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November 16, 2016 by Vertical Axion
This is how something as innocuous as a thumb drive can become a major security issue. Recently, it has come to light that a soon-to-be retiring regulator at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had downloaded work files onto a thumb drive, but now, seems to have misplaced it. The files were […]
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November 15, 2016 by Vertical Axion
What percentage of your employees know how to properly handle sensitive information? The answer is “probably a lot less than you think.” In a recent survey conducted by MediaPro, it was discovered that nearly 90% of employees lacked security and privacy awareness. Only 12% of respondents knew how to properly identify and dispose of information […]
November 12, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Researchers at a cyber security company called EnSilo have found a new vulnerability in Windows PCs, and it’s about as bad as it could possibly get. The new attack vector does not exploit a bug in the code, but rather, the design of the OS itself, which uses Atom Tables to store data that’s being […]
November 10, 2016 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new viral link making the rounds on Twitter that you should advise your staff to steer clear of. If you see a link that begins with “goo.gl,” don’t click it. If you do, not only will it crash your Twitter app if you’re on your smartphone, but after it does that, it will […]
November 9, 2016 by Vertical Axion
It has been widely reported that cybercrime is one of the fastest growing types of crime on the planet today, but new statistics published by MarkMonitor’s Online Fraud Barometer indicate that it’s a lot worse than previously imagined. Close to half (45%) of all consumers have, at some point, fallen victim to cybercriminals. Fraud is […]
November 7, 2016 by Vertical Axion
The Internet of Things has been getting a lot of bad press in recent weeks. Not long ago, an army of enslaved smart devices was used to bring much of the internet in the United States to its knees for several hours. A few weeks before that, an exploit in a “smart” insulin pump was […]
November 5, 2016 by Vertical Axion
You probably noticed that at various points during a day not long ago, you couldn’t get on the internet. If you could, a lot of the sites you’re used to visiting were simply unavailable for extended periods of time. The reason you couldn’t get on the internet was because a company you’ve probably never heard […]
November 4, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Yet more evidence that the federal government’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is cracking down on HIPPA violations, the agency recently levied a hefty $2.14 million dollar fine against St. Joseph Health System for what it describes as an egregious breach of security. The company reported earlier in the year that action on […]
November 3, 2016 by Vertical Axion
The Linux exploit called Rowhammer is back in the news. This time, it’s targeting Android devices. If you missed the news about Rowhammer, or need a refresher, the exploit basically works like this: if you can engineer a piece of malware that will consistently access the same row of memory on an installed chip, hammering […]
November 1, 2016 by Vertical Axion
File this one under “public service warning.” If you’re a fan and regular user of Facebook, beware of a new virus that’s making the rounds inside the social media giant. If you see a video on your wall titled “My First Video,” don’t click on it to play it. If you do, it will tag […]
October 31, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Are you a Spotify user? If so, you may have been infected. Recently, the company reported that one of its advertising partners had displayed an ad containing malware. As with most software of this type, it wrests control of the user’s browser, opening additional tabs on its own, and directing users to web pages loaded […]
October 29, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Some credit card companies have begun using selfies as an alternative to traditional, text-based passwords in order to provide enhanced security. No system is perfect, though, and hackers have already begun experimenting with various exploits to the new paradigm. Far and away, the most successful exploit so far has been the Acecard Trojan. This malware […]
October 28, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Online security has become increasingly important to rank and file users in recent years, and with good reason. 2015 saw the largest number of hacks and successful data breaches in the history of the internet, and 2016 is on track to surpass it. Even worse, it’s not just the number of attacks that are increasing, […]
October 27, 2016 by Vertical Axion
The risks and dangers associated with the Internet of Things continues to grow. Unfortunately, these days, a hacking attack can actually kill. Recently, a researcher uncovered a major security flaw in an insulin pump sold by Johnson and Johnson. The Animas OneTouch insulin pump has a WiFi feature that allows a diabetic patient wearing the […]
October 26, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Did they, or didn’t they? That seems to be the central question surrounding the recent revelation reported by Reuters. According to the news story, Yahoo complied with a Federal government request to track and monitor all incoming messages, forwarding any that contained a certain set of keywords to government agents. If the allegation is true, […]
October 24, 2016 by Vertical Axion
It was supposed to be a landmark achievement for Samsung, and the start of an era of record-breaking profits. The release of the Note 7 was widely anticipated, and when it hit the shelves back in August, customers flocked to buy the new devices. That’s when the trouble began. The new devices were plagued with […]
October 21, 2016 by Vertical Axion
There may be some good news where cybercrime is concerned. Increasingly, Americans are beginning to take the threat more seriously. A recently released survey conducted by TransUnion showed an unmistakable increase in awareness, which is a critical first step. Some of the key findings in the report were: • 83% of survey respondents reported being […]
October 20, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Say what you will about Russian hacking group “Fancy Bear,” but they’ve definitely got a sense of style. Fancy Bear is the group widely believed to be responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee’s servers. Now, authorities believe the group has developed a form Trojan called Komplex, which targets Mac users. Like most other malware, […]
October 14, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Much has been written about the explosion in the size of the Internet of Things: a dizzying and rapidly growing collection of internet-connected objects that we use to make our lives more convenient. These days, you can find smart versions of everything from televisions to refrigerators, video cameras, home security systems, thermostats and more. The […]
October 12, 2016 by Vertical Axion
If you’ve never heard of ClixSense, you’re not alone. It’s a website that supposedly pays its users for viewing advertisements and completing surveys online. Unfortunately, people who signed up to use the system got a whole lot more than they bargained for. In this case, the particulars of the hack are as interesting as its […]
October 10, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Are you familiar with the music service, Last.fm? If you used the service at any point in 2012, your password could be compromised. This is the latest find announced by LeakedSource, which provides an online listing of data breaches from around the web, as well as a repository that contains copies of the stolen data. […]
October 7, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Tesla isn’t the first automaker whose increasingly automated vehicles have been hacked, but they are the latest. Fortunately, the hackers weren’t real hackers, but security researchers working for a firm called Keen Security Lab. The results, however, were disturbing to say the least. If you own one of Tesla’s vehicles, then you know how much […]
October 6, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Last month, a devastating security flaw was found in iOS. The flaw that was discovered was a chained trio of zero day exploits that, if executed in the proper order, would allow a hacker to take total control over your iPhone. They would literally have unfettered access. Apple was quick to issue a patch for […]
October 3, 2016 by Vertical Axion
Thousands of publicly accessible FTP servers, including a number from Seagate network-attached storage devices, have been found on the internet that have been broken into, corrupted and are currently hosting cryptocurrency-mining malware. This is according to the latest report released by security researchers from Sophos. The research team made the discovery when they were tracking […]
