Jan 14, 2023Ravie LakshmananPrivacy / Online Safety Popular short-form video hosting service TikTok has been fined €5 million (about $5.4 million) by the French data protection watchdog for breaking cookie consent rules, making it the latest platform to face similar penalties after Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft since 2020. “Users of ‘tiktok[.]com’ could not refuse
Month: January 2023
Cyber-threat actors are becoming increasingly efficient in the way they target key industries, operating like businesses, according to a new report by Darktrace. The study, which analyzed attack data relating to the energy, healthcare and retail sectors in 2022, showed that threat actors are tailoring their tactics to specific industries, based on efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
by Paul Ducklin As far as we can tell, there are a whopping 2874 items in this month’s Patch Tuesday update list from Microsoft, based on the CSV download we just grabbed from Redmond’s Security Update Guide web page. (The website itself says 2283, but the CSV export contained 2875 lines, where the first line
It’s been a particularly busy and colourful week, scam-wise in our household. Between 4 family members, we’ve received almost 20 texts or emails that we’ve identified as scams. And the range was vast: from poorly written emails offering ‘must have’ shopping deals to terse text messages reprimanding us for overdue tolls plus the classic ‘Dear
A new law portends a future where (we hope) it will be easier for us all to repair, fix, upgrade, and just tinker with things we already own Want to secure, patch, upgrade, or modify tech you own? You may not be able to, if some manufacturers have anything to say about it. They view
Jan 12, 2023Ravie LakshmananActive Directory / Malware A recent IcedID malware attack enabled the threat actor to compromise the Active Directory domain of an unnamed target less than 24 hours after gaining initial access. “Throughout the attack, the attacker followed a routine of recon commands, credential theft, lateral movement by abusing Windows protocols, and executing
The US Supreme Court gave the green light on Monday for WhatsApp to pursue a lawsuit against NSO Group, the Israeli surveillance company, for installing the Pegasus spyware on roughly 1400 devices where WhatsApp was also installed. More specifically, the court has ruled that WhatsApp is allowed to sue for damages ensued by the malicious installation
by Paul Ducklin JWT is short for JSON Web Token, where JSON itself is short for JavaScript Object Notation. JSON is a modernish way of representing structured data; its format is a bit like XML, and can often be used instead, but without all the opening-and-closing angle brackets to get in the way of legibility.
Are you an online oversharer? Do you give your full birthday to all your online shopping accounts? Have a few companies you have accounts with been breached but you didn’t take any action at the time? If you have bad digital habits, now is an excellent time to reset your digital presence. In isolation, these
Learning meets fun at the 2022 SANS Holiday Hack Challenge – strap yourself in for a crackerjack ride at the North Pole as I foil Grinchum’s foul plan and recover the five golden rings This is my first year participating in the SANS Holiday Hack Challenge and it was a blast. Through a series of
Jan 10, 2023Ravie LakshmananAdvanced Persistent Threat The advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as StrongPity has targeted Android users with a trojanized version of the Telegram app through a fake website that impersonates a video chat service called Shagle. “A copycat website, mimicking the Shagle service, is used to distribute StrongPity’s mobile backdoor app,” ESET
The South African threat actors known as “Automated Libra” have been improving their techniques to exploit cloud platform resources for cryptocurrency mining. According to Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, the threat actors have used a new Captcha-solving system alongside a more aggressive use of CPU resources for mining and the mix of “freejacking” with the
by Paul Ducklin If you’re a programmer, whether you code for a hobby or professionally, you’ll know that creating a new version of your project – an official “release” version that you yourself, or your friends, or your customers, will actually install and use – is always a bit of a white-knuckle ride. After all,
As technology weaves itself into our lives in new and unexpected ways, some of it will get quite personal and close to home. That made itself clear at CES this year, which makes a strong case for your security. The more things we connect, the more data we create. Data about ourselves that companies and
Do you use any of these extremely popular – and eminently hackable – passwords? If so, we have a New Year’s resolution for you. Security experts have been predicting the death of the password for well over a decade. But it’s still the main way we log-in to our online accounts and mobile applications. Why?
