Microsoft: Windows 10 will keep you safe, and this is how
The reason Microsoft has given for pushing Windows 10 so aggressively is it wants to get users to a "safe place". Very altruistic. Although there’s no excuse for forcing users to upgrade in the manner that it has.
Still, there’s no questioning that Windows 10 is Microsoft’s safest operating system to date and to help sell the security benefits, the software giant has put together a web page detailing how the OS can protect you from modern security threats.
Heading to the Super Bowl? Stay away from these apps.
Last year’s Super Bowl brought in over 114.5 million viewers worldwide, and chances are even more are gearing up to watch the big game this weekend (we’ll let you decide if it’s for the football or the commercials). While much of the focus should be on the big screen broadcasting the plays, it’s inevitable that viewers will pull their phones out of their pockets throughout the game. With 52 percent of smartphone owners reporting that they check their devices several times an hour or more frequently, and the Super Bowl typically lasts about four hours, it’s almost a given that you’ll be looking at your mobile device at some point during the game.
Social networking apps will probably take up the most time on the phone screen, as last year’s Super Bowl saw more than 28.4 million global tweets, making #SB49 the most tweeted Super Bowl ever. Facebook also boasted some impressive stats, with more than 65 million people posting about the game, including 55 million from the U.S. alone. During the final play of the game (which sealed the deal for a win for the Patriots), over 1.3 million unique people per minute were active on Super Bowl-related content.
Industry's reaction to Europe's new EU-US Privacy Shield
After months of negotiations, this week saw the European Commission (EC) announce a replacement to Safe Harbor after it was declared invalid in October 2015.
The new framework, dubbed the EU-US Privacy Shield, has been put in place to protect the rights of Europeans when their data is transferred to the United States and ensure legal certainty for businesses.
Dridex botnet hacked to deliver free antivirus software
Widely used by cyber criminals to introduce malware onto systems, the Dridex banking trojan has been subject to a number of high profile investigations, and a takedown by US authorities last year.
These things don't stay dead for long, however, and Dridex is back in business. But in an interesting new twist it seems that the Dridex botnet has been hijacked to deliver the free Avira antivirus program rather than its more usual malicious payload.
Here's how to bypass the iOS lock screen passcode
There are numerous ways to keep your smartphone safe from prying eyes, and a lock screen protected with a passcode is a popular choice. But a newly discovered vulnerability in iOS 8 and iOS 9 means that iPhones and iPads could be accessed by attackers.
The vulnerability was discovered by security analyst Benjamin Kunz Mejri and it has been assigned a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) count of 6.0, as well as a 'high' severity rating. Apple has been aware of the issue since late last year, but has yet to issue a patch.
Why the Internet of Things is a security nightmare
The good guys over at Context Information Security have cracked Motorola’s outdoor security camera just to point out how the Internet of Things is still a completely unsecure industry that needs serious work.
The camera that got cracked was the Motorola Focus 73, and not only did the researchers manage to get inside, but they also managed to obtain the home network’s Wi-Fi password, take full control of the camera’s movement and even redirect the video feed.
Brits say their smartphone data is worth £6,504
Choosing between the wallet and the smartphone, the majority of Brits would rather have their wallet stolen, a new research by the Ponemon Institute and Lookout has found.
But that’s not because of the smartphone’s quality, value or price. It’s what’s inside that counts.
The future of the NSA: fight the hackers or embrace the hackers
With its well-known habit of uncompromising surveillance, the NSA has earned itself something of a poor reputation among internet users. But while the spying side of the agency is what it is most famous for, it is actually made up of two different divisions: offensive and defensive.
Later this week the NSA is expected to announce an internal restructuring that will see the two divisions merging. This presents the agency with an interesting predicament: does it continue to work to fight the efforts of hackers, or does it adopt hacker-like techniques to help gather data? Experts says that the merger is a mistake, largely because the aim and modus operandi of the two departments are diametrically opposed.
NSA's lead hacker offers security tips
An interesting talk happened recently during the Usenix Enigma security conference in San Francisco. It was held by Rob Joyce, basically the number one hacker of the US. He is the head of NSA's Tailored Access Operations, or TAO. That's pretty much the government's hacking team, tasked with breaking and entering into the systems of its enemies. Or allies, if need be.
This man, who assumed the position of hacker-in-chief just a few months before Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the whole ordeal, spoke about a lot of things which Wired summed up in one smart sentence -- he explained how to keep people like him out of your systems.
Risk of malware infection growing in UK
UK's businesses have had a bigger chance of being attacked by a malware than those in the US or the Republic of Ireland in December 2015, a new report by security researchers suggest.
According to a report by Check Point, in December 2015, UK was the 99th most attacked country globally, surpassing the US (122nd) and the Republic of Ireland (116th).
New cloud service helps organizations meet document preservation requirements
Companies increasingly face demands to keep documents in order to satisfy legal and compliance requirements. This can present problems in deciding what to keep but also in keeping up with the latest regulations.
The latest EU/US Data Transfer negotiations for example are causing businesses to re-think their current business processes and data governance strategy in order to address these changes.
Snooper's Charter is vague and confusing
A group of MPs has criticized plans put forward in the Draft Investigatoy Powers Bill after consulting with several top technology firms, including the likes of Apple, Facebook and Google.
The Science and Technology committee has slammed the bill as being vague and confusing, issuing a 43-page report outlining its views on key issues such as encryption and data collection.
New risk management software helps companies handle sensitive data
Endpoint security and digital investigations specialist Guidance Software is launching a new solution to help organizations identify and classify confidential data.
EnForce Risk Manager allows organizations to reduce their surface area of risk, limiting the potential damage from breaches and improving their ability to comply with global data protection rules.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow update brings Adblock Plus to Samsung phones and tablets
Earlier today we learned that a new API is bringing adblocking to Samsung's own mobile web browser. Adblock Fast was the first to take advantage of the new option and now, hot on its heels, comes the big guns -- Adblock Plus.
Today Samsung is rolling out an Android 6.0 Marshmallow update and once this has been installed, Adblock Plus can also be installed. The extension brings content blocking capabilities to Samsung's own web browser, but you'll have to jump through the relevant hoops to gain the privacy and bandwidth preserving capabilities.
DDoS attacks are now more sophisticated
Kaspersky Lab has released its report into DDoS attacks for the fourth quarter of 2015, and it claims that the global reach of attacks shrunk, but the sophistication of those attacks grew.
According to the report, in the fourth quarter of 2015, resources in a total of 69 countries were attacked. In the previous quarter, that number stood at 79. Similar to the previous quarter, in the last three months of 2015 the majority of attacks (94.9 percent) took place in just ten countries, with the US, China and South Korea being the most affected of the bunch.
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