Malware detection in 2014 doubles from 2013 -- 2015 could be even worse
A report from PandaLabs suggests that there were twice as many malware infections in 2014 compared to 2013 -- and China was the hardest hit. Globally, Europe was found to be the area with the lowest rate of infection, and Sweden topped the chart as the safest country. The UK found itself in fourth place with an infection rate of 22.14 percent.
There were certainly plenty of big name security issues throughout 2014. CryptoLocker was just one high-profile example of ransomware, and Trojans continue to be the most common form of infection, accounting for 70 percent of new malware. Viruses tend to be the most commonly known and feared form of infection, but these make up just 12.33 percent of new infections, and a mere 2.7 percent overall.
Mobile users face risks on multiple fronts
A new report from security company FireEye, based on analysis of over seven million mobile apps during 2014, reveals that mobile users are being targeted from a number of directions.
Risks on the Android platform include malicious apps that steal information once installed, legitimate apps written insecurely by developers, legitimate apps using insecure but aggressive ad libraries, malware and aggressive adware that passes Google Play checks and is assumed to be safe, identity theft, and premium rate phone and SMS fraud.
Forget that cloak Harry Potter, AVG announces invisibility glasses
Let's be clear right off the bat, you won't be slipping these glasses on and disappearing from the people around you, though there are times you may want to. However the name of the new product from AVG lends itself to these comparisons, though the actual glasses are a bit different from what the imagination conjures up.
So what does this product from AVG Innovation Labs actually do? The security firm claims it can protect your identity in this new era of cameras everywhere. It's not as tin-foil hat as it sounds -- we've seen malware that can activate cameras on phones and computers, security cameras in public abound and we'd be hard-pressed to leap to any conclusion that says the NSA and others aren't also doing this.
Thousands of online accounts fall victim to Chinese censorship
Censoring of the web in China is nothing new. Services like Gmail often find they are blocked, and there are constant battles on both sides of the Great Firewall of China to get information in and out of the country. The most recent battleground has been online usernames, and new regulations have come into force that dictate what is acceptable, and what is not.
China has long tried to force internet users to use their real names online and just before the new regulations took effect, more than 60,000 online accounts were deleted because they failed to comply. The Cyberspace Administration of China said that big names including Alibaba and Baidu had removed the accounts which infringed the guidelines for various reasons.
Microsoft welcomes weak Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights
Late on Friday, the White House released a draft proposal for the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2015. It is supposed to grant greater privacy rights to individuals, and sets out a framework in which codes of conduct can be constructed.
The bill comes in response to growing concerns about the amount of data companies store about their customers and users, particularly online. Government surveillance has brought privacy into the public eye, and this is the government's attempt to be seen righting wrongs.
Facebook lets you choose a custom gender, now it's time to drop real names
Facebook found itself under fire last year for imposing a real name policy. Drag artists, the LGBT community, musicians and other groups were among those who felt they should be able to use a name other than the one that appears on their birth certificate. The social network ultimately backed down, but the whole debacle left something of a bad taste in the mouth.
People are able to use "the authentic name they use in real life" to identify themselves on the site, and Facebook has opened up gender options further. There's no need to feel limited by the male or female labels, or even make a selection from a readymade list -- you can now specify whatever gender you want. But is this enough?
Twitter triples troll-tackling team
Like many social platforms, Twitter is often used by trolls to launch abusive attacks on people. It's something that Twitter has tried to tackle before, but now the company is stepping up its game. Having already made it easier to report abusive tweets, the same tools are being rolled out to simplify the reporting of content relating to impersonation, self-harm and doxing.
Dick Costolo had already promised that Twitter was ready to get tough on harassment, and now we know what he meant. The size of the team handling reports about abuse has been tripled, and this means that five times as many reported tweets are to be investigated.
The top four places your data is at risk
We all worry about protecting our information, but how do we know which activities or locations are most likely to put it in jeopardy?
Digital rights management company Seclore has produced an infographic showing the four places where your data is most at risk. Unsurprisingly perhaps some of these are areas where you have the least control.
Emailage fights fraud with email address scoring
Email is the most common form of digital ID, used to login to websites, complete transactions and more besides. This means that over time each email address develops its own unique reputation and digital life based on its past behavior and actions online.
Phoenix-based startup company Emailage has used this to develop a risk scoring system for email addresses which will help companies to reduce the risk of fraudulent transactions. Emailage has successfully flagged over 2 million transactions as risky in the past year alone, amounting to $150 million it's saved customers. The company has now received $3.8 million in venture capital funding to further develop its product.
Do you know where Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev is? You could be $3 million richer
Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev is a Russian hacker who could make you rich in a couple of different ways. He is the gentleman who is thought to be the architect behind the Zeus botnet as well as the infamous CryptoLocker scam that holds data hostage for a ransom. Those are two of the largest problems facing today's computer users and each still persists while Bogachev remains elusive.
He has twice been indicted in US courts, once in Nebraska and, more recently, in Pennsylvania. The array of charges is quite long, including conspiracy, money laundering, computer fraud, identity theft and more. These indictments mean little as long as he remains on the run.
Yet more aggressive Android adware found on Google Play
Google Play is supposed to be the safe place to download Android apps from, but that’s increasingly not the case. Three weeks ago security firm Avast detailed how it had found three popular Android apps riddled with Adware in Google’s store.
Today Bitdefender reports that it has found ten Google Play apps that are packed with aggressive adware that can do all sorts of nasty things.
Lack of employee context hinders protection efforts
Even with significant security solution spend, program maturity and external third-party certification efforts, organizations continue to struggle to adapt and protect themselves from attackers employing new and innovative approaches that take advantage of the very systems put in place to thwart them.
Today’s attackers are very sophisticated, well-funded and patient. They act more like detectives and scientists as they follow a systematic approach to understand their targets’ environments, their nuances and day-to-day operations even better than you do. They know that security point solutions have an important role to play in protecting your environment but that they also have their limitations. Attackers test these to understand exactly when an organization reacts and when it does not. But it doesn’t end there.
Google aims to secure enterprise BYOD with Android for Work
Android has successfully secured its place as the most used mobile operating system. With this in mind it should come as little surprise that more and more people are bringing Android devices into the workplace -- and for IT departments this can be something of a security nightmare. Today Google announces Android for Work with the aim of grabbing the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) market and making Android more secure and manageable in the workplace.
What does this mean? Work profiles are being introduced to keep business apps and data separate from each other, so employees can use a single device to manage their personal work life. For both employer and employee this brings a number of advantages.
Microsoft Malware Protection Center helps take down Ramnit botnet
Ramnit, a botnet that infected millions of computers around the world, has been tamed, thanks in part to Microsoft Malware Protection Center. The takedown operation was a collaboration between Microsoft, Europol, Symantec and others, and it successfully stopped the malware which worked by disabling virus protection before stealing banking details and personal information from infected machines.
With an estimated 3.2 million computers infected globally, Ramnit has been used by cybercriminals the world over, but the majority of infections were found in Britain. The botnet was brought under control by shutting down several servers used by the group responsible for Ramnit.
Data classification is the key to protecting information
Although organizations are increasingly concerned about data protection many of them don’t have the appropriate tools in place to secure their information.
According to a new report from data loss prevention specialists Boldon James compiled by Bloor Research, although over half of organizations see data security as a major concern 47 percent say they don't have a data classification tool.
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