Jan 09, 2023Ravie LakshmananKubernetes / Cryptojacking The threat actors behind the Kinsing cryptojacking operation have been spotted exploiting misconfigured and exposed PostgreSQL servers to obtain initial access to Kubernetes environments. A second initial access vector technique entails the use of vulnerable images, Sunders Bruskin, security researcher at Microsoft Defender for Cloud, said in a report
Meta’s instant messaging subsidiary WhatsApp has officially introduced proxy support, reportedly to tackle internet disruption tactics used by repressive governments. The company made the announcement in a blog post on Thursday, saying the new feature is designed to put the power into people’s hands to maintain access to WhatsApp if their connection is blocked or
by Paul Ducklin There’s been a bit of a kerfuffle in the technology media over the past few days about whether the venerable public-key cryptosystem known as RSA might soon be crackable. RSA, as you probably know, is short for Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, the three cryptographers who devised what turned into an astonishingly useful and long-lived encryption
Authored by Vonny Gamot The official 40th birthday of the internet serves as a timely reminder that while it is a fantastic place, we must practice good digital hygiene to safeguard our privacy and identity so we can protect ourselves from the latest threats. Since its widely recognized creation on January 1st 1983, the internet
Why schools, hospitals, local governments and other public sector organizations are in a sweet spot for ransomware attacks Why are schools, hospitals and local governments firmly in the crosshairs of cybercriminals and why do public-sector entities fall into a sweet spot for ransomware attacks? What are the latest trends on the ransomware scene? A report
Jan 06, 2023Ravie LakshmananCryptocurrency / GitHub A South Africa-based threat actor known as Automated Libra has been observed employing CAPTCHA bypass techniques to create GitHub accounts in a programmatic fashion as part of a freejacking campaign dubbed PURPLEURCHIN. The group “primarily targets cloud platforms offering limited-time trials of cloud resources in order to perform their
Threat actors have exploited Fortinet Virtual Private Network (VPN) devices to try and infect a Canadian-based college and a global investment firm with ransomware. The findings come from eSentire’s Threat Response Unit (TRU), which reportedly stopped the attacks and shared information about them with Infosecurity ahead of publication. eSentire said the threat actors tried to
by Paul Ducklin LAST STRAW FOR LASTPASS? IS CRYPTO DOOMED? Click-and-drag on the soundwaves below to skip to any point. You can also listen directly on Soundcloud. With Doug Aamoth and Paul Ducklin Intro and outro music by Edith Mudge. You can listen to us on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and anywhere
It has a way of sneaking up on you. Credit theft and fraud. Maybe it’s happened to you. Maybe it’s happened to a friend or family member. There’s a call from the bank, a notification in your financial app, or a charge on the statement that’s beyond explanation. Someone else has tapped into your funds.
Are your virtual doctor visits private and secure? Here’s what to know about, and how to prepare for, connecting with a doctor from the comfort of your home. Telehealth services were one of the tech success stories of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just as cloud-based services helped suddenly locked-down workers to stay productive, telemedicine consultations ensured
Jan 05, 2023Ravie LakshmananCyber Attack / Malware A financially motivated threat actor tracked as Blind Eagle has resurfaced with a refined toolset and an elaborate infection chain as part of its attacks targeting organizations in Colombia and Ecuador. Check Point’s latest research offers new insights into the Spanish-speaking group’s tactics and techniques, including the use
A previously unknown strain of Linux malware is targeting WordPress based websites, according to research by cybersecurity firm Dr.Web. Dubbed Linux.BackDoor.WordPressExploit.1, the Trojan targets 32-bit versions of Linux but can also run on 64-bit versions. Its main function is to hack websites based on a WordPress content management system (CMS) and inject a malicious JavaScript
by Naked Security writer It looks like the sort of meeting room you might find in startups all over the world: diffuse lighting from windows down one wall, alongside a giant poster cityscape of New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, with the Manhattan skyline towering behind it. The difference in this case is that that the computer
Pledging to follow healthier habits is consistently the most popular new year’s resolution. That January 1st promise looks different to everyone: snacking less often, going to the gym more often, drinking more water, drinking less soda, etc. This year, instead of a juice cleanse subscription, opt for a healthier habit that’s not an unappetizing shade
With many children spending a little too much time playing video games, learn to spot the signs things may be spinning out of control Across Europe, half of the population aged 6-64 plays video games, according to industry body ISFE. The number rises significantly for 6-10-year-olds (68%), and those aged 11-14 (79%) and 15-24 (72%).