Weekend Update

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

Tax Identity Theft: Protecting Your Credit and Finances

Check this out from the Simple Dollar.  Tax-related identity theft is a growing problem in America, and the more security breaches, information hacks and digital business we do as a society, the more consumers who fall victim to it. In fact, in 2016 alone, thieves stole more than $21 ...

Continue Reading →
23
MAR
0

Android, Apple, authentication, crypto-currency, Facebook, Identity Theft, passwords, Weekend Update

, ,

Collections 1-5 – Is This The Biggest Data Breach Ever?

Troy Hunt, of HaveIBeenPwned fame, on January 17 reported what may be the biggest data breach ever.  Collection #1 is a set of email addresses and passwords totalling 2,692,818,238 rows.  That’s right, 2.6 billion rows.   773 million records, from over 12,000 files, with a total size surpassing 87 gigabytes.  That’s a lot of personally identifiable information ...

Continue Reading →
4
FEB
0

cybersecurity, Identity Theft, passwords

Irainian Phishing Campaign Attempts to Bypass 2FA

A new phishing campaign by the Iranian state-sponsored group known as “Charming Kitten” is using new tactics to trick users out of their passwords and both SMS and app generated two-factor codes.  Charming Kitten is tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.  This campaign has been ongoing since October 2018.  Information on this attack was released on December 18, 2018 by Certfa Lab.

Targets of these attacks are high-ranking individuals in the financial ...

Continue Reading →
16
JAN
0

cybersecurity, passwords, Phishing

,

Authentication without Passwords?

I have been warning about the weakness of the password for a number of years.  Passwords no longer provide strong security.  Passwords are too easy to crack using automated techniques, and are stored insecurely in many environments.  Most passwords are too short, or easily guessable.  Many users reuse the same password on multiple sites.  But the password remains the most popular form of authentication among most users.  Two-factor and multi-factor authentication ...

Continue Reading →
31
DEC
0

authentication, cybersecurity, passwords

, ,

Weekend Update

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

Home Routers Lack Basic Linux Security

More disconcerting news for router owners – a new assessment of 28 popular models for home users failed to find a single one with firmware that had fully enabled underlying security hardening features offered by Linux.

CITL (Cyber Independent Testing Laboratories) says it made this unexpected discovery after analysing firmware images from Asus, ...

Continue Reading →
29
DEC
0

authentication, Google, passwords, Software vulnerability, Weekend Update

, ,

What the Heck is Zero-Trust Security?

Have you ever wondered why the state of cybersecurity is so screwed up?  Why is it so easy for bad actors and cyber-criminals to hijack systems and steal information?  Would you be surprised to learn the answer is because we designed it that way?  Computers, networks, operating systems and software were designed to work together as easily as possible, and were inherently  “trusted” by each other.  In the beginning, most systems ...

Continue Reading →
12
DEC
0

authentication, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, encryption, multi-factor authentication, passwords

,

Another Problem with MFA – Slow Adoption

Do the web sites your frequently visit offer two-factor authentication?  Have you enabled 2FA where it is available to you?  Is the particular implementation of 2FA or MFA security really adding any extra protection for you?   Not sure?  Please read on.

Password management company Dashlane recently ranked 34 of the top websites for their implementation of two-factor or multi-factor authentication options for their ...

Continue Reading →
21
NOV
0

authentication, cybersecurity, multi-factor authentication, passwords

,

Google Blazes New Trails in Authentication

Two-factor and multi-factor authentication historically have been based on using two or more of three criteria:  something you know (passwords), something you have (security token) or something you are (biometrics such as fingerprints).  There have been two new additions to MFA criteria: something you do (keyboard cadence or mouse movement), and somewhere you are (geo-location through GPS or public IP address).

Google has been busy heightening the security for it’s account holders ...

Continue Reading →
19
NOV
0

authentication, Computers and Internet, cybersecurity, Google, passwords

Page 1 of 15 12345...»