continue to operate as an independent company, and it will continue to help travellers find the best deals for hotels, flights and car rentals.
11 rules to improve mobile security
Mobile devices have inundated our lives. Smartphones, tablets, phablets, wearables, the list of mobiles and their variants is endless. People have stopped talking and started dat(a)ing in a big way. Communication through smart devices has clearly overwhelmed us like never before. People are buying, paying and living through their mobiles. Love and relationships can be activated through a single app.
We have reached a state where people use more than a single smart device at a time. As long as the smart-ness of smartphones was confined to individuals, the corporate world could afford to remain a silent bystander, but no longer. The BYOD or Bring Your Own Device is the new norm and not a single business can avoid the challenges which come with mobility in management.
How will quantum computing impact security processes?
Quantum computers have the potential to perform calculations faster than ever possible before, inviting a significant rethink in how we approach cyber security.
Given the amount of research being ploughed into this area, we are likely to see a commercially viable machine in the near future, so cryptographers and the cyber security industry in general should work to have a clear view on the implications way ahead of that achievement.
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