WyzGuys Tech Talk

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

UL Pushes Security Standards For The Internet Of Broken Things

from the internet-of-very-broken-things dept

If you hadn’t noticed yet, the internet of things is a security and privacy shit show. Millions of poorly-secured internet-connected devices are now being sold annually, introducing massive new attack vectors and vulnerabilities into home and business networks nationwide. Thanks to IOT companies and evangelists that prioritize gee-whizzery and profits over privacy and security, your… (full story) 

And check out our previous article on WyzGuys – Is There a Rating Site for IoT Device Security?

A Happy New Year of Tax Season Scams

It’s that time of year to remind all our readers about tax refund fraud and W-2 information theft.  Be careful with yours.  You may want to refresh your memory by reading lasts years posts.

• It’s Income Tax Fraud Season Again
• IC3 Issues Alert on Increase in W-2 Phishing Campaigns
• Keeping Your Personal Information Secure

Secure New Internet-Connected Devices

Original release date: December 31, 2019

During the holidays, internet-connected devices—also known as Internet of Things (IoT) devices—are popular gifts. These include smart cameras, smart TVs, watches, toys, phones, and tablets. Although this technology provides added convenience to our lives, it often requires that we share personal and financial information over the internet. The security of this information, and the security of these devices, is not guaranteed. For example, vendors often store personal information in databases, which may be vulnerable to cyberattacks or unintentionally exposed to the internet. Information breaches or leaks can enable malicious cyber actors to engage in identify theft and phishing scams.  Click through for full article

Police Departments Are Using Swatting Registries To Help Protect Swatting Targets From Police Officers

from the yeah-it’s-weird dept

Swatting isn’t going away. Neither are SWAT teams. And the amped-up, guns-out tactics these teams use all but ensure a violent end for targets of bogus 911 calls. “Swatting” is a cheap and efficient way to terrorize anyone you want terrorized, whether it’s a gamer, journalist, online critic, celebrity, activist, or just someone’s whose personal info has ended up on the wrong website… (full story)

7 types of virus – a short glossary of contemporary cyberbadness

Here’s a short list of 7 malware categories we hope you never encounter. Sadly, it’s not an exhaustive list… but it’s a helpful start.  To jump to a specific item, click in the list below:

1. KEYLOGGERS
2. DATA STEALERS
3. RAM SCRAPERS
4. BOTS, aka ZOMBIES
5. BANKING TROJANS
6. RATS (Remote Access Trojans)
7. RANSOMWARE
8. WHAT TO DO?

Russia Disconnects Itself From The Internet, Asks UN To Let It Have More Control Of Internet Usage Around The World

from the hey-if-it’s-good-enough-for-state-sponsored-cybercriminals… dept

The Russian government has successfully disconnected itself from the world. “Internet sovereignty” is the term the government prefers. That’s what the Russian government actually calls the law signed into effect in May. The idea is to isolate the Russian internet from the internet the rest of the world uses. It’s not to protect Russia or Russian internet users. It’s to force all Russian… (full story)  See also our earlier stories;

• Russia Creates A National Internet
• Russia Disconnecting From The Internet?

What’s behind Putin’s old-school operating system?

Reports surfaced this week that the president of Russia is still using Windows XP as his primary operating system.