Instagram to use video selfies as one method of age verification
Like most social media platforms, Instagram has a minimum age for users -- in this instance, it is 13 years old. But verifying ages online -- particularly for non-adults -- has long proved difficult. Now Instagram thinks it has come up with a solution.
As part of measure to enforce age limits more strongly, Instagram is preparing to use a variety of techniques to confirm that younger users are the age they claim to be. One of the options that will be available to such users is uploading a video selfie which will be shared with age-checking agencies.
Why we need to take the threat of cyberwarfare seriously [Q&A]
The age of what might be called the hobbyist hacker is long gone, replaced by a much more serious trend towards organized crime and nation states being behind hacking and cyberattacks.
In an era where data can be weaponized, both businesses and governments need to take the threat seriously. It's important for security teams to understand how attacks are carried out and the motivations that lie behind them.
Tips for securing Windows with PowerShell... courtesy of the NSA
The NSA might not be the first organization that you think of turning to for advice about how to secure your computer, but the agency has offered up various tips about how to use PowerShell to do just this.
In conjunction with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NZ NCSC) and the United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK), the NSA has published a Cybersecurity Information Sheet. The document is entitled Keeping PowerShell: Security Measures to Use and Embrace, and it advises properly configuring and monitoring PowerShell, rather than removing or disabling it as is often recommended.
Microsoft releases KB5014668 update to fix game crashes and failed Windows 11 upgrades
It is the time of the month when Microsoft releases preview versions of the updates that will be released for Windows on the next Patch Tuesday. As such, the company has unleashed a non-security preview release (or "C" release) of the KB5014668 update for Windows 11.
The list of changes and fixes in this non-security update is pretty lengthy, but there are two major inclusions that are especially noteworthy. As well as addressing an issue that prevented some users from upgrading to Windows 11, there is also a fix for game crashes caused by the use of certain audio technology.
Google is making it easier to find LGBTQ+ owned businesses in Search and Maps
It is pride month, so many companies are wrapping themselves up in the rainbow flag and proclaiming their allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community. It is in this spirit that Google has launched a new label in its Maps and Search products to let businesses indicate that they are LGBTQ+ owned.
The new attribute is currently only available in the US, and only to merchants that have a verified Business Profile on Google. Google says that it gives people a way to support diverse businesses, adding to the existing Black-owned, Latino-owned, veteran-owned and women-owned attributes that verified business are able to use.
Weekend at Johnny's: McAfee's body remains at morgue one year after his death
John McAfee was a British-American software engineer who founded one of the most prominent anti-virus companies in the world. The self-titled McAfee Associates, Inc. released its first anti-virus program in 1987, under the simple name 'VirusScan.' Before that, McAfee had previously worked for such notables as NASA, Xerox and Lockheed.
Of course, he became much more notable in his later life, with two failed runs for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, and began his road to trouble by announcing in 2019 that he believed taxes were illegal and stated that he hadn’t filed a tax return since 2010.
Push Fatigue: We're tired too
More and more organizations are enrolling users in Multi-Factor Authentication (henceforth referred to as MFA) wherein a secondary form of authentication takes place following a user inputting their credentials into a service to ensure a user is who they say they are. It’s an added layer of security and authentication that can help prevent compromise. But this isn’t bulletproof.
Recently a few blog posts and papers have begun to come out detailing a bypass technique known as "MFA bombing", "MFA Fatigue", "Push Notification Spamming", and many other terms, detailing high-profile threat actors such as LAPSUS$ who have abused the technique to gain access to otherwise protected areas. The technique was one we at Lares (and other red teams!) have used with overwhelming success in the past. We know it as Push Fatigue.
You're wasting your time fixing 97 percent of vulnerabilities
According to new research only three percent of 'critical' code vulnerabilities are attackable, which means developers should be able to better prioritize efforts and significantly reduce their workload.
The study from automated security testing firm ShiftLeft finds that focusing on the three percent allows teams to greatly speed up and simplify efforts. ShiftLeft saw a 37 percent improvement from last year in mean time to remediate new vulnerabilities with a median scan time of 1 minute 30 seconds.
Hybrid and remote work here to stay for most businesses
A new study finds that 94 percent of organizations shifted to some sort of hybrid work structure due to the pandemic and 71 percent plan to make these practices permanent.
The study from Foundry, based on responses from over 400 IT and business decision-makers in the US, shows 72 percent of IT decision-makers believe there has been a positive shift in the remote and hybrid work mindset due to the work-from-home transition.
Keeper launches secure one-time password sharing
We all know that you shouldn't share passwords. But we also know that there are occasions when it's useful to do so -- giving temporary access to a Wi-Fi network example or sharing data with contractors.
Keeper Security has come up with an innovative solution that allows users to securely share records with anyone on a time-limited basis.
Twitter is testing Notes, a new publishing option with no character limit
It took quite a while, but Twitter eventually decided to increase the maximum length of tweets to 280 characters. For some people, this is still not enough, and threading is not for everyone. It is with this in mind that Twitter has started testing a new long-form writing format called Notes.
Twitter has long been referred to as a micro-blogging service, and Notes takes things to the next level, essentially giving users the ability to write blog posts of any length. As well as eliminating the character limit, Notes can also include photos, videos and even embedded tweets. Best of all, Notes are editable. This may not be the "edit tweet" option people have been looking for, but it is a step in that direction.
Microsoft brings Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 distro support to Windows Server 2022 with KB5014678 update
Having previously only made the option available to "seekers", Microsoft has now rolled out the ability to use WLS2 distros in Windows Server 2022 to anyone who is interested in the functionality.
Last month, Microsoft released a preview of an update that brought Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 distro support to Windows Server 2022. Now this update has been made generally available, following the release of the KB5014678 update on Patch Tuesday this week.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25145 with new features and fixes
Sometimes new Windows 11 builds released to the Dev Channel introduce new features, and other times the focus is just on fixing problems. Today’s new Insider release, Build 25145, comes with both a selection of new features and also some important fixes.
In particular, this release comes with a fix for an annoying problem that caused Surface Pro X devices to hit a black screen when attempting to resume from hibernation.
84 percent of organizations suffer identity-related breaches
According to a new report 84 percent of respondents say their organization has experienced an identity-related breach in the last year, with 78 percent citing a direct business impact as a result.
The report, from the Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA), finds that 98 percent of respondents report that the number of identities is increasing, primarily driven by cloud adoption, third-party relationships and machine identities.
Cloudy with a chance of higher earnings
The latest 2022 Cloud Salary Survey from O'Reilly shows that tech workers make more money in hybrid or remote work scenarios and gain increased salary and skills training through workplace learning.
It also shows that 20 percent of tech workers report they've already changed employers over the last year, and 25 percent of respondents are planning to find new employment with better compensation.
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