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January 6, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you have never heard the term “steganography,” you’re not alone. It’s the art and science of hiding code inside image data. When used by hackers, it is one of the most difficult attack vectors to detect, because honestly, few people consider images to be more than window dressing for the web. That is, in […]
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January 5, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Do you use any sort of Thunderbolt device on your Mac? If you do, and you haven’t been keeping your OS up to date, you’ll definitely want the latest security patch. Recently, a security researcher named Ulf Fisk found a devastating security flaw that allows a corrupted Thunderbolt device to gain complete access to your […]
January 4, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Google is about to change the game where the Internet of Things (IoT) is concerned. Recently, the company announced the release of Android Things, an operating system specifically designed for internet objects. One of the main limitations internet objects have is memory and computing power, so the new OS is designed to operate with an […]
January 3, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Yet more critical security flaws have been found in Adobe’s poor, beleaguered Flash Player. The company continues to fight gamely to keep pace, patching issues as quickly as they are found, but there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight. The most recent bug, tracked as CVE-2016-7890, would have allowed hackers to take control […]
January 2, 2017 by Vertical Axion
This is a world record, although the honor of holding it is a dubious one. Yahoo recently announced that it was the victim of the largest data breach of all time, in which more than one billion user accounts were impacted. Yes, you read that correctly. That’s billion, with a “B.” The breach occurred in […]
December 31, 2016 by Vertical Axion
If you haven’t heard of a Trojan called Tordow, you probably will soon. Security researchers have been aware of it since February of this year, but recently, researchers from Comodo Security have unearthed a new, devastating upgrade to the malicious software. It’s one of a small, but growing collection of Trojans that can “root” an […]
December 30, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft made a mistake, and it could complicate your life. If you’ve got your computer set up to receive automatic updates, you may have suddenly found yourself unable to connect to the internet after the December 9th update, labeled “KB3201845.” That’s because changes in the code made it impossible for the OS to accept an […]
December 29, 2016 by Vertical Axion
If you use a Mac, and you have a Skype account, you could be at risk. A previously undiscovered backdoor was recently found by researchers at SpiderLabs that would allow any moderately skilled hacker to take control of the app and use it to gain access to a variety of information, including: • Any contact […]
December 28, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Do you use Instagram as part of your company’s marketing efforts, or to keep tabs on the competition? If so, the company has rolled out an exciting new feature you’re sure to love: the ability to save user posts for later viewing. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. The new feature grew out […]
December 27, 2016 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new phishing email making the rounds that your firm needs to be aware of if you deal with protected health information (PHI) in any way and are subject to HIPAA rules and regulations. The email is quite good, appearing for all intents and purposes to be an official communication from the Department of […]
December 26, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Cybercrime is growing up. Increasingly, on the Dark Web, customers can find a wide variety of hacking activities offered as a “service.” There is everything from DDOS attacks launched by massive ‘botnets to carefully orchestrated phishing campaigns to ransomware attacks. If you’ve got the cash, the hackers have the services. They’re also getting increasingly savvy […]
December 24, 2016 by Vertical Axion
If you use Sony cameras to secure your business, you could be at risk. Security researchers have recently discovered a pair of devastating security flaws in as many as 80 different models of Sony cameras. The first of these appears to be a debug mode that was inadvertently left in place by Sony engineers. The […]
December 23, 2016 by Vertical Axion
It’s official – Bluetooth 5 is out, and that means good things for the Internet of Things. The new version brings lots of changes and improvements, but there are two that are particularly noteworthy. The first of these is the matter of range. It has quadrupled, so you no longer have to worry about the […]
December 22, 2016 by Vertical Axion
There’s an unfortunate new ransomware variant making the rounds on the internet. As with all other forms of the software, once it infects your system, it locks all the files on your computer, then gives you instructions on how to unlock them. This, of course, involves sending a payment in BitCoins to the hackers in […]
December 21, 2016 by Vertical Axion
A recently fired Expedia IT Specialist used his position to access the emails of company executives and make more than $300,000 in an insider trading stock scheme, according to investigators. While the facts of the case are both interesting and alarming, the real story, and lesson to all business owners, is the danger that your […]
December 20, 2016 by Vertical Axion
The FCC is mulling over some new rules that could add a wrinkle to any travel plans you might be making. The new rule would require that airlines inform customers up front, before a ticket purchase is made, if they allow Wi-Fi phone calls onboard the plane. It has been a longstanding policy not to […]
December 19, 2016 by Vertical Axion
If you own a Mac AirPort Wireless Router, then it will probably be your last one. The company has recently pulled the plug on further development of their router line, and will stop the manufacture and sale of them going forward. This is hardly bad news, nor a sign that the company is any sort […]
December 17, 2016 by Vertical Axion
If you’re looking to buy an SSD to replace your older, slower, spinning disk bulk storage, now is the time to buy. In recent months, the price of SSD technology has been falling, which has caused more widespread adoption, especially in laptops. This has created an imbalance and resulted in shortages. Laptop manufacturers are struggling […]
December 16, 2016 by Vertical Axion
It’s official. The almost complete lack of security in the Internet of Things can kill you. Researchers operating out of the University of Birmingham working in cooperation with fellow researchers in Belgium have recently published the results of an intensive study which revealed critical vulnerabilities in ten different “smart” medical devices so far, all of […]
December 15, 2016 by Vertical Axion
It’s a running joke in my industry – I ask a new business owner or employee of a company for their contact information and try not to let them see me cringe when they give me an email address ending in yahoo.com. You don’t want to tell them it’s a mistake. You just met them. […]
Chrome 55 has officially been released, and with its roll-out, the aging, security-ridden Flash Player takes another step closer to the dust bin of history. The internet unquestionably benefited greatly from Flash back in the early days. It was a transformative technology that allowed websites to display graphics more effectively, and gave WebMasters the ability […]
December 14, 2016 by Vertical Axion
If you haven’t heard of AirDroid, you should check into it, because it’s an amazing app. You may want to wait a couple of weeks before actually installing it, however, because security firm Zimperium has found a number of critical vulnerabilities in the app that puts anyone who uses it at risk. Created by Sand […]
December 13, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Do you use DailyMotion to help get the word out about your company’s brand? It’s a wildly popular video sharing site, and unfortunately, it’s the latest victim in a long list of high-profile hacks in 2016. LeakedSource, a company that tracks hacks and data breaches across the web, recently acquired more than 80 million DailyMotion […]
December 12, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Internet Security Researcher and Programmer Samy Kamkar has some seriously bad news for you and your company. He recently released a devastating proof of concept attack that can target pretty much every device on the web today and take a high degree of control over them. Even worse, he designed his proof of concept using […]
