Weekend Update

A quick Saturday digest of cybersecurity news articles from other sources.  Insider threat edition.

Quote of the Week

Insider threats are not viewed as seriously as external threats, like a cyber attack. But when companies had an insider threat, in general, they were much more costly than external incidents… The insider that is smart often has the right skills to hide the crime, sometimes forever.

— Dr. Larry Ponemon, on the impact of ...

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12
SEP
0

botnet, insider threat, Weekend Update

Millions of Chinese-made IoT Devices Easily Hacked says Brian Krebs

If you bought a security camera, webcam, baby monitor, smart doorbell, digital video recorder or other IoT device manufactured in China, there is bad news.  Security flaws have been discovered that can easily  allow an attacker remote access, remote control, and password discovery on affected systems.  These devices can also be hijacked to use in a variety exploits including eavesdropping ...

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8
MAY
0

authentication, botnet, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, Internet of Things, Software vulnerability

Botnet Targets Banks With Phishing Emails

Cyber-criminals are using a botnet to send phishing emails with the apparent purpose to test a new email attachment type.  Over the course of three weeks starting August 10th, this cyber-gang released seven different types of phishing emails to over 3,000 banks around the world.  They appear to be testing which of these several approaches is most successful at tricking recipients into opening the email attachment.

The attachment itself is also something different – Microsoft Excel Web Query files that use ...

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29
AUG
0

botnet, cybersecurity, Phishing

When Web Bots Attack

When web bots attack, what websites are the most likely to targets?  We discussed automated attacks against websites last month.  Here is some new information from Distil Networks about who the main targets have been in the recent past. If your business is included in the following list, you may want to ramp up the security posture of your website and web hosting account.

The industries ...

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13
APR
0

botnet, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, Identity Theft, Web Design, WordPress

Are Malicious Bots Visiting Your Website?

Bots are alive, well, and busy on the Internet, making up nearly half of Internet traffic. Bad bots are used by cyber-criminals and cyber attackers to automate harmful exploits and attacks, such as denial of service attacks, crypto-coin mining, data mining, information exfilitration, account hijacking, vulnerability scanning, spamming, and other illegal or illicit activities.

Not all bots are bad.  Some of these site visitors are helpful, such as the automated bots ...

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14
MAR
0

botnet, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, Web Design, WordPress

Merry Christmas -The Internet of Insecure Toys

Are the toys you are buying for your kids hackable?Can anyone listen in or have a conversation with your kids via an Internet connected toy?  Sorry, but the answer is “yes.”

We have been writing for a while about the grievous lack of security on Internet-connected “smart” appliances, web cameras, baby monitors, door locks, thermostats, personal assistants, Wi-Fi, Cable, and DSL routers, and ...

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27
NOV
0

artificial intellegence, botnet, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, Identity Theft, Internet of Things, Security, surveillance

Weekend Update

A quick Saturday digest of cybersecurity news articles from other sources.

70k minimum wage has been a profound success and failure – two years later

Tech company Gravity Payments instituted a $70 K minimum wage two years ago.  It has long been my personal contention that the drop in real starting wages (against inflation) coupled with ...

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21
OCT
0

botnet, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, education, encryption, Internet of Things, law and policy, Security, Wi-Fi, wireless

BlueBorne Bluetooth Hijacker – What Do We Know?

Cybersecurity researchers at Armis Labs have released information about a new attack vector called BlueBorne.  This exploit has the potential to put millions of devices running Windows, Linux, Android or iOS operating systems at risk.

This exploit allows attackers to connect over the Bluetooth radio system with having to first pair the two Bluetooth enabled devices.  Once installed, the attacker has full control ...

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29
SEP
0

Android, Apple, botnet, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, Internet of Things, Linux, malware, Security, smartphones, Software vulnerability, Spyware, wireless

WireX Turns Android Phones into DDoS Botnet

WireX is a new botnet that runs on hijacked and compromised Android phones.  A bot-net is a collection of compromised devices that can be coordinated by the hijacker to work together on a certain task.  It might be bit-coin mining, or password cracking, or other tasks that require a lot of processing power.  This bot-net, like last year’s Mirai ...

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15
SEP
0

Android, botnet, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, Security, smartphones, wireless

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