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February 23, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Hackers are picky about their victims. They’ll target just about any group or organization, including the 2018 Olympics. Cisco’s Talos Group recently identified a new strain of malware they’ve dubbed “Olympic Destroyer” which is wreaking havoc in Pyeong Chang’s computer networks and causing downtime to internal WiFi and television systems. This has impacted the games’ […]
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February 21, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Do you own a smart TV? More than half of all television sales in the US last year were smart TVs, so chances are decent that you own one. If you do, be aware that it may be collecting far more data about you than you think. Recall that last year, Samsung, (one of the […]
February 19, 2018 by Vertical Axion
On February 2, Tavis Ormandy, a researcher on Google’s Project Zero team discovered a critical flaw in the popular online grammar checking app, “Grammarly.” Tens of millions of users make regular use of the app to improve the quality of their writing. The bug allowed a hacker to steal a Grammarly user’s authentication token and […]
February 17, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Menlo Security just released their third annual “State of the Web” report and it’s not pretty. The headline finding is that 42% of the top 100,000 sites as ranked by Alexa are more dangerous than you think. The report defines a risky site as one that meets one of three criteria: The site, or […]
February 15, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Sophos has released the results of their annual “State of Endpoint Security Today”, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture. A full 54% of companies surveyed reported having been hit by a ransomware attack in 2017. Another 31% reported that they expect to be on the receiving end of such an attack in the near […]
February 13, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Security researchers from around the web are reporting finding an increasing number of instances of proof of concept (PoC) code that incorporates the recently discovered Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities. If you somehow missed those earlier reports, Spectre and Meltdown are a pair of critical security flaws recently discovered in literally every Intel chip set made […]
February 12, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Oracle is currently the third-largest provider of POS (Point of Sale) software on the market today, which means that there’s a fairly good chance you’re using an Oracle POS system. If you are, there’s trouble ahead. A recently discovered security flaw could put your system at risk. Oracle has already identified and patched the security […]
February 10, 2018 by Vertical Axion
If ever there were two phrases that didn’t seem to go together, they would probably be “Fitness trackers” and “National Security Risk.” The very idea that a simple fitness tracker could pose such a risk seems laughable on the surface, but this is no laughing matter. Recently, a popular fitness tracking app called “Strava” published […]
February 9, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Google recently released their Play Store stats for 2017. The results are both encouraging and disheartening. Overall, Google caught and removed more than 700,000 malicious apps from the Play Store, minimizing their impact on the company’s massive Android user base. That’s unquestionably good news, but it comes with a bit of a dark side. That […]
February 7, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Another day, another high-profile ransomware attack. This time, the victim was Allscripts, an EHR (Electronic Health Record) company that hospitals, pharmacies, and ambulatory centers around the country rely on. The company’s data was thought to be safe on the cloud, but that proved not to be the case. Disruptions of services were felt by Allscripts […]
February 6, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Recently a critical flaw was found inside every Intel chip made during the last decade. The flaw makes two different exploits possible. These exploits have been dubbed “Meltdown” and “Spectre.” The flaws are incredibly severe, and make it possible for a hacker to gain complete, unfettered access to the targeted PC or laptop. Although no […]
February 5, 2018 by Vertical Axion
All companies collect data on their customers, but some are better than others when it comes to being upfront about what kinds of data are collected. Over the past year, Microsoft has made many moves that have been well-received by their enormous user base. They’ve become increasingly transparent and offer an unprecedented level of control […]
February 3, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Do you play Blizzard online computer games such as World of Warcraft, Diablo III, Hearthstone, Starcraft II, or Overwatch? If so, there’s a potential problem you need to be aware of. Tavis Ormandy, a researcher on Google’s Project Zero team, recently discovered that the Blizzard Update Agent is vulnerable to hacking, via a technique known […]
February 2, 2018 by Vertical Axion
By now, we’ve seen enough large-scale Point of Sale (POS) credit card thefts that patterns are beginning to emerge. Some companies follow the general arc of the narrative better than others, and deserve credit for doing so, but in the end, the story is about the same. That’s certainly the case with Jason’s Deli. Recently, […]
February 1, 2018 by Vertical Axion
It’s official, the first macOS malware of 2018 is here. Discovered by an independent security researcher and dubbed “OSX/MaMi,” the code is functionally similar to DNSChanger malware. The researcher posted his findings on the Malwarebytes forum and none other than Patrick Wardle (an ex-NSA hacker) analyzed it, having this to say: “OSX/MaMi isn’t particularly advanced […]
January 31, 2018 by Vertical Axion
The ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Report 2017 is out, and is a troubling read for anyone who has anything to do with data security. As a fraud prevention company protecting nearly a billion and a half users around the world, they’re uniquely positioned to know, and their insights on the threat landscape is invaluable. Their main finding […]
January 30, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Intel’s year isn’t getting off to a very good start. Just after the discovery of a pair of critical vulnerabilities that have been in their chipsets for more than a decade comes the discovery of yet another serious flaw that could impact millions of laptops around the world. A Finnish data security firm called “F-Secure” […]
January 27, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Do you use any of the following Chrome browser extensions? Change HTTP Request Header Nyoogle – (a custom logo for Google) Stickies – (a Post-It note for Chrome) Lite Bookmarks If so, you’re not alone. These four extensions have a combined user base of more than half a million. Recently, security researchers from ICEBRG (a […]
January 26, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Does your company utilize either RackSwitch or BladeCenter networking switches? Are those switches running ENOS (the Enterprise Network Operating System)? If so, there’s a backdoor in your network you weren’t aware of. Even worse, it’s been there since 2004. Engineers at Lenovo recently discovered the backdoor in the firmware when they conducted an internal security […]
January 25, 2018 by Vertical Axion
A duo of researchers stumbled across a series of vulnerabilities in literally hundreds of GPS services that leave sensitive GPS tracking data open to hackers. Dubbed “Trackmageddon” by the researchers, the vulnerabilities span a range of weaknesses that include default or easy-to-guess passwords, IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference) issues, insecure API endpoints, and data collection […]
January 24, 2018 by Vertical Axion
There’s a constant tug of war playing out on the national stage. On one side, privacy advocates are pushing for greater autonomy for end users, and hard limits to the types of searches that law enforcement agencies are allowed to conduct. On the other side are the government agencies themselves, which often cite national security […]
January 23, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Remember the KRACK WiFi (WPA2) vulnerability, discovered by Mathy Vanhoef? It turns out that his discovery was a catalyst for action. Recently, the WiFi Alliance, which is the industry’s standards organization, released details about its new WPA3 protocol. Here’s a quick rundown of the changes you can expect to see in the months […]
January 18, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Have you been hearing strange, otherworldly sounds on your Bose or Sonos speakers? If so, rest assured that your speakers aren’t haunted. They’ve likely been hijacked by hackers. Researchers at Trend Micro have confirmed that some models (the Sonos Play:1, the Sonos One and the Bose SoundTouch) of both brands of speakers are vulnerable to […]
January 17, 2018 by Vertical Axion
Another week, another attack vector, and this one deserves extra points for creativity. New research has proved the viability of using something as simple and innocuous as sound waves to disrupt the normal functioning of HDDs, which can be used to sabotage a wide range of equipment from Pcs, to CCTV systems, ATMs and more. […]
