Independent – Page 107 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2019 03:00:00 -0800

Three-quarters of companies implementing IoT have already adopted blockchain or plan to use it by the end of 2020, an indicator of the growing connection between the two, according to a survey of 500 U.S. companies by Gartner.

While the marriage between the two technologies has been expected to be crucial for industry digital transformation, the adoption rate is happening at a “much faster pace than expected,” Gartner said.

“Among the blockchain adopters, 86% are implementing the two technologies together in various projects,” Avivah Litan, a Gartner vice president and report author, wrote in a blog. She called IoT integration “a sweet spot” for blockchain, the much-hyped distributed ledger technology.

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ComputerWorld Independent

December 11, 2019 admin

How to secure your domain name services

Follow these steps to protect your websites at the server and workstation.

Independent Krebs

December 11, 2019 admin

CISO MAG Honors KrebsOnSecurity

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2019 16:46:05 +0000

CISO Magazine, a publication dedicated to covering issues near and dear to corporate chief information security officers everywhere, has graciously awarded this author the designation of “Cybersecurity Person of the Year” in its December 2019 issue.

Independent Krebs

December 10, 2019 admin

Patch Tuesday, December 2019 Edition

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2019 01:51:25 +0000

Microsoft today released updates to plug three dozen security holes in its Windows operating system and other software. The patches include fixes for seven critical bugs — those that can be exploited by malware or miscreants to take control over a Windows system with no help from users — as well as another flaw in most versions of Windows that is already being exploited in active attacks.

Independent Krebs

December 10, 2019 admin

CISO Magazine Honors KrebsOnSecurity

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2019 16:46:05 +0000

ComputerWorld Independent

December 10, 2019 admin

Android security checkup: 16 steps to a safer phone

Credit to Author: JR Raphael| Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2019 04:00:00 -0800

Android security is always a hot topic on these here Nets of Inter — and almost always for the wrong reason.

As we’ve discussed ad nauseam over the years, most of the missives you read about this-or-that super-scary malware/virus/brain-eating-boogie-monster are overly sensationalized accounts tied to theoretical threats with practically zero chance of actually affecting you in the real world. If you look closely, in fact, you’ll start to notice that the vast majority of those stories stem from companies that — gasp! — make their money selling malware protection programs for Android phones. (Pure coincidence, right?)

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ComputerWorld Independent

December 9, 2019 admin

Microsoft to end updates to Windows 7's free AV software, Security Essentials

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2019 11:05:00 -0800

Microsoft will not provide new malware signatures for its home-grown Security Essentials software after it retires Windows 7 in five weeks.

“No, your Windows 7 computer is not protected by MSE ((Microsoft Security Essentials)) after January 14, 2020,” the company said in a support document mainly concerned about the Extended Security Updates (ESU) being shilled to enterprises. “MSE is unique to Windows 7 and follows the same lifecycle dates for support.”

Security Essentials, a free antivirus (AV) program that launched in 2008, was originally limited to consumers. However, in 2010, Microsoft expanded the licensing to small businesses, defined as those with 10 or fewer PCs. Two years after that, MSE was replaced by Windows Defender with the launch of Windows 8.

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Independent Krebs

December 7, 2019 admin

Ransomware at Colorado IT Provider Affects 100+ Dental Offices

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Sat, 07 Dec 2019 21:17:24 +0000

A Colorado company that specializes in providing IT services to dental offices suffered a ransomware attack this week that is disrupting operations for more than 100 dentistry practices, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. Multiple sources affected say their IT provider, Englewood, Colo. based Complete Technology Solutions (CTS), was hacked, allowing a potent strain of ransomware known as “Sodinokibi” or “rEvil” to be installed on computers at more than 100 dentistry businesses that rely on the company for a range of services — including network security, data backup and voice-over-IP phone service.