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July 20, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Researchers from the digital security firm ESET have recently spotted a new malware campaign with a nasty twist. It was created using a legitimate security certificate stolen from D-Link. The malware appears to be the work of an Advanced Persistent Threat group known as BlackTech, which primarily targets high profile users and firms in Asia, […]
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July 19, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Apple recently released an updated version of iOS, 11.4.1. They did so quietly, and without much fanfare, but the update includes one very powerful and exciting security update that’s deserving of special attention. Specifically, the new version of iOS introduces what the company is calling “Restricted Mode.” It was created to protect iPhones against USB […]
July 18, 2018 by Vertical Axion
There’s a lot to like about the contents of Adobe’s most recent “Patch Tuesday” update. It’s well worth downloading and installing, even if you normally take a pass on all but the most critical updates. Included in this release are security patches for 112 vulnerabilities across four different products, including: Flash Player Acrobat and […]
July 17, 2018 by Vertical Axion
It’s no secret that there are legions of scammers and spammers haunting the virtual halls of Facebook. As the world’s largest and most influential social networking site, it’s a natural target, making its masses of users natural targets, too. Facebook is taking steps to counter the threat posed by these nefarious actors, after being somewhat […]
July 16, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Internet security researcher Vinny Trola recently made a huge and disturbing discovery. A marketing firm called Exactis had left a massive database unsecured, allowing anyone who stumbled across it to access it. As a marketing firm, Exactis collects simply mind-boggling amounts of data on consumers all over the globe. The database in question was a […]
July 14, 2018 by Vertical Axion
While a significant percentage of Americans are suspicious of government spending beyond the essentials, there’s at least one notable exception, according to a recent survey conducted by SecurityFirst. A majority (74 percent) of Americans want their local governments to spend more money on cybersecurity. Here are a few of the highlights from the survey: […]
July 13, 2018 by Vertical Axion
File this one away under “watch your permissions.” It’s recently come to light that an unknown number of third party apps have access to read emails sitting in your Gmail account. While the practice is not new, things like this are coming under increased scrutiny in the wake of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica incident. Here are […]
July 12, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Another week, another high-profile data breach. This time, Adidas and their online store was the target. The company became aware of the incident on June 26th, and immediately began notifying “certain customers” that their data had been compromised. The official statement from the company reads in part, as follows: “Adidas is working with leading […]
July 11, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Facebook recently announced a site bug that impacted the privacy settings of more than 800,000 of its users. If you’re one of the unfortunate souls who has been affected, then people you had formerly blocked may have become unblocked, and can now see your posts. For many people, that’s not a huge deal. In some […]
July 10, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and New York University in Abu Dhabi have discovered serious security flaws in 4G LTE networks that allow hackers to spy on, listen in on, intercept, and disrupt phone calls and text messages. Given that billions of people rely on 4G LTE networks for cellphone communications, it’s a serious issue, and […]
July 4, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Menlo Security has recently published a new report that will probably dismay you if you’re a business owner. Microsoft Office has been named as the attack vector of choice for hackers around the world. The most common form of the attack is a malicious Word document or other office document attached to an innocent looking […]
July 3, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Researchers at Okta Security have stumbled across something big. Recently, they discovered a flaw in Apple’s OS that would have allowed hackers to completely undermine Apple’s code signing process. While at first glance that doesn’t sound so bad, the implications are terrifying. In a nutshell, code signing uses cryptographic “signatures” to verify and validate code. […]
July 2, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Do you use Cortana? It’s a handy virtual assistant (like Siri) built into Windows 10. Unfortunately, as useful as she is, there’s a problem. Even if you don’t use Cortana yourself, take heed: Microsoft has recently issued a security update based on findings by McAfee researchers. It turns out that Cortana can be “summoned” from […]
June 30, 2018 by Vertical Axion
File this one away under “confirming things we already knew.” A recent study conducted jointly by Blink and Trusona confirmed that people just don’t like passwords very much. Their study tracked the login behavior of 148 participants over a three-week period. Without knowing the true purpose of the study, participants were asked to log into […]
June 29, 2018 by Vertical Axion
What’s old is new again. Hackers have recently begun re-deploying a decade-old trick called ‘ZeroFont’ to get around Microsoft’s security filters and deliver phishing and spam emails to Office 365 email accounts. The gimmick? Zero-point fonts. As anyone with even passing familiarity to Office 365 knows, if you’re drafting a document, you can change the […]
June 28, 2018 by Vertical Axion
How many web apps do you have on your phone? Probably a ton. Here’s something you likely didn’t know. Based on the latest research from Positive Technologies, nearly half of them (48 percent) are vulnerable to unauthorized access. As bad as that is, it’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Here are some […]
June 27, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Malicious code can wind up on your PC or phone by any number of roads. Companies do their best to guard the digital passes, but invariably, things get missed and the hackers find a way in. It’s a constant battle, and sadly, one that the good guys are losing. Recently Google has stepped up its […]
June 26, 2018 by Vertical Axion
More bad news for Intel. Yet another security flaw has been identified in the processors the company makes. This one is so newly discovered that the full technical details have yet to be released. Here’s what we know so far, from a recent Intel announcement: “System software may opt to utilize Lazy FP state restore […]
June 25, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Being “number 1” isn’t always a good thing. Rapid7 has just published their third annual “National Exposure Index,” and unfortunately, the United States has the dubious honor of being the nation most at risk for a cyber attack on its core services. The group’s methodology for ranking national exposure comes down to tracking the number […]
June 22, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Facebook is in hot water again. Recently, the company admitted that while testing a new feature on the site, they inadvertently made public the posts of more than fourteen million users. The incident occurred between May 18th and May 22nd and occurred when Facebook was testing a new “Featured Posts” enhancement. The goal was that […]
June 21, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Another week, another new threat. This time, in the form of a new strain of malware that researchers are calling InvisiMole. The new threat was discovered by researchers at ESET, who found it on a number of hacked computers in Russia and the Ukraine. While the researchers have yet to trace the software back to […]
June 19, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Cyber-criminals around the world are increasingly focusing their attention on job seekers. According to the security firm Flashpoint, there has been a notable uptick in ploys involving phony job listings that attempt to get job seekers to give up personal information. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the fact that this is only now becoming a […]
June 18, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Another week, another high-profile data breach, but this one can be filed under “Missed Opportunity.” The site in question is “TicketFly,” which is a web-based event ticket sales website owned by a company called Eventbrite. The TicketFly website was down since May 31st, and the normal homepage had been replaced by an image of Guy […]
June 13, 2018 by Vertical Axion
It seems like a new attack vector emerges on a weekly basis, and this week is no exception. The latest threat: Emails containing specialized audio files whose acoustic vibrations can damage your computer’s hard drive. This is possibly damaging to the point of causing system failure, data corruption, and making it impossible to successfully reboot […]
