Independent – Page 129 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2019 03:00:00 -0700

Mozilla has issued multiple after-action reports analyzing the major mix-up in May that crippled most Firefox add-ons. The reports also made recommendations for preventing similar incidents in the future.

The fiasco started just after 8 p.m. ET on Friday, May 3, when a certificate used to digitally sign Firefox extensions expired. Because Mozilla had neglected to renew the certificate, Firefox assumed add-ons could not be trusted – that they were potentially malicious – and disabled any already installed. Add-ons could not be added to the browser for the same reason.

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ComputerWorld Independent

July 25, 2019 admin

Researchers to launch intentionally ‘vulnerable’ blockchain at Black Hat

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2019 14:06:00 -0700

Hoping to raise awareness about blockchain vulnerabilities, cybersecurity firm Kudelski Security next week plans to launch the industry’s first “purposefully vulnerable” blockchain – and will demo it at next month’s Black Hat conference.

Kudelski Security’s FumbleChain project is aimed at highlighting vulnerabilities in blockchain ecosystems, according to Nathan Hamiel, head of cybersecurity research at Kudelski.

The flawed blockchain ledger is written in Python 3.0, making it easy for anyone to read and modify its source code, and it’s modular – allowing users to hack and add new challenges to promote continuous learning.

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Independent Krebs

July 25, 2019 admin

The Unsexy Threat to Election Security

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:01:41 +0000

Much has been written about the need to further secure our elections, from ensuring the integrity of voting machines to combating fake news. But according to a report quietly issued by a California grand jury this week, more attention needs to be paid to securing social media and email accounts used by election officials at the state and local level.

ComputerWorld Independent

July 25, 2019 admin

5 smart questions that'll smother most Android security scares

Credit to Author: JR Raphael| Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2019 03:00:00 -0700

I haven’t looked at today’s tech news too closely just yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion some evil-sounding virtual gremlin or other is probably on the brink of invading my smartphone, stealing my secrets, and setting me up for a lifetime of dread and despair.

He might even be covertly eating all the salty snacks from my kitchen this very second. ALL THE SALTY SNACKS, DAMN IT!

I don’t have to scan the headlines too closely to know there’s a decent chance of all of this happening — because all of this happens practically every other week here in the Android world. A solid few to several times a month, it seems, some hilariously named and made-to-seem-scary new piece of malware (ViperRat! Desert Scorpion! Ooga-Booga-Meanie-Monster!) is making its way onto our phones and into our lives. Or so we’re told, rather convincingly and repeatedly. (All right, so I may have made Ooga-Booga-Meanie-Monster up just now, but c’mon: It’s probably only a matter of time til we see something using that name.)

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Independent Krebs

July 24, 2019 admin

Neo-Nazi SWATters Target Dozens of Journalists

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2019 20:39:33 +0000

Nearly three dozen journalists at a broad range of major publications have been targeted by a far-right group that maintains a Deep Web database listing the personal information of people who threaten their views. This group specializes in encouraging others to harass those targeted by their ire, and has claimed responsibility for dozens of bomb threats and “swatting” incidents, where police are tricked into visiting potentially deadly force on the target’s address.

ComputerWorld Independent

July 24, 2019 admin

How to set up Azure AD to spot risky users

You have several options to set up alerts in Azure Active Directory to help spot risky user behavior.

ComputerWorld Independent

July 23, 2019 admin

Mozilla to add password manager, hack alert to Firefox 70

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2019 03:00:00 -0700

Mozilla plans bake its Lockwise password manager into Firefox 70, the upgrade now set to launch Oct. 22.

At the same time, the browser will also be more tightly integrated with Firefox Monitor, which will provide warnings to users when their saved passwords have been revealed by a data hack.

According to Firefox bug reports and project documentation, Lockwise will automatically record username-and-password pairs, generate complex passwords on demand, identify victimized accounts and instruct users to change any passwords that have leaked.

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