Independent – Page 148 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2019 06:00:00 -0800

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella seems to agree with Apple CEO Tim Cook when it comes to privacy, calling this a “fundamental human right”.

Microsoft CEO: Privacy a ‘human right’

Despite the lack of a successful smartphone franchise, Microsoft is still very much part of today’s industry with a range of services across the mobile ecosystem. That’s probably why Nadella is such an active attendee at Mobile World Congress 2019.

What’s really interesting about what he said during a speech at the show is the extent to which his thinking aligns with what Apple is doing around privacy, for example:

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ComputerWorld Independent

February 25, 2019 admin

Microsoft opens top-tier Defender ATP security to Windows 7 PCs

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2019 08:28:00 -0800

Microsoft’s Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service is now available for PCs running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

The decision to add devices powered by those operating systems was first announced a year ago. At the time, Microsoft said ATP’s Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) functionality would be available for the older OSes by summer 2018.

Windows Defender ATP is a service that detects ongoing attacks on corporate networks, then follows up to investigate the attack or breach and provides response recommendations and attack remediation. Software baked into Windows 10 detects attacks, while a central management console allows IT administrators to monitor the status of covered devices and react if necessary. Adding the EDR client software to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs gives enterprise IT the same visibility into those machines as it has had into Windows 10 systems.

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Independent Krebs

February 23, 2019 admin

Payroll Provider Gives Extortionists a Payday

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2019 00:16:06 +0000

Payroll software provider Apex Human Capital Management suffered a ransomware attack this week that severed payroll management services for hundreds of the company’s customers for nearly three days. Faced with the threat of an extended outage, Apex chose to pay the ransom demand and begin the process of restoring service to customers.

ComputerWorld Independent

February 23, 2019 admin

Get ready for the age of sensor panic

Credit to Author: Mike Elgan| Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2019 03:00:00 -0800

A passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight this week noticed a small, circular indentation below the image playing on the seatback in-flight entertainment system in front of him. Could that be, he wondered, a camera?

The passenger did the only logical thing: He tweeted out a photo and asked the Twitterverse for opinions, setting off a chorus of complainers on Twitter.

Singapore Airlines also responded to the tweets, saying that the camera was not used by the airline to capture pictures or video. It then told media outlets in a statement that the embedded cameras “have been intended by the manufacturers for future developments. These cameras are permanently disabled on our aircraft and cannot be activated on board. We have no plans to enable or develop any features using the cameras.”

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ComputerWorld Independent

February 22, 2019 admin

Apple is losing value and that’s a good thing

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2019 08:50:00 -0800

Apple must be doing something right as the cost of Apple ID data on the Dark Web has dropped, even as the value of Fortnite, Facebook, Netflix and Uber accounts has increased.

Apple is losing value

Last year, I reported that online scammers were spending up to $15 per account on Apple ID information, making Apple customers, “the most appealing targets” for scammers.

That’s changed.

The latest edition of Top10VPN’s Dark Web Market Price Index claims scammers are only willing to spend up to $11 for this information today and are targeting arguably less well-secured services instead.

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Independent Krebs

February 21, 2019 admin

New Breed of Fuel Pump Skimmer? Not Really

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2019 13:43:42 +0000

Fraud investigators say they’ve uncovered a sophisticated new breed of credit card skimmers being installed at gas pumps that is capable of relaying stolen card data via mobile text message, thereby enabling fraudsters to collect it from anywhere in the world. One interesting component of this criminal innovation is a small cellphone and Bluetooth-enabled device hidden inside the contactless payment terminal of the pump, which appears to act as a Bluetooth hub that wirelessly gathers card data from multiple compromised pumps at a given filling station.

Independent Krebs

February 21, 2019 admin

New Breed of Fuel Pump Skimmer Uses SMS and Bluetooth

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2019 13:43:42 +0000

ComputerWorld Independent

February 20, 2019 admin

Apple is learning why shortcut security is a bad idea

Credit to Author: Evan Schuman| Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2019 11:00:00 -0800

When Apple launched its enterprise developer certificate program — which helps enterprises make their homegrown apps for employee use-only available through iTunes — it had to make a difficult convenience-vs.-security decision: how much hassle to put IT managers through to get their internal apps posted. It chose convenience and, well, you can guess what happened.

Media reports say pirate developers used the enterprise program to improperly distribute tweaked versions of popular apps — including Spotify, Angry Birds, Pokemon Go and Minecraft — while others used the platform to distribute porn apps along with real-money gambling apps. And all the bad guys had to do was lie to Apple reps about being associated with legitimate businesses. Apple didn’t bother to investigate or otherwise verify the answers.

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