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July 22, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Researchers at the security firm Check Point have uncovered a new strain of malware they’re calling CopyCat that has taken the internet by storm, infecting millions of Android devices in South and Southeast Asia, for now. This malware could easily break out into other parts of the world. Best estimates are that some 14 million […]
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July 20, 2017 by Vertical Axion
The total number of ransomware attacks has seen a massive spike, with nearly 50 percent more attacks against PCs occurring this year than last year. In the same time period, ransomware attacks against mobile devices fell marginally from 137,000 by this point last year to 130,000 this year. However, those numbers are tiny compared to […]
July 18, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you’re one of the millions of Skype users around the world, check to see what version you’re using. If you haven’t upgraded to the latest build, you’re at risk. Recently, a new vulnerability came to light that allows hackers to take advantage of a security flaw in the software’s clipboard function that could spell […]
July 17, 2017 by Vertical Axion
A new survey released by Guidance Software reveals some disturbing trends about the state of cyber security. The survey asked 330 IT and digital security professionals questions about cyber-attacks and their impact on the organizations they serve. The biggest news was in how many organizations reported that they’d been the victims of a malware attack […]
July 15, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft recently announced a new change coming to Windows Defender in the fall called “Controlled Folder Access.” As the company describes the feature, it should enable Windows Defender to prevent files in specified folders from being modified (including encryption) by untrusted applications, which means that the new security measure would provide powerful defense against ransomware-style […]
July 14, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Qualcomm has recently announced the release of their next-generation fingerprint biometric technology for mobile devices, and on its face, it seems to be a significant improvement. The problem that the current generation of fingerprint scanning technology suffers from is that hackers have been able to find a variety of clever, shockingly simple and devastatingly effective […]
July 12, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Anyone who works in IT or has any interest in data security at all can tell you that the number of hacking attacks is on the rise. Worse than that, though, is the fact that the hackers themselves are getting increasingly organized, and that organization is allowing them to share code and develop entirely new […]
July 8, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If there’s one thing that’s true about the world’s hackers, it is that they are tireless and relentless when it comes to finding new and increasingly inventive ways to infiltrate a user’s system, collect data, and cause mayhem in general. The latest trend to be on the lookout for is phishing attacks aimed at mobile […]
July 7, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Since the 2016 election, there have been lots of hard questions asked about the sanctity of US elections, with mounting conjectural evidence that there was an active attempt by nation-state actors to influence the outcome of the most recent US Presidential election. Because of that, the security of US citizen voter data has been at […]
July 6, 2017 by Vertical Axion
A South Korean web hosting company called NAYANA has been the victim of what appears to be one of the largest, if not the largest ransomware attacks in the history of the internet. According to the digital security firm Trend Micro, the ransomware used in the attack is called Erebus, and successfully infected all of […]
July 5, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you’ve never heard of a banking Trojan called Dyre, then consider yourself lucky. When Russian officials stormed the headquarters of the company that created it, it was heralded as one of the biggest takedowns in recent hacking history. It ended the rapid ascent of one of the fastest growing NextGen banking Trojans in recent […]
July 4, 2017 by Vertical Axion
The Girl Scouts are perhaps best known for their awesome cookies, but like their brother organization, the Boy Scouts, the girls in uniform do a lot more than just that. For the past 105 years, both organizations have been issuing merit badges for camping, survival skills and a wide range of outdoor activities. Recently, though, […]
July 1, 2017 by Vertical Axion
After the global Wannacry attack and Microsoft’s emergency patch to close the loopholes that made it possible, you might have been lulled into thinking that a similar attack was no longer possible. Sadly, you would be incorrect in thinking this. As you read these words, a similar, and in some ways worse, form of ransomware […]
June 30, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Have you shopped at a clothing store called Buckle? If you were a patron of any of their 450+ stores during the period spanning from October 28, 2016 to April 14, 2017, then your credit card information has likely been compromised. According to a company spokesman, the data most likely at risk is as follows: […]
June 29, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Google has a rock-solid reputation and an almost uncanny ability to ward off hacking efforts, but even they aren’t infallible. Even they can be hacked, as a recent incident involving Google News has demonstrated. In the early morning hours of June 12, the news service was temporarily overrun, and all the leading news stories were […]
June 27, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Does your IT staff include personnel who are dedicated to compliance or cybersecurity? How confident are you that your team is prepared to take today’s security threats head on? How likely are you to be able to ward off a determined attack? If you don’t have dedicated staff for the positions mentioned above, and you’re […]
June 26, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Jay Turla has been a very busy man since purchasing his new Mazda vehicle. He’s been spending time researching hacks to his car’s infotainment system, and as with most other “smart” products on the market today, he’s finding the system incredibly easy to break into. He’s not alone. In fact, a whole online community has […]
June 24, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft has recently issued another surprise patch to help protect the surprisingly large Windows XP user base. In this case, the patch is aimed at addressing security flaws used by the NSA and other nation-state hackers. This is on the heels of an out-of-band emergency patch in response to the global “Wannacry” ransomware attack. What […]
June 23, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you don’t have your PCs set up for automatic updates, you’re definitely going to want to grab Microsoft’s latest, scheduled for release on their next “Patch Tuesday.” June’s Patch Tuesday 2017 is a bit of a departure, because it’s also going to contain updates for Windows XP and Server 2003, neither of which are […]
June 22, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Ever since the discovery of the dreaded Stuxnet worm in the wild, security experts have been concerned that a devastating cyberattack could be launched against critical infrastructure, causing signal lights to go haywire, emergency service phone lines to go down, power grids to go offline and more. In recent months, we’ve seen what could be […]
June 21, 2017 by Vertical Axion
It’s been long-held conventional wisdom that the safest place you can purchase apps is either the Google Play Store if you have an Android device, or the Apple Store if you’ve got a device built around iOS. That’s still true for the most part, but in recent months, Apple has been running into a problem […]
June 20, 2017 by Vertical Axion
The fact that Microsoft Office Products (Word, PowerPoint and Excel) can be used to install malware onto an unsuspecting user’s computer has been common knowledge for years. But recently, security researchers at SentinelOne have discovered a new technique being used by a group of hackers that poses a serious threat. In general, it’s fairly easy […]
June 19, 2017 by Vertical Axion
If you haven’t heard of a company called Rafotech, you’re not alone. But the simple truth is that they control an enormous network of infected computers, numbering more than 250 million devices. That number is increasing rapidly. Rafotech offers free games, apps and other products to their customers. Unfortunately, when this free software is installed, […]
June 17, 2017 by Vertical Axion
Do you visit the GodLike Productions forum? If you’re not sure what that is, then you don’t have anything to worry about, but if you’re a member of that forum, you may have been infected by a particularly nasty malvertising app. Check your device. If you see an app called “KS Clean” (kskas.apk), then you’re […]
