What's the most popular ransomware?
Ransomware is something like the digital version of Kanye West -- everyone hates it, but its popularity just keeps on growing. And it takes your money for things you really don’t want to buy.
The news about the rising popularity of ransomware was confirmed by security firm Kaspersky Lab, which released its quarterly report into the state of malware.
Five ways to take your passwords to the next level
World Password Day is apparently a day for “taking our passwords to the next level”, so here are five traditions the crooks and password crackers really, really don’t want us to start.
In 2007, Dinei Florencio and Cormac Herley at Microsoft Research looked into the password habits of half a million users in their large-scale study of website password habits. They found that the average user needed about 25 distinct passwords but only had about six.
LAPD hacks iPhone 5s, but how?
The iPhone 5c belonging to San Bernadino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook is not the only iPhone that the US authorities have managed to hack this year. According to a report by Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Police Department has "bypassed the security features" of an iPhone 5s.
The iPhone 5s in question was used by April Jace, the wife of The Shield actor Michael Jace, who is facing murder charges, being accused of killing his partner on May 19, 2014. And, according to court documents reviewed by the publication, on March 18 the LAPD claimed to have found a "forensic cellphone expert" who could hack the device, which is believed to hold important evidence in the trial.
Malware takes advantage of Windows' God Mode hack to slip past security
The so-called God Mode hack for Windows is rather less grand than it might first sound. Rather than granting users deity-like abilities, it simply provides one-folder access to an absolute butt-load of Control Panel options and settings. But security researchers have discovered that the technique used to create this special folder can also be exploited by malware.
McAfee says that while the Easter Egg is great for power users, it is also being used by attackers for "evil ends". By placing files within the God Mode shortcut folder, malware such as Dynamer is able to run undetected on a victim's computer.
'Weak' Craig Wright backs out of Bitcoin claim
Craig Wright, the main claiming to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto has started to backpedal on his claim. There has long been speculation about the identity of the person behind the cryptocurrency, and earlier this week Wright stepped up to the plate.
After doubts had been expressed about his claim to the Bitcoin crown Wright had promised to reveal "extraordinary evidence" as proof. But now he has had a change of heart. He's not saying -- yet -- that he's not Satoshi Nakamoto, but that he does "not have the courage" to publish the proof so many people are demanding to see.
Microsoft prevents Windows 10 Pro admins from blocking access to the Windows Store
Microsoft has castrated some of the capabilities of Windows 10 Pro admins looking to lock down the computers they manage. The company is removing the ability to block access to the Windows Store using Group Policy Editor.
The option will still be available to those running Education or Enterprise versions of Windows 10. It means that businesses who have come to rely on this option as part of their security regime will have to consider upgrading to a different version of Windows 10.
Attack researchers are top target of DDoS activity
We all know that the cyber security world is a constant war of attrition, but it seems that DDoS attackers are targeting those firms which represent a direct threat to their business model.
According to a new report from cyber security company Nexusguard, an attack research group, Loryka LLC, was the number one target in the first quarter of this year, with 90 DDoS attacks.
Hacker leaks millions of Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail usernames and passwords
A number of major webmail services have suffered one of the largest security breaches in recent years. The account details of Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and Mail.ru are just four of the services affected.
Security firm Hold Security says that it has been contacted by a hacker in possession of 272 million unique pairs of email addresses and unencrypted passwords. This is far from an insignificant number, and the situation is made all the worse as the data is being freely shared for just about anyone to access.
Messaging apps provide a false sense of security
In the last couple of weeks we have seen consumer messaging giants WhatsApp and Viber retrospectively add end-to-end encryption technology to their communications platforms. The notion of providing users with improved security is certainly to be applauded, and seeing messaging apps adopt encryption as a necessity as opposed to simply a nice-to-have feature, is long overdue.
However, the manner in which providers are increasingly introducing encryption technology within apps as an afterthought is potentially providing a false sense of security to the billions of people that use them on a daily basis.
Wearables are likely source for security breach
The Internet of Things (IoT) opens up a sea of new opportunities for revenue and growth, but it is also a security challenge, IT pros have said.
If the new Spiceworks IoT report is to be believed, 85 percent of IT professionals in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) believe IoT will create new security and privacy issues in the workplace.
Just 30 percent of UK companies experienced a security breach in 2015
Almost a half (43 percent) of UK companies did not experience a security breach in 2015, a new report suggests. Released by IT management software provider SolarWinds, it includes answers from 109 IT practitioners and managers from small, medium-sized and large UK companies.
According to them, just 30 percent suffered a breach last year. Quite surprising.
The ransomware problem just keeps getting worse and worse
If it feels as though you've heard an awful lot about ransomware recently, that's because you have. It's a problem that just seems to be getting worse, and ESG -- the security outfit behind anti-malware program SpyHunter -- has released figures that shows April was the worst month ever recorded for ransomware in the US.
The rate of infection rocketed last month, with the numbers more than doubling when compared to March. While there have been a few high-profile cases of large businesses getting hit with ransomware, increasing numbers of ordinary people are also falling victim.
Security needs monitoring to function
IT trends often come and go, some dominating the hype cycle for years, others exiting the mainstream with more of a whimper. Security is having a moment right now in which it is dominating the market in terms of press, thought leadership and excitement. But, in this case, it’s no trend, it’s reality.
As long as there have been networks, there have been concerns over security. That is true now more than ever, as networks have grown larger, more complex, and crucially, more critical to business function.
Why automation and artificial intelligence are essential to cyber defense [Q&A]
With the ever increasing complexity and volume of cyber attacks, companies are increasingly turning to automated solutions and artificial intelligence in the quest for more effective protection.
But how effective is an automated approach and will it become the norm in future? We spoke to Eran Barak, CEO of incident response specialist Hexadite to find out.
Samsung has a SmartThings security problem, according to UM and Microsoft Research
The Internet of Things, or IoT, has been both a blessing and a bain since it came into existence. Does convenience trump security concerns? That's the question each user has to ask his or herself. It's that security part that tends to make the news.
The latest to suffer a setback is Samsung SmartThings, with a new report claiming the platform has a security problem. The vulnerabilities reported are only hypothetical so far however.
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