Independent – Page 374 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2017 20:32:06 +0000

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the automated teller machine — better known to most people as the ATM or cash machine. Thanks to the myriad methods thieves have devised to fleece unsuspecting cash machine users over the years, there are now more ways than ever to get ripped off at the ATM. Think you’re good at spotting the various scams? A newly released ATM fraud inspection guide may help you test your knowledge.

ComputerWorld Independent

June 30, 2017 admin

The paranoid Mac traveler’s 10-point data protection checklist

Credit to Author: Richard Hoffman| Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2017 03:01:00 -0700

Here’s an increasingly common scenario: You’re on a business trip, either entering a foreign country or returning home. As you go through customs, a border-control agent asks you to turn on and hand over your iPhone, then starts poking around, looking at your text messages, call logs and apps. The agent then asks you to wake your MacBook, log into your social media accounts and open your email. After the agent reads your tweets and posts for a few minutes, your phone and laptop are taken “for further inspection” — and returned some time later.

Alternatively, the equivalent of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in a foreign country declares that all laptops on international flights must be put in checked baggage — a scenario only narrowly averted a few weeks ago. Your company laptop is properly checked in, but when you arrive at your destination, you discover that not only has your bag been searched, but your laptop appears to have been opened and powered on.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ComputerWorld Independent

June 29, 2017 admin

A Chromebook can increase the protection of air-gapped computers

Credit to Author: Michael Horowitz| Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2017 14:03:00 -0700

I used to think the best way to protect a computer hosting sensitive data was by not connecting it to any network, a process known as air gapping. Ah, the good old days.

WikiLeaks recently revealed that when a computer with the sensitive data is running Windows, even air gapped protection is insufficient. The CIA, using a software system codenamed Brutal Kangaroo, first infects a Windows computer connected to the internet, then infects any USB flash drive (a.k.a. thumb drive) plugged into that computer in the hope that the flash drive will eventually be plugged into the air-gap protected machines.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ComputerWorld Independent

June 28, 2017 admin

A Chromebook can increase the protection of air gapped computers

Credit to Author: Michael Horowitz| Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2017 14:03:00 -0700

I used to think that the best way to protect a computer hosting sensitive data was by not connecting it to any network, a process known as air gapping. Ah, the good old days.

WikiLeaks recently revealed that when the computer with the sensitive data is running Windows, even air gapped protection is insufficient. The CIA, using a software system codenamed Brutal Kangaroo, first infects a Windows computer connected to the Internet, then infects any USB flash drive (a.k.a. thumb drive) plugged into that computer, in the hope that the flash drive will eventually be plugged into the air-gap protected machines.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ComputerWorld Independent

June 28, 2017 admin

Why Apple’s future’s up on ransomware

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2017 03:59:00 -0700

This week’s big security story is the so-called ‘Petya’ ransomware attack. It is not the first such attack, won’t be the last, and its success will prompt cybercriminals to attack again, and again, and again. In this new threat environment, there are zero excuses for any enterprise, public or private, to be running Windows XP, or any other insecure platform.

Even the cops

Chronic underfunding and a conservative government ideologically committed to cuts mean key UK public services remain under threat of cyberattack. In recent weeks, the National Health Service saw its computing systems fail because they relied too much on unprotected Windows systems. This morning we learned that the UK’s Metropolitan Police force still uses over 18,000 computers running Windows XP. The key police force of the UK’s biggest city is therefore currently vulnerable to cyber-attack.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ComputerWorld Independent

June 28, 2017 admin

The price of security: surprisingly affordable

Credit to Author: Sharky| Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2017 03:00:00 -0700

Sysadmin pilot fish works for a company that manufactures steel products that go up — everything from cell towers and guyed masts to utility poles.

“One day a message came into the help desk,” says fish. “A user was concerned that we were going to get audited by the American Institute of Steel Construction, and he wanted to make sure we had all our procedural documentation in order and current.

“His problem was that our web filter was blocking his ability to download the AISC standards documents.”

Fish has a little spare time and he’s very fluent in the use of the web filter, so he picks up the trouble ticket to deal with.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Independent Krebs

June 27, 2017 admin

‘Petya’ Ransomware Outbreak Goes Global

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2017 20:18:43 +0000

A new strain of ransomware dubbed “Petya” is worming its way around the world with alarming speed. The malware appears to be spreading using a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that the software giant patched in March 2017 — the same bug that was exploited by the recent and prolific WannaCry ransomware strain.