Month: February 2017

ComputerWorldIndependent

5 shocking new threats to your personal data

I’m not paranoid. Tinfoil hats aren’t my scene.

But watch out! In just the past month, the internet and smartphones have come up with five new and surprising ways to steal or expose our personal data.

Of course, these new concerns can now be added to all the old ones. Companies like Google and Facebook still track you and harvest personal data. Hackers still want to steal your data. And the National Security Agency is still out there doing its thing.

And now, these five new trends reveal that your security and privacy could be compromised in ways you probably never imagined.

1. Fingerprints can be stolen from selfies

Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Informatics (NII) announced recently that your fingerprints could be stolen from photos of your fingers, and the prints could then be re-created and used to bypass biometric security systems.

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ComputerWorldIndependent

Online card fraud up as thieves avoid more secure chip cards for in-store payments

One unfortunate side effect from the use of chip cards for in-store purchases has been an increase in online credit-card fraud.

Hackers have taken the path of least resistance, moving from in-store fraud to e-commerce fraud, according to security experts.

Deterred by the security capabilities of chip cards for in-store payments, thieves have resorted to stealing credit-card numbers and passwords or opening new accounts with false credentials to use in making online payments for purchases, according to recent studies. Botnets also comprise some of the biggest increases in online card fraud.

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IndependentKrebs

How Google Took on Mirai, KrebsOnSecurity


The third week of September 2016 was a dark and stormy one for KrebsOnSecurity. Wave after wave of huge denial-of-service attacks flooded this site, forcing me to pull the plug on it until I could secure protection from further assault. The site resurfaced three days later under the aegis of Google’s Project Shield, an initiative which seeks to protect journalists and news sites from being censored by these crippling digital sieges. Damian Menscher, a Google security engineer with whom I worked very closely on the migration to Project Shield, spoke publicly for the first time this week about the unique challenges involved in protecting a small site like this one from very large, sustained and constantly morphing attacks.

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SecuritySophos

Sophos is a leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms

We’re excited to share that Sophos has been named a leader in the 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms. We believe our leader placement confirms the quality of Sophos endpoint products and recognizes our ongoing technology innovation, exemplified by Sophos Intercept X. Intercept X delivers powerful anti-exploit and anti-ransomware capabilities, together with advanced […]

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ComputerWorldIndependent

UK defense secretary urges NATO to fend off Russian cyberattacks

The U.K.’s defense secretary is accusing Russia of using cyberattacks to “disable” democratic processes across the West, and he’s demanding that NATO fight back.

“NATO must defend itself as effectively in the cyber sphere as it does in the air, on land, and at sea,” Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said. “So adversaries know there is a price to pay if they use cyber weapons.”

Fallon made the comments in a Thursday speech about the threat of “Russia’s military resurgence.”

He pointed to the Kremlin’s suspected role in influencing last year’s presidential election in the U.S., as part of growing number of alleged cyberattacks that have targeted Western governments.   

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