Items tagged with security
Android, like any operating system, is vulnerable to exploits. And every year about this time, we see a flurry of openings crop up as Black Hat approaches. Typically, these hacks are discovered by researchers who are looking to make the software universe safer. And now, Bluebox Security is doing precisely that. The...
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Ubisoft announced that it was hacked, and some user account information including usernames, passwords (even encrypted ones), and email addresses were compromised. “We recently found that one of our Web sites was exploited to gain unauthorized access to some of our online systems,” wrote the company in a...
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If you have ever wanted to see through walls, but couldn't afford the expensive equipment to do so, then some MIT researchers deserve your attention. They've devised a system called "Wi-Vi", which is designed similarly to sonar where a signal is blasted out and bounced back. An image is then created based on what it...
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While mobile use worldwide is growing at an accelerated rate, so too is the increase of malware. But accepting that idea is one thing; seeing it in numbers is another. According to Juniper Networks, the number of individual pieces of mobile malware increased 614% between March 2012 and March 2013. 614%! That figure is nothing short of staggering,...
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Scandinavian browser maker Opera Software was the recent victim of a hacker attack in which the infiltrators made off with at least one old and expired Opera code signing certificate. The attackers were then able to use the certificate to sign some malware and distribute malicious software under the pretense that it's...
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In a perfect online world, we'd all sing, "A surfing we will go, a surfing we will go, heigh-ho the derry-o, a surfing we will go," and off we'd go without fear of malware or malicious links or any of the other cruft that litters the web. Unfortunately, reality is far removed from most nursery rhymes, and the web is a...
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Privacy couldn't be much hotter of a topic at the moment, so it's appropriate to learn now about "black boxes" that could become not only the norm in our cars, but a requirement. Apparently, many newer cars already feature these boxes, called Event Data Recorders (EDRs), but few consumers who own these vehicles know about them. Currently,...
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Oh Facebook - couldn't this have come at a better time? Mere weeks after news of NSA's PRISM project being leaked, which is said to involve tight integration with the likes of Facebook and other popular Web entities, we learn of a bug that caused six million user's worth of phone numbers and email addresses being...
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As we discussed last month, Mozilla postponed the introduction of automatic third-party cookie blocking in its Firefox Web browser, citing the obvious: it was too hasty in its decision. Well, that hastiness appears to have worn off, as now, the company has plans to rollout the do not track change to Firefox in the...
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Do you use Java? If so, be aware that Oracle just released its "June 2013 Critical Update for Java SE," a collection of code that provides 40 new security fixes. All but three of them are security holes that can be exploited from a remote location without any kind of authentication. Four of the vulnerabilities affect client and server deployments,...
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In an effort to offer Internet users some transparency and to deflect negative attention from recent revelations that big companies have been sharing user data with the government via the National Security Agency's (NSA) PRISM program, Google is seeking permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to...
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In the wake of the Washington Post leaks, there's been a great deal of discussion over how, exactly, companies like Google share data with the government. The original report implied that the NSA has direct datacenter access and either grabs the information directly from Google or was copying and analyzing...
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Imagine whipping out your Android phone and getting past the lock screen by making a funny face rather than connecting a series of dots with your finger. Facial recognition is the key to making that happen, and it appears Google is on it, as evidenced by the fact that it filed a patent for detecting facial gestures when determining whether...
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Be careful what you click on, Facebook users. According to security outfit Trend Micro, variants of the info-stealing Zeus malware are "reemerging with a vengeance" and targeting Facebook users with increased tenacity in recent months. A surge of activity was noted in the beginning of February, but instead of leveling off, it continues to...
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You probably never thought that simply charging your mobile device would make you susceptible to malware, but apparently these types of hardware hacks could be the next big thing among cyber criminals. To prove it, a trio of security researchers built a proof-of-concept charger that they claim is capable of silently...
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Security is a hot topic these days, and with breaches happening left and right, we certainly get it. For consumers, things can usually boil down to implementing two-factor authentication. But what about enterprises? Zoho has just launched Zoho Vault, an online password manager for businesses far and wide. Zoho Vault establishes a central repository...
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Google security researchers learn about exploits and zero-day vulnerabilities in third-party software all the time, and for years the company has immediately notified the affected vendors about the issues, worked with them closely to fix the problems, and both notified the public within 60 days of discovering the vulnerabilities and also encouraged...
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Twitter has had more than its share of security breaches on its accounts of late, from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times to CBS to Burger King and Jeep, and now the social platform is addressing security by rolling out login authentication. In a blog post, Twitter’s product security team said, “We...
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Cha-ching! That's the sound of approval, and also the sound of impending purchases of even more Apple products. The Pentagon this week cleared Apple devices for use on its highly secured networks -- a move that follows similar approvals given to BlackBerry 10 and the latest Android-based Samsung products. The Defense...
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As we reported back in February, Mozilla had plans to introduce cookie-blocking by default in version 22 of its Firefox Web browser. Well, it seems that the company has realized that it might have been a bit hasty in wanting to implement the change so quickly, so now, it's decided to hold off as it needs more time to analyze the outcome of...
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Mobile device security is without a doubt a glaring area of weakness for both enterprises and the average Joe, and various security measures are being developed to address it. The latest effort on that front involves a partnership between mobile chipmaker Qualcomm and security firm Kaspersky Labs. According to the Inquirer, Kaspersky security...
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Being the most commonly used browser in the universe has its positives, but there's also a downside: when an exploit is found, it needs to be patched in a hurry. Otherwise, a huge, huge amount of people sit at risk, and your brand could suffer. Microsoft is no stranger to issuing patches, and Internet Explorer has certainly seen its fair share...
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