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May 24, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Does your company use IBM Storwize? If you’re not sure what that is, then you probably don’t. It’s the company’s Big Data storage system, and when you purchase it, you get USB flash drives with initialization tools and installation files. Unfortunately, IBM has recently discovered that some of the flash drives they’ve been shipping out […]
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May 23, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Researchers from Check Point Software Technologies have identified a new strain of malware dubbed OSX/Dok that has been found infesting macOS users. The new malware has been primarily found in Europe, and is being spread primarily via phishing campaigns, using emails spoofed to appear as though they’re coming from official sources. One example recently discovered […]
May 22, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Several months ago, a nasty malware attack caused quite a stir among Google Chrome users. After a flurry of activity, it went dormant. Now, it seems to have returned, and this time, it’s targeting Firefox users. The basic form of the attack is unchanged, however. From the user’s perspective, it looks like this: You surf […]
May 20, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you’ve recently downloaded an app called SMAVova, you’re not alone. Between one and five million users have done the same. Unfortunately, that’s a problem, and to be safe, you’ll want to reset your device to factory defaults to be sure you’re rid of it. It’s actually malware, and once you download it, it will […]
May 19, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Dell has recently released the findings from their End-User Security Survey, and the results will probably keep you up late at night with worry. Their key finding was that an overwhelming percentage of employees (72 percent) are willing to share confidential or sensitive corporate information, and fully a third say that taking confidential corporate data […]
May 18, 2017 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new phone-based scam making the rounds that you need to be aware of. In this case, the scammers are spoofing the number of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General’s hotline (HHS-OIG), which is in place to allow people to call in and report suspected cases of fraud […]
May 17, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Manuel Caballero has been a busy man. If you haven’t heard of him, he’s a security researcher and blogger who made a name for himself identifying a variety of critical security flaws in the old Internet Explorer web browser. It would probably be overstating to say that he was instrumental in Internet Explorer’s eventual death, […]
May 16, 2017 by Vertical Axion
This past Friday, a new ransomware threat burst onto the scene globally in what was described as an attack “unprecedented in its scale.” Before the original version was stopped by a young, anonymous digital security expert, it had brought England’s National Health Service to its knees. It forced medical staff to resort to keeping paper […]
May 15, 2017 by Vertical Axion
IHG, The Intercontinental Hotels Group, which owns Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, has recently announced a serious data breach that impacted 1174 of its franchise locations. The company reports that their Point of Sale (POS) system was found to have been infected with malware which intercepted and copied credit card transactions between September 29 and […]
May 13, 2017 by Vertical Axion
The landscape of ransomware attacks is changing. When the malicious software first hit the internet a couple years back, it did so in a big way, primarily targeting large hospitals, insurance companies or other health-related businesses. These high-profile attacks temporarily paralyzed a number of companies, many of whom opted to simply pay the ransom to […]
May 12, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services made headlines by issuing more than a dozen hefty fines to big companies that deal with Protected Health Information for noncompliance with HIPAA regulations. That trend has continued into 2017, but with a new twist. The agency is expanding the scope and scale of their investigations. […]
May 11, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft is in the habit of releasing regular security updates and patches on the second Tuesday of each month. This month, though, in addition to the regular patch, the company’s massive user base got a second update that was rushed through development. Security researchers at Google identified a critical vulnerability in a broad range of […]
May 10, 2017 by Vertical Axion
It’s not an overstatement to say that Linksys, to a large degree, powers the web. The company makes a broad range of routers that lie at the heart of everything from small home networks to keeping small and medium sized businesses interconnected. Unfortunately, a pair of researchers from IOActive recently discovered a total of ten […]
May 9, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Hackers have once again pushed the envelope. They’ve again come up with a new way to infect target computers and get around whatever detection software is in place. The latest twist is sending encrypted Word files to your employees. These files are accompanied by an email, describing the attachment as an invoice for some service […]
May 8, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Each month, hundreds of millions of people rely on Google Maps. It has become the replacement for GPS in most of our cars. We rely on the service for everything from getting simple directions to doing research on a new location you’re scouting out, finding a new restaurant to try out for dinner, looking for […]
May 6, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft is taking some heat, thanks to a nasty exploit in Microsoft Word that is being used to install malware on the PCs of unsuspecting users. The exploit was discovered by both McAfee and security firm FireEye, and based on the joint research by both firms, it has been in use since at least January. […]
May 5, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you shop at GameStop.com, keep an eye on the credit card you used for signs of suspicious activity. According to security researcher Brian Krebs, sources inside the financial industry are reporting that the company’s website was breached between September 2016 and February 2017. GameStop itself has confirmed that they’ve hired a third party to […]
May 4, 2017 by Vertical Axion
The city of Dallas, Texas is under siege by hackers. Not long ago, an unknown hacker took control of several of the city’s signal lights. Even more recently, another hacker commandeered all 156 of the city’s emergency sirens and activated them simultaneously for nearly two hours. Residents were startled all over town and frightened into […]
May 3, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you use torrent software to download advance copies of movies or your favorite TV shows, your machine could be part of a large and sprawling botnet called Sathurbot. The hackers behind the botnet upload infected torrent files that contain a small executable described as being a video codec you need in order to play […]
May 2, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you’re a small business owner, you may feel completely overwhelmed by the digital security threats you face, and you’re not alone. A recent survey indicated that more than 70% of all cyber-attacks are made against companies with fewer than a hundred employees. Unfortunately, those companies don’t have the deep pockets of the large multinationals, […]
May 1, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you’re in the market for new hardware, PC or smartphone, now is the time to buy. All indications are that prices are going to be rising in the next year. There are a few different factors in play here. This year is slated to be a big year for new smartphone releases, putting increased […]
April 29, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you participate in blog conversations, then you’ve probably heard of Disqus. It’s the largest and most well-known blog commenting software on the web today, used by a variety of news media sites and blogs of all shapes and sizes. Its user base numbers are in the hundreds of millions. Unfortunately, since literally anyone can […]
April 28, 2017 by Vertical Axion
What’s old is new again. In the days before the internet, scammers frequently weaponized the telephone, but now, that’s considered old school. While telephone scams still exist, they’re not nearly as common as they once were. Recently, however, a new scam has been making the rounds that has even gotten the attention of the FCC. […]
April 27, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft hasn’t been making many friends, thanks to its rather invasive data collection policies. In fact, the sheer amount of data the company collects on you via Windows 10 is nothing short of alarming, and it has even caught the attention of government agencies. Several European countries have filed formal complaints about the types and […]
