by Paul Ducklin [01’08”] Apple’s emergency 0-day fix. [08’51”] A new sort of Windows nightmare, this one not involving printers. [20’39”] Another new sort of Windows nightmare, also with no printers. [27’37”] Twitter hacker busted. [34’50”] Oh! No! Our very own Doug ruins a brand new TV. With Doug Aamoth and Paul Ducklin. Intro and outro music by Edith Mudge.
Month: July 2021
This news has been some time in the making, and I’m terrifically excited to share it. As of July 27th, we take a decisive step forward, one where McAfee places its sole focus on consumers. People like you. This marks the day we officially divest our enterprise business and dedicate ourselves to protecting people so they can freely enjoy
Most people are fans of the convenience Amazon brings to online shopping, and that’s precisely what cybercriminals are betting on. Amazon is the largest online marketplace in the world boasting over US$386 billion in revenue in 2020 with 200 million subscribers to its Amazon Prime service just in the United States. And that’s just a
Cybersecurity researchers on Friday unmasked new command-and-control (C2) infrastructure belonging to the Russian threat actor tracked as APT29, aka Cozy Bear, that has been spotted actively serving WellMess malware as part of an ongoing attack campaign. More than 30 C2 servers operated by the Russian foreign intelligence have been uncovered, Microsoft-owned cybersecurity subsidiary RiskIQ said
Architected for the cloud-first and remote-first deployments, MVISION Cloud Firewall secures access to applications and resources on the internet, accessed from every remote site and location, through a cloud-native service model. The solution inspects end-to-end user traffic – across all ports and protocols, enabling unified visibility and policy enforcement across the organizational footprint. Powered by
There are 30 vulnerabilities listed in total; organizations would do well to patch their systems if they haven’t done so yet The leading cybersecurity and law enforcement agencies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have issued a joint cybersecurity advisory focusing on the top 30 vulnerabilities that were commonly abused by threat actors over
An ongoing malicious campaign that employs phony call centers has been found to trick victims into downloading malware capable of data exfiltration as well as deploying ransomware on infected systems. The attacks — dubbed “BazaCall” — eschew traditional social engineering techniques that rely on rogue URLs and malware-laced documents in favor of a vishing-like method
Summary While ransomware attacks continue to be primarily opportunistic rather than targeted, there has been an upward trend in threat groups targeting high-revenue organizations to maximize the ransom payout. Ransom demands have reportedly reached $50 million USD. Threat actors have also innovated, threatening to leak stolen data in ‘name-and-shame’ attacks as additional leverage. In some
by Paul Ducklin Yesterday, we wrote about a vaguely mysterious zero-day patch pushed out by Apple. Like almost all Apple security fixes, the update arrived without any sort of warning, but unlike most Apple updates, only a single bug was listed on the “fix list,” and even by Apple’s brisk and efficient bug-listing standards, the
Co-written with Northwave’s Noël Keijzer. Executive Summary For a long time, ransomware gangs were mostly focused on Microsoft Windows operating systems. Yes, we observed the occasional dedicated Unix or Linux based ransomware, but cross-platform ransomware was not happening yet. However, cybercriminals never sleep and in recent months we noticed that several ransomware gangs were experimenting
Twitter’s transparency report revealed that users aren’t quick to adopt 2FA and once they do enable it, they choose the least secure option According to the data shared by Twitter in its recently released transparency report, the popular social network’s users are reluctant to adopt two-factor authentication (2FA) to bolster their account security. In fact, the report paints
An Android malware that was observed abusing accessibility services in the device to hijack user credentials from European banking applications has morphed into an entirely new botnet as part of a renewed campaign that began in May 2021. Italy’s CERT-AGID, in late January, disclosed details about Oscorp, a mobile malware developed to attack multiple financial
by Paul Ducklin You might be forgiven for thinking that July 2021 was Microsoft’s month for cybersecurity vulnerabilities. First there was PrintNightmare in several guises, followed by HiveNightmare (an entirely unrelated bug that nevertheless attracted the “Nightmare” moniker), followed by PetitPotam (which went down the cute aquatic mammal naming path). Now, however, it’s Apple’s turn
There’s a lot of misinformation about Virtual Private Networks, what they do, and the security benefits they offer. For this article, I’d like to do some myth-busting about how a VPN actually works and why you should use one. What is a VPN and how does it protect me? A VPN is an app that you install on your device to help keep your personal data safe as you browse the internet You may
The vulnerability is under active exploitation by unknown attackers and affects a wide range of Apple’s products. Apple has released an update for its iOS, iPadOS, and macOS operating systems to patch a zero-day security flaw that is being actively exploited in the wild. The vulnerability affects a wide range of its products including the
