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August 3, 2019 by Vertical Axion
When it works, Android’s app permissions are awesome. They’re straightforward and easy to understand. When you install a new app on your phone, you’ll get a popup box that gives you a summary of what permissions the app says it needs. Then, you have the option to either accept or deny it that permission. Sometimes, […]
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August 2, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Yet another new ransomware family has been found in the wild, discovered independently by researchers at two separate security firms, Anomail and Intezer. The new strain has been dubbed “QNPCrypt” by Intezer and eCh0raix” by Anomail and is written in the Go programming language. When it encrypts files, it chances the file extension to “.encrypt” […]
August 1, 2019 by Vertical Axion
McAfee researchers have discovered a new version of the 16Shop phishing kit in use by hackers around the world. According to the latest research, there are now more than 200 URLs currently being used by hackers to collect login information from Amazon customers. The methodology the hackers are using is simple. The hackers craft an […]
July 31, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Recently, Kaspersky Labs has identified a new strain of malware to be concerned about, and it is spreading across the internet. Called FinSpy, it specifically targets WhatsApp on both Android and iOS devices. An analysis of the code reveals that the spyware was created by a German company called Gamma Group, and that it is […]
July 29, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Apple is in the news again, but not for anything good. Jonathan Leitschuh, a security researcher, recently unearthed a serious security flaw that allowed a hacker to activate a Mac computer’s webcam without alerting the computer’s owner. The problem is a program called Zoom. The Zoom software installs a web server on the owner’s computer, […]
July 27, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Security researchers at Check Point have discovered a disturbing new strain of Android malware that’s as ingenious as it is disturbing. It is effective because it is designed to replace a rapidly expanding number of apps with poisoned copies. The app copies still retain their core functionality, making the malware notoriously difficult to detect. After […]
July 26, 2019 by Vertical Axion
An UpGuard research team recently discovered several unsecured Amazon S3 buckets belonging to the Israeli IT Services firm Attunity. The company left the buckets unsecured, exposing more than a terabyte of sensitive information belong to a number of prominent companies including Ford, TD Bank and Netflix. To provide a sense of scale, Attunity has more […]
July 25, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Orvibo is a Chinese manufacturer of smart home solutions. These are devices that allow owners to manage connected smart appliances in their home, remotely control lighting, security, HVAC and home entertainment devices, as well as monitor energy usage. Data from those operations are hosted on the company’s Smart Home cloud platform. Orvibo sells their products […]
July 24, 2019 by Vertical Axion
The US government took another important step toward protecting the nation’s vulnerable electrical infrastructure with the passage of the SEIA bill in the Senate. The bill would mandate the use of analog or manual technologies on US power grids as a fallback in the event of a cyber-attack against the grid. That kind of attack […]
July 23, 2019 by Vertical Axion
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to patients and healthcare providers that certain Medtronic MiniMed some insulin pumps carry cybersecurity risks. The alert reads, in part, as follows: “The FDA has become aware than an unauthorized person (someone other than a patient, patient caregiver, or health care provider) could potentially […]
July 20, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Recently, Trend Micro published some statistics that just about everyone should find disturbing. According to their latest statistics, the security company has blocked more than five million cyber-attacks against IP cameras, just in the past five months. Worse, IP cameras don’t tend to have great security in place to begin with, making it relatively easy […]
July 18, 2019 by Vertical Axion
If you spend any time at all on social media, you’ve probably seen the latest craze: People posting photos of themselves aged, so they look like they’re in their sixties, seventies, or even older than that. FaceApp, the program behind the face-aging magic has actually been available for a few years, but it has only recently […]
July 17, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Are you a Firefox user? If so, you’ll want to update to version 67.0.4 as soon as possible. Just last week, Mozilla released Firefox 67.0.3 to address a critical remote code execution vulnerability that was being used in the wild to selectively target vulnerable systems. Unfortunately, that proved to be just the tip of the […]
July 16, 2019 by Vertical Axion
How many apps do you have on your phone?If you’re like most people, you’ve likely got dozens or more. Considering how much storage is available on mobile devices these days, people tend to install apps and when they no longer want them, they don’t bother to uninstall them. Whatever your number is, the statistics recently […]
July 15, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Not even NASA is immune to hacking. Recently, the American space agency announced that they traced a breach back to April of 2018. That was when a group described as an APT (Advanced, Persistent Threat) breached the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s network via a ‘Raspberry-Pi’ device that was improperly connected to the network. The hackers made […]
July 13, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Did you get your Google Nest Security Camera system used or second hand? If you did, be sure your cameras are running the latest firmware. Recently, the tech review site Wirecutter reported that some older Nest cams allowed their former owners to access camera feeds, even after the devices had been reset to factory settings. […]
July 12, 2019 by Vertical Axion
The city of Riviera Beach, Florida is the latest high-profile victim of a ransomware attack. Recently, the city council voted to pay more than $600,000 to a hacking group to regain access to data that had been locked and encrypted via ransomware nearly a month ago. That is in addition to the $941,000 the city […]
July 10, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Be advised, according to a recently published Microsoft support document, certain Bluetooth devices may experience pairing and connectivity issues after installing the latest Windows 10 update. The bulletin reads in part, as follows: “These security updates address a security vulnerability by intentionally preventing connections from Windows to unsecure Bluetooth devices. Any device using well-known keys […]
July 9, 2019 by Vertical Axion
The hacker who calls himself ‘Gnosticplayers’ has been busy and prolific. Over the years, he’s sold more than one billion user accounts on the Dark Web. His most recent product is more than ten million user records for the social planning and e-invitations service, Evite. ZDNet researchers first discovered the data for sale on the […]
July 6, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Do you use Evernote Web Clipper for the Chrome web browser? If so, be advised that the developer recently reported that a critical flaw in the extension could allow hackers to access user information from third party online services. Online security company Guardio discovered the flaw and had this to say: “Due to Evernote’s widespread […]
July 5, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Researchers have recently discovered a pair of critical vulnerabilities in Alaris Gateway Workstations. These bring us closer to the tragic day when a hacker will actually be able to kill someone with code. Alaris workstations are used to deliver fluid medications. Given the severity of the flaws, a determined hacker could take full control over […]
July 3, 2019 by Vertical Axion
The recent hack of the American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) is having ripple effects around the world. Recently it was reported that as a direct consequence of that hack, Quest Diagnostics (one of the largest diagnostic testing laboratory services in the United States) was breached. This resulted in the exposure of millions of patient records. […]
July 2, 2019 by Vertical Axion
Hackers are always on the lookout for new ways to freshen up time-tested techniques. Where time-tested techniques are concerned, few are older than the humble phishing email. In one form or another, it seeks to trick an unsuspecting user to innocently hand over sensitive information, like usernames and passwords that the hacker can then use […]
July 1, 2019 by Vertical Axion
If you’re not familiar with the term, ‘Steganography’ is the term used to describe the act of hiding code in images and video. It’s a creative strategy that allows hackers to slip past even the most robust defenses. Recently, researchers at Kaspersky have discovered evidence of a novel approach to using steganographic techniques. They were […]
