DDoS attacks reduce in frequency but grow in volume
According to the latest quarterly threat report from network security specialist Black Lotus the frequency of DDoS attacks fell by 44 percent in the last quarter of 2014.
However, the average packet volume of attacks increased 340 percent to 4.36 million packets per second (Mpps), and the average bit volume swelled 245 percent to 12.1 gigabits per second (Gbps) over the same period.
Mobile app behavior presents hidden BYOD risks for enterprises
Allowing employees to use their own devices for work offers lots of benefits for businesses, but there are risks involved too.
A new report from software company Flexera and research specialist IDC says that enterprises are not doing enough to understand which mobile app behaviors hitting their networks and data are risky, nor are they testing apps for those risky behaviors to ensure proper enforcement of BYOD policies.
New malware makes credit card transactions a scary PoSeidon adventure
As more and more transactions are carried out electronically, point of sale systems become an ever more tempting target for cyber criminals. Security researchers at networking company Cisco have identified a new strain of PoS malware that seeks to extract credit card data from memory and send it to remote servers.
Named PoSeidon it has a more sophisticated design than other PoS malware and has some resemblance to ZeuS. It's written to evade detection, can communicate directly with C&C servers, self-update to execute new code and has self-protection mechanisms to guard against reverse engineering.
Give me all your money -- yet more ransomware found in the wild
The online community has been living under the threat of ransomware for sometime now -- it feels like dwelling near Mordor. While many of you reading this are likely too savvy to fall for these tricks, there are people who do, which is why scammers stay in business. Now a new threat arises to go after people's hard earned money.
Security firm Doctor Web reports that a mass of spam emails have recently been detected. This latest threat comes in the guise of "Incoming fax report". The so-called report contains a ZIP file which disguises an SCR, or Windows executable file. It's been tagged as Trojan.DownLoader11.32458.
LightEater malware attack places millions of unpatched BIOSes at risk
Two minutes is all it takes to completely destroy a computer. In a presentation entitled "How many million BIOSes would you like to infect?" at security conference CanSecWest, security researchers Corey Kallenberg and Xeno Kovah revealed that even an unskilled person could use an implant called LightEater to infect a vulnerable system in mere moments.
The attack could be used to render a computer unusable, but it could also be used to steal passwords and intercept encrypted data. The problem affects motherboards from companies including Gigabyte, Acer, MSI, HP and Asus. It is exacerbated by manufactures reusing codes across multiple UEFI BIOSes and places home users, businesses and governments at risk.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware gets new look, simplified workflow
Malwarebytes has shipped Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 2.1.4, a significant update for its popular malware hunter.
The interface has been revamped for a cleaner look with a "toned-down" color scheme. The changes aren't too drastic -- you’ll find your way around easily enough -- and on balance the UI worked well for us.
Anti-censorship site Greatfire.org suffers massive DDoS attack
GreatFire.org, the website with the aim of delivering uncensored news to China, has been hit by a massive DDoS attack. The attack started on March 17 but the anti-censorship site has only just gone public about it and made a call for help.
The organization believes that the attack -- which it calls "censorship by brute force" -- could be a response to an article in the Wall Street Journal. With a peak of 2.6 billion page requests per hour, servers were simply unable to cope with the traffic, knocking GreatFire.org's mirror sites offline.
Opera acquires VPN firm SurfEasy to boost browsing security
Opera Software, the company behind the web browser of much the same name, has acquired SurfEasy, a provider of VPN security. SurfEasy's software bolsters the security of internet users by adding a layer of encryption that helps to protect privacy.
More than this, the software also makes it possible to bypass some online restrictions and to access sites that are region locked. Few details have been revealed yet, but it's possible we could see VPN features integrated into future versions of the desktop and mobile Opera browser.
Giving pirates free Windows 10 is a goddamn good idea
Meet the new Microsoft. Maybe the company really charts a new course under CEO Satya Nadella's leadership. Colleague Mark Wilson reports that even software pirates can upgrade free to Windows 10. Seriously? Reward the thieves who rob revenue from the platform's cradle? Hand robbers sacred possessions at the door? Give them the house keys and ask them to lock up after they take the tellie, silver, and jewelry?
Outstanding! I really am not being sarcastic, just pretending to be. The strategy is simply brilliant and too long coming, assuming nothing changes before Windows 10's summer release or Microsoft clarifies licensing rules to mean something different. Without even stressing a single synapse I can conjure up more good reasons for the upgrade plan than the fingers on my hands. But I'll keep the list a bit shorter for this post.
Electronic payments coming to Facebook Messenger
Facebook is introducing support for sending and receiving money through Messenger. Starting in the US in the next few months, users of the social network will be able to make electronic payments free of charge. While this is not a service that will rival the likes of Apple Pay or PayPal, it provides a way to quickly send money to a friend.
This is not a payment system that has been completely built from the ground up. It's based on the same backbone that's used to process payments for gamers and advertisers. Security is understandably of paramount importance, and Facebook stresses that as well as encryption and PIN protection for all, iOS users will also be able to take advantage of Touch ID.
Windows Hello and Microsoft Passport to revolutionize security and the Internet
Typing a password is prehistoric. Sadly, many of us enter multiple passwords every day. Not only is it tedious, but potentially dangerous. Remembering a unique password for every site and computer is almost an impossibility. This leads to people reusing the same password at multiple sites, which is a poor security practice.
I got wise recently and started using Lastpass to generate and secure my various credentials. Fingerprint scanners such as those found on some of the newer iOS and Samsung Galaxy devices enable biometrics to unlock your device, but also interface with password managers like the aforementioned Lastpass, or 1password. Sadly, similar solutions for Windows computers have been bolted-on and are clunky to say the least. Today, Microsoft announces that it is putting a real focus on biometrics with Windows Hello and Passport.
Predictive communication helps optimize online sales
Modern businesses spend a lot of money on customer service and on e-Commerce solutions, but often it seems that there's a disconnect between the two.
California-based company Altocloud has come up with a solution that combines machine-learning technology with real-time communications to predict the right time to interact with customers.
Yahoo introduces On-demand passwords and demoes end-to-end-encryption
The idea of forgetting the password for your email account might seem odd, but it happens. You might be one of those people who signed up for a Yahoo email address years ago, moved on to something better, and now only check in every few months to see if you've missed anything.
To combat the problem of forgotten passwords, Yahoo is introducing a new feature called On-demand passwords. There's no need to battle through the process of answering security questions to reset your password when you forget it; now you can create a temporary password that gets sent to your phone.
How to neutralize 2015's most dangerous security threats
Recent speeches by UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, and US President Barack Obama demonstrate that cyber security is still a huge concern for national governments. We should be in no doubt that another raft of counter-measures is being considered at national and international levels.
However, those in charge of IT security in the business community are not necessarily taking their cue from world leaders to re-evaluate their own policies and ensure they are still offering protection from the kind of cyber attacks that are likely to occur in 2015.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver still serving up malware
Three weeks ago we reported on how celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s website was serving up malware. The site, www.jamieoliver.com, has around 10 million visitors a month, so the fact it had been hacked to redirect people to an exploit kit was a big deal.
Naturally, Jamie Oliver’s management team acted swiftly to fix things, except according to Malwarebytes, which discovered the original problem, the site is now dishing up digitally signed malware.
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