How seasonal tech gifts could be risking your data
In the run up to the holiday season many of us will be buying internet connected devices. But new research from Intel Security shows that technology bargains and gifts could be putting consumers' data at risk.
The survey among UK consumers shows smartphones and tablets come top of many seasonal shopping lists, with 42 percent planning to upgrade gadgets to the latest models. Yet 60 percent say they have no plans to ensure security software is installed.
Obama is not going to pardon Edward Snowden -- and Trump certainly won't
Edward Snowden. A liberal darling, and simultaneously a figure of hate. His surveillance leaks are now legendary, and while the NSA whistle-blower hides away in Russia, there are calls for President Obama to issue a pardon before President Trump becomes a reality.
But Obama is having none of it. In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, the out-going president was asked bluntly about pardoning the former NSA contractor. His response was: "I can't pardon somebody who hasn't gone before a court and presented themselves". Obama, of course, could pardon Snowden if he wanted, regardless of whether he has faced trial, but he's not going to say that.
How secure are online retailers?
With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holiday season on the horizon, many people are going to be shopping online. But how much do you trust the sites you’re dealing with?
Password management company LastPass has released a report looking at each site's password requirements, how much information they store, and how much effort they put into helping customers follow good password security practices.
UPDATE: Scale of Three customer data breach massively downsized, but identity theft remains a risk
Late yesterday, Three admitted to a breach of its customer databases which potentially put 6 million people at risk. Today the company has spoken out, indicating that far fewer customers were affected than first thought.
In fact, data from just over 130,000 accounts was accessed, with varying levels of access meaning different customer information was exposed. Three says the primary goal of the database breach was to intercept handsets rather than for other purposes, and it stresses that no financial information was stolen.
Almost half of businesses have suffered a ransomware attack in the last year
A new survey of over 500 businesses in the US, UK, France and Germany shows that in the last 12 months, 48 percent have fallen victim to a ransomware campaign, with 81 percent having suffered three or more attacks.
The study from endpoint security company SentinelOne reveals employee information (42 percent), financial data (41 percent) and customer information (40 percent) are the types of data most often affected by these attacks.
Millions of mobile users at risk after Three customer database breach
Hackers have gained access to a database containing the personal details of up to six million customers of mobile carrier Three. A report in the Telegraph cites 'sources familiar with the incident', but while Three has confirmed a security breach took place, the company is yet to provide precise details.
What we do know is that the incident took place when hackers used employee login credentials to access the customer upgrade database. It is thought that the hackers gained accessed to customer names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth, but financial details were not exposed.
Privacy alert -- Your iPhone is secretly sending your call history to iCloud
iCloud is hardly the finest example of secure cloud storage, as numerous hacked celebrities will attest. So it is perhaps a little concerning to learn that Apple is -- according to a Russian security firm -- storing months of call logs to iCloud without many users being aware of what’s going on.
Elcomsoft, which specializes in cracking software, discovered that if you are an iPhone owner with an active iCloud account, four months' worth of your phone calls have been stored online. Many people will see this as a privacy concern but, worryingly, Apple does not provide a way to disable call log syncing.
Almost 40 percent of Americans would give up sex for cyber security
According to an online survey of over 2,000 adults, 39 percent of Americans would sacrifice sex for one year if it meant they never had to worry about being hacked, having their identity stolen, or their accounts breached.
Women are more likely than men to be willing sacrifice a year of sex in exchange for online peace of mind (44 percent vs 34 percent), and sex isn't the only thing people would give up to remove cybersecurity headaches. Four in 10 (41 percent) would rather give up their favorite food for a month than go through the password reset process for all their online accounts.
Betternet is a simple, free and 'unlimited' VPN
Connecting to a virtual private network can shield your IP, maintain your privacy on insecure wireless hotspots and perhaps help you access websites you couldn’t reach normally.
VPN’s usually require paying a chunky subscription fee, but Betternet promises an unlimited service for absolutely nothing at all.
CEOs not deemed responsible for cyber-security -- but they should be
Chief executive officers in the UK are still far from being considered responsible for keeping their organizations safe from cyberattacks, according to a new report by NCC Group. The report, which the risk mitigation and cybersecurity company just released, is based on a poll of 200 UK board of directors, where they were questioned on cybersecurity. Just 13 percent say the managing director was responsible for cyber risks in their company.
Also, just nine percent named the financial director. The biggest burden is still on the shoulders of CTOs and CIOs -- 52 percent. "Boards continue to pass the cyber buck by delegating accountability to technical leads likes CIOs and CTOs. Cyber security is the responsibility of the CEO and the main board as it is the most significant issue facing businesses today", comments Rob Cotton, CEO at NCC Group.
Cyber crime affects 40 percent of manufacturing companies
In an increasingly interconnected world, all organizations are at risk from cyber attacks and manufacturing businesses are no exception.
A new study conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) reveals that 40 percent of manufacturing companies were affected by cyber incidents in the past 12 months, and 38 percent of those impacted suffered damages in excess of $1 million.
Protect your privacy with SafeErase Professional 11
O&O Software has released the latest version of its commercial secure-deleting privacy protector, SafeErase Professional 11.
The interface has been revamped for ease of use, while the core engine is even faster at wiping every trace of your confidential files.
What you need to know about federated identity
As we conduct more and more of our work and personal lives using information technology, we have to sign in to lots of different systems. That can mean many different sets of credentials which can be hard to manage.
Federated identity is a way of streamlining this by linking an electronic identity and attributes across several identity management systems. This is related to single sign-on (SSO), which involves sharing authentication between systems -- such as signing onto other websites using your social network ID -- but federated identity goes much deeper.
Comodo launches new certificate management platform
Digital certificates are an essential part of online security and as the number of Internet of things devices continues to grow they'll become more important still. But as we rely more on certificates so managing them becomes more complex.
Cyber security solutions company Comodo, the world's leading certificate authority, is launching the latest release of its Comodo Certificate Manager (CCM), a full-lifecycle digital certificate management platform which makes it easier for enterprises to manage their certificates.
New security solution protects Office 365 customers
More and more companies are moving their office applications to the cloud and Microsoft Office 365 is one of the most popular options with around 85 million subscribers.
One of the major concerns with this trend is keeping information secure, to address this IT management solutions provider Kaseya is launching its latest AuthAnvil. An identity and access management solution, this provides single sign on (SSO), multifactor authentication (MFA) and automated user provisioning for Office 365.
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