Researchers at Rutgers University have hit upon a novel idea that could be a game-changer in terms of biometric identification. The team published a paper entitled "VibWrite: Towards Finger-input Authentication on Ubiquitous Surfaces via Physical Vibration," and demonstrated a prototype of the device at the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) conference in Dallas, Texas. The new technology is a lesson in simplicity, consisting of a simple vibration motor and a receiver on almost any … Read more
Report Shows Small Percentage Of Employees Know About Ransomware
The statistics are alarming. Ransomware is fast becoming the favored hobby horse of hackers worldwide. Barely a week goes by that a new strain isn't introduced into the wild, with expensive, and often tragic consequences. Right now, the average amount paid by office workers impacted by a ransomware attack is $1400, a figure that continues to creep higher. What's perhaps even more alarming, however, is the fact that although companies the world over have made a concerted effort to sound the … Read more
New Ransomware “BadRabbit” Starting To See Infections In The US
You may not have heard of the new strain of ransomware known as BadRabbit. If you haven't, it's because the overwhelming percentage of BadRabbit attacks have been occurring in Russia, which accounts for 71 percent of all known infections at present. Unfortunately, there have been a few infections reported in the United States, which may be a harbinger of things to come. The new threat is functionally similar to NotPetya, which not only encrypts the files on a target system but also then … Read more
Granting Photo Access In iPhone Might Allow Unauthorized Photographing
An Austrian software engineer named Felix Krause has made a disturbing discovery about iPhones using iOS11. Once an app has been given permission to access the device's camera, it can take pictures and videos without alerting the user and upload them to the internet in real time. Unfortunately, there are a lot of apps that users grant camera permissions to. Basically, any time you upload an avatar or post a picture with an app, you've got to give it camera permissions to do that. Krause … Read more
Watch Out For New Facebook “Trusted Friend” Scam
If you can't trust your friends, who can you trust? No one, apparently. There's a new scam on Facebook that's making waves, and it's one you should be mindful of. You may get an "urgent message" from someone you know, asking for your help in recovering their Facebook account. This is a tried and true phishing scam, relying on some basic psychology. After all, if you get an earnest sounding message from someone you know explaining that you're listed as one of their "Trusted Friends" and … Read more
Top Subject People Fall Victim To Is – Data Breach Notification
For hackers around the world, success breeds more success, it seems. A company called KnowBe4 has released a report entitled "Top Ten Global Phishing Email Subject Lines For Q3 2017." To prepare it, they analyzed email subject lines from simulated phishing tests to determine what the most effective approach was. Their findings were that "Official Data Breach Notification" was the hands-down winner, generating far more click-throughs than any other. Perry Carpenter, KnowBe4's Chief … Read more
Ransomware Continues To Evolve On Android Devices
Hackers around the world are continuing to innovate at a terrifying, relentless pace, and that truth is reflected in the latest form of ransomware to be found in the wild. Dubbed "DoubleLocker," this new strain targets Android devices. It uses and abuses the platform's Accessibility Service, reactivating itself every time the user presses the phone's "Home" button. Initial forensic analysis of the code base reveals this new threat to be based on Svpeng, which is a nasty form of malware … Read more
Hard Drives Susceptible To Sound Waves, Can Double As Microphones
File this one away under “obscure and terrifying.â€� Recently, a security researcher named Alfredo Ortega, speaking at a security conference in Buenos Aires, unveiled research revealing that the hard drive in your computer can be, with a bit of work, turned into a rudimentary microphone and used to spy on you. It should be noted that this hack only works on HDDs and takes advantage of the way they are designed. Understand that this isn’t a flaw; it’s simply the way the technology … Read more
After Yet Another Equifax Hack, IRS Suspends Contract Worth $7.5M
Equifax just can’t seem to get out of its own way. Not long ago, the company suffered a massive data breach which saw the sensitive information of more than 145 million consumers exposed. As a result, congressional hearings were convened, and the CEO resigned in disgrace. Amazingly, though, despite these events, the IRS opted to award the company a contract worth $7.5 million for its help and expertise in verifying taxpayer identification to prevent identity theft. The irony did not … Read more
Popular Chrome Ad Blocker Faked, 30k Users Infected With Malware
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” as the saying goes. Unfortunately, Google has now been fooled by the same trick twice. For the second time in recent years, Google has allowed a malicious variant of the popular extension “AdBlock Plus” onto its Chrome Web Store. It was noticed by a security researcher going by the alias “SwiftOnSecurity.” Before Google removed it, it had been installed more than 37,000 times by unsuspecting users. This incident underscores a … Read more