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered multiple security vulnerabilities in Zimbra email collaboration software that could be potentially exploited to compromise email accounts by sending a malicious message and even achieve a full takeover of the mail server when hosted on a cloud infrastructure. The flaws — tracked as CVE-2021-35208 and CVE-2021-35208 — were discovered and reported
by Paul Ducklin French researcher Gilles Lionel, who goes by @topotam77, recently published proof-of-concept code that attackers could use to take over a Windows network. The hack, which he has dubbed PetitPotam (which is a nod to the endangered Pygmy Hippopotamus, as far as we can tell), involves what’s known as an NTLM relay attack,
There’s a lot of conversation going on right now around digital apps; only it’s not about TikTok or Twitch. Instead, it’s about the spike in the number of app scams taking place every day—many of them impacting younger consumers. In a recent report from The Washington Post, nearly two percent of the apps downloaded from the Apple store in a single day were scams costing consumers an estimated $48 million. A similar report this week in Tech Republic estimates more than
There is a saying that goes something like, “Do not judge a book by its cover.” Yet, we all know we can not help but do just that – especially when it comes to online security. Logos play a significant role in whether or not we open an email and how we assess the importance
Equipping and guiding your digitally connected child is one of the toughest challenges you will face as a parent. As your child grows and changes, so too will their online activities. Friend groups, favorite apps, and online interests can shift from one month to the next, which is why parental controls can be a parent’s
Law enforcement authorities in the Netherlands have arrested two alleged individuals belonging to a Dutch cybercriminal collective who were involved in developing, selling, and renting sophisticated phishing frameworks to other threat actors in what’s known as a “Fraud-as-a-Service” operation. The apprehended suspects, a 24-year-old software engineer, and a 15-year-old boy, are said to have been
People in their 20s and 30s are losing it online. And by it, I mean money—thanks to digital identity theft. In its simplest form, your digital identity is made up of a whole host of things that can be traced back to you and who you are. That can range anywhere from photos you post online to online shopping accounts, email accounts to telephone numbers,
After more than 20 years in the making, now it’s official: APIs are everywhere. In a 2021 survey, 73% of enterprises reported that they already publish more than 50 APIs, and this number is constantly growing. APIs have crucial roles to play in virtually every industry today, and their importance is increasing steadily, as they
by Paul Ducklin You can probably guess what we mean by “Twitter hack“. Some data breaches involve millions or even billions of accounts, perhaps compromised by a leaky cloud storage server or a poorly-secured customer database. In contrast, the Twitter hack we’re referring to ultimately led to the takeover of just 45 accounts. But what
How many rooms in your home contain a smart device? From security cameras to showerheads with Bluetooth speakers, smart home technology is rapidly making its way into every room in every household. In fact, the number of smart households (those that contain smart home technology) in the U.S. is expected to grow to 77.05 million by 2025. But with new technology comes new challenges. Many product designers rush to get their smart devices
The Zero Trust architecture offers an increasingly popular way to minimize cyber-risk in a world of hybrid cloud, flexible working and persistent threat actors. The post-pandemic normal for global organizations increasingly means using digital technology to support more flexible working practices. Although tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook made headlines by promising some employees they can work from home forever,
A malware known for targeting macOS operating system has been updated once again to add more features to its toolset that allows it to amass and exfiltrate sensitive data stored in a variety of apps, including apps such as Google Chrome and Telegram, as part of further “refinements in its tactics.” XCSSET was uncovered in
by Paul Ducklin [00’38”] Learning from computer virus history. [02’26”] The PrintNightmare saga continues. [05’27”] Apple puts out a patch, but doesn’t say why. [08’12”] Snitch on a crook and earn $10 million. [17’50”] Scammars do grammer and speeling correctly. [25’12”] And the Business Email Compromise that wasn’t. With Doug Aamoth and Paul Ducklin. Intro and outro music by Edith Mudge. LISTEN NOW Click-and-drag on the
Written by Shuborno, Principal Engineer At McAfee, architects and engineers continuously have opportunities to make decisions that impact customers and propel exciting and meaningful careers. They also work with leaders focused on supporting their learning and growth. These truths have been constant and driving forces for me throughout my 15+ years with the company. Today,
To mitigate the chances of their Wi-Fi home routers being compromised, users would do well to change the manufacturer’s default access credentials One in 16 home Wi-Fi routers is still sporting the manufacturer’s default admin password, a recent study conducted by technology website Comparitech revealed. This flaw could allow cybercriminals to conduct all manner of cyberattacks, including