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August 19, 2017 by Vertical Axion
“Sometimes the wheel turns slowly, but it turns.” That quote, made famous by Lorne Michaels, certainly applies in the case of the government’s involvement in securing internet-connected devices. By now, almost everyone has at least one “smart” device in their home or driveway. Projections are that there will be more internet-connected devices than computers and […]
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August 18, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Smart device manufacturers are learning a lesson that most internet-based service companies know very well. At least half of the consumer market is willing to trade their personal information, and trade it cheaply, according to a recent study conducted by Parks Associates titled, “The Value of Data – New Smart Home Business Models.” The key […]
August 17, 2017 by Vertical Axion
The British Government has had enough. The past several years have seen a large and growing number of high-profile data breaches with every year breaking the last year’s records in total number of attacks and total number of compromised records. Even so, a shockingly low number of companies seem to have gotten the memo that […]
August 16, 2017 by Vertical Axion
The IRS is being proactive. With tax season fast approaching, they’re warning filers to beware of email scams designed by hackers to steal your information. In fact, they’re ramping up a 10-week “Don’t Take The Bait” campaign to heighten awareness of what is fast becoming an extremely sophisticated scam. It works like this: You get […]
August 15, 2017 by Vertical Axion
It’s not often that you read the words “Disney” and “trouble,” in the same sentence, but the company’s reputation is taking a big hit, thanks to a class-action lawsuit recently filed in California. The claim is that a number of Disney’s apps, many that target kids under the age of 13, are being married to […]
August 14, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Recently, employees and contractors working for Virgin America Airline (now owned by Alaskan Airlines) received notification from the company that hackers may have gained access to their login and other personal data. The company’s cybersecurity team discovered the intrusion attempt on March 13 and immediately put their response plan into action, informing law enforcement and […]
August 12, 2017 by Vertical Axion
A few low-end Android phones have been found to be infected with the Triada Trojan, according to the Russian Cybersecurity firm, Dr. Web, which discovered a variant of the malware lurking inside the Android OS Zygote core process. In this instance, the likeliest point of insertion was via a third-party vendor, somewhere in the phone […]
August 11, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Despite getting off to a somewhat rocky start, USB Type-C cables have been a boon to computer users everywhere by providing bidirectional transfer capabilities, which essentially gives Type-C cables two “lanes” to work with. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group recently announced that things are about to get even better and faster when they released the […]
August 10, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Several tech giants have plans in the works to expand the number of people who have access to broadband. Google’s plan would use a series of low-orbit satellites to beam wireless signal all over the globe. Facebook has plans on the drawing board that involve gliders. Microsoft’s plan is a bit different, involving the “white […]
August 9, 2017 by Vertical Axion
The third-party Chrome extension Copyfish recently got hacked. As a result, the hackers were able to inject malicious JavaScript code into the code base and use it to display ads on all the pages users who had the extension installed viewed. It took Copyfish’s developers a full day to realize they had been breached, and […]
August 8, 2017 by Vertical Axion
One of the most dangerous forms of banking malware, dubbed “Svpeng,” has recently gotten an upgrade that makes it even more troubling, this, according to researchers at Kaspersky Labs. The upgrade adds a new keylogging feature that allows the malicious software to track and log each keystroke, sending it back to the hackers at whatever […]
August 7, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Smart devices are coming under increasing scrutiny. Why, you ask? Very few of them have any security at all, and the ones that do tend to have only the most rudimentary security protocols in place, which presents almost no challenge to even a novice hacker. As such, they’re the perfect attack vehicle. You’ve probably heard […]
August 5, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Patrick Wardle is a name you may not be familiar with, but if you’re a Mac user, it’s a name you need to know. He’s an ex-NSA hacker chief and is now the chief security researcher for Synack, and over the past few months, he’s been hot on the trail of an incredibly elusive bit […]
August 4, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Rumors of Microsoft Paint’s death have been wildly exaggerated. Recently, Microsoft announced the end of an era with the decision to remove paint from Windows 10, replacing it with the more modern Paint 3D. Then, something unexpected happened. The cumbersome, barely functional art program received such a strong outpouring of support that Microsoft reversed its […]
August 3, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Trouble continues to brew where the IoT (Internet of Things) is concerned. Recently, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is a division of the FBI, has issued a warning to parents about the potential dangers that “smart” toys pose. The warning comes on the heels of a number of reports to the IC3 about […]
August 2, 2017 by Vertical Axion
File this report away under “how not to respond to a data breach.” Yes, it has happened again, and this time, to the financial giant, Dow Jones & Company. The UpGuard Cyber Risk Team discovered a cloud-based file repository controlled by the company that had been misconfigured, allowing semi-public access to it. The repository was […]
August 1, 2017 by Vertical Axion
It’s finally happening, and we now have a firm timeframe. Adobe just announced that as of 2020, they will no longer be supporting their beleaguered Flash player. Once wildly popular and used by webmasters all over the world to provide interactive content on websites, over the past decade, Flash Player has been plagued by serious […]
July 31, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Are you a fan of wrestling? Have you signed up to the WWE’s website or any of their newsletters? If so, at least some of your information may have been stolen. Here’s what we know: A security researcher from Kromtech (owned by Forbes) name Bob Dyachenko discovered a WWE database on one of Amazon’s web […]
July 29, 2017 by Vertical Axion
It just may be the ultimate hack: stealing passwords from your brainwaves. It’s something that has moved beyond the realm of science fiction and into the realm of possibility, according to a joint research study conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of California, Riverside. The research team tested […]
July 28, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you used the travel site Saber for booking hotels between August of 2016 and March of 2017, be advised that your data was likely stolen by hackers, including your credit card number, your name as it appears on the card and the card’s expiration date. Saber is one of the web’s leading travel and […]
July 27, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Researchers from McAfee’s mobile division have discovered a strain of ransomware called “LeakerLocker” on two apps that slipped through Google’s various checks and made their way onto the Google Play Store. The apps in question were “Booster and Cleaner Pro,” which was billed as an app designed to boost memory on your smartphone, and “Wallpapers […]
July 26, 2017 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new piece of malware to worry about called “Neutrino,” and it represents an especially troubling development. It’s a fork of an older, well-developed banking Trojan called “Zeus,” and its designers have gone to great lengths to make sure that it remains undetected for as long as possible so it has more time to […]
July 25, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you thought we’d seen the last of the Wannacry ransomware, think again. Recently, a new threat has been discovered that targets Linux users. It should be noted up front that “SambaCry” is not a variant strain of the aforementioned ransomware, but rather, a security flaw in Linux that mirrors the one Wannacry used to […]
July 24, 2017 by Vertical Axion
A new bug has been discovered that impacts both Android and iOS devices. If you use a smartphone that contains Broadcom Wi-Fi chips, and you probably do, the newly discovered exploit allows an attacker to execute malicious code on your device remotely with no input or action required by you. The bug was discovered by […]
