Articles about Security

Security professionals think cybersecurity is a bigger threat to the US than border security

Border fence

A new survey of security professionals taken at this year's RSA reveals that 92 percent of respondents feel that cybersecurity is a bigger threat to the US than border security. Yet government, and media, attention seems far more focused on the latter.

The study from AI-powered security company Lastline also asked respondents which of the tech giants they trust the least with their data, not surprisingly 76 percent name Facebook. Others, Amazon (25 percent), Apple (24 percent), Google (20 percent) and Microsoft (27 percent) all scored relatively evenly when asked who they trust most.

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Google now lets you use your Android phone as a 2SV security key

Android 2SV sign-in

If you have a phone running Android 7.0 Nougat or higher, you can now use it as a FIDO security key. This new option was announced at Google Cloud Next 2019, and it makes using 2-Step Verification much more accessible thanks to the fact that people are likely to have their phones with them most of the time.

The system -- currently in beta -- can be used to access ChromeOS, macOS or Windows 10 computers running Chrome, and can replace or supplement other FIDO-based security keys like Google's own Titan Security Key.

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Businesses complacent about mainframe security

mainframe

Although 85 percent of companies say mainframe security is a top priority, just 33 percent always or often make mainframe decisions based on security finds a new report.

The study from mainframe vulnerability specialist Key Resources Inc, based on research by Forrester Consulting also finds 67 percent of respondents admit that only sometimes or rarely are they factoring security into mainframe decisions.

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A quarter of phishing emails bypass Office 365 security

phishing hook

According to a new study analyzing more than 55 million emails, 25 percent of phishing emails bypass Office 365 security, using malicious links and attachments as the main vectors.

Other findings of the report from cloud-native security firm Avanan include that 33 percent of emails contain a link to a site hosted on WordPress and 98 percent of emails containing a crypto wallet address are phishing attacks.

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Securing serverless computing, the latest cloud paradigm [Q&A]

cloud padlock

The cloud-skills shortage has made security a major challenge for enterprises. In fact, virtually every data breach in the cloud today is due to human error, rather than brilliant hacking. Hackers don't even bother launching attacks in the public cloud; they simply look for misconfigured systems that leave data exposed.

Against this backdrop, a whole new cloud model is taking hold -- serverless computing. In a world where cloud certifications and security skills are already in short supply and causing chaos in the cloud, what will serverless computing do to compound that problem for enterprises? Is it possible for organizations to avoid making the same mistakes with this new paradigm that they are making in traditional cloud environments?

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Beta and nightly builds of Firefox now protect against fingerprinting and cryptomining

Firefox logo on blue background

Mozilla has added new protective features to the nightly and beta versions of Firefox. Through a partnership with Disconnect, the browser is now able to block cryptocurrency mining and fingerprinting scripts.

The new features mean that users are protected against scripts that can be used to track them online, as well as those that use CPU cycles to mine for cryptocurrency. Mozilla says it is part of its mission to protect people from "threats and annoyances on the web".

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BullGuard adds to its product line with a VPN

BullGuard VPN

Cybersecurity company BullGuard is launching its own VPN for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, intended to make it simple for users to ensure their online privacy.

Designed to be easily used across multiple devices, BullGuard VPN features a simplified user interface and quick connect functionality, enabling consumers to fly under the radar and surf the internet in stealth mode while retaining complete anonymity via military-grade encryption.

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Understanding the LockerGoga ransomware attacks

Ransomware eye

Last month Aluminum manufacturer Norsk Hydro was hit by a large scale ransomware attack that affected its systems across the globe and caused severe disruption to its operations with an estimated impact of more than $35 million..

The attack used the LockerGoga ransomware and the threat research team at Securonix has been monitoring the malware, which also caused problems for a number of other companies.

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Credential stuffing attacks target media streaming services

PC film

The entertainment industry and in particular streaming services is among the biggest targets of credential stuffing attacks according to a new report.

The study from digital delivery platform Akamai, unveiled at the NAB Cybersecurity and Content Protection Summit in Las Vegas this week, focuses on credential abuse attacks against online video and music streaming services.

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Huawei's 'shoddy' security could mean it is banned from sensitive parts of the UK's 5G network

Huawei store

Concerns about Huawei's "very, very shoddy" security could mean that the Chinese company's technology is barred from key parts of the UK's 5G mobile network.

A UK watchdog has already said that Huawei poses a national security risk, but a statement from the technical director of GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre has stepped things up. Dr Ian Levy says that "the security in Huawei is like nothing else -- it's engineering like it's back in the year 2000 -- it's very, very shoddy".

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Emsisoft Decrypter for Planetary gets your ransomware-riddled files back for free

Hacker

Emsisoft has released a free decrypter tool for anyone who has been struck by the Planetary Ransomware, eliminating the need to pay a fee to the attackers.

Before using the tool you are advised to ensure that you have removed the malware from your computer -- something you can do with the free version of Emsisoft Anti-Malware. You also need to ensure that you don't delete the ransom note ("!!!READ_IT!!!.txt") or the decrypter won't work.

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90 percent of critical infrastructure hit by cyberattacks

Powerlines

A new survey of professionals in industries using industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) finds 90 percent of respondents say their environment has been damaged by at least one cyberattack over the past two years, with 62 percent experiencing two or more attacks.

The study commissioned by Tenable from the Ponemon Institute also finds 80 percent of respondents cite lack of visibility into the attack surface, knowing what systems are part of their IT environments, as the number one issue in their inability to prevent business-impacting cyberattacks.

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Spear phishing attack targets HR and payroll systems

Phishing

Payday should be a pleasurable time of the month, but thanks to a new spear phishing campaign, some employees are losing their pay checks to cybercriminals.

Email defense specialist Vade Secure uncovered the attack in which criminals initiate an email conversation with HR staff to get them to change bank details for receiving direct payroll payments.

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Vulnerability in Xiaomi's pre-installed apps could affect more than 150 million devices

man-in-the-middle

A vulnerability that could allow man-in-the-middle attacks and the injection of malicious code has been found in a pre-installed app on devices manufactured by Xiaomi, one of the biggest mobile vendors.

The flaw, uncovered by researchers at Check Point is -- somewhat ironically -- in the pre-installed security app, 'Guard Provider', which is meant to protect the phone from malware.

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Data of 540 million Facebook users exposed in latest privacy cock-up

Facebook logo and padlock

It is only a couple of weeks since we learned that Facebook has been storing user passwords in searchable plain text, and now there is -- yet another -- privacy scandal. This time, the private data of over half a billion Facebook users was left exposed on publicly-accessible Amazon servers.

Security firm UpGuard discovered that the private data of 540 million Facebook users was exposed in Amazon Web Services S3 buckets. Now removed, the data included identification numbers, comments, reactions and account names. In some instances, names, passwords and email addresses were also exposed.

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