Independent – Page 211 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: Dave Taylor| Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2018 03:31:00 -0800

Enterprises invest a lot of time, effort and money in keeping their systems secure. The most security-conscious might have a security operations center. They of course use firewalls and antivirus tools. They probably spend a lot of time monitoring their networks, looking for telltale anomalies that could indicate a breach. What with IDS, SIEM and NGFWs, they deploy a veritable alphabet of defenses.

But how many have given much thought to one of the cornerstones of their digital operations: the operating systems deployed on the workforce’s PCs? Was security even a factor when the desktop OS was selected?

This raises a question that every IT person should be able to answer: Which operating system is the most secure for general deployment?

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ComputerWorld Independent

February 5, 2018 admin

Apple's iOS push could change healthcare data sharing, still won't kill the fax

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2018 12:55:00 -0800

Apple’s Health Records feature in the upcoming iOS 11.3 rollout may be the most high-profile attempt at sharing healthcare data between caregiver and patient, but it won’t succeed without industry’s cooperation.

What is new is the mass market Apple commands with its iPhone and iPad and the company’s efforts to take advantage of new industry standards and collaborative alliances for aggregating and sharing patient data from disparate healthcare systems.

Even with all the electrification of healthcare data and advances in networks for sharing that data, however, one industry stalwart is unlikely to be replaced: the fax.

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Independent Krebs

February 5, 2018 admin

Alleged Spam Kingpin ‘Severa’ Extradited to US

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2018 18:28:30 +0000

Peter Yuryevich Levashov, a 37-year-old Russian computer programmer thought to be one of the world’s most notorious spam kingpins, has been extradited to the United States to face federal hacking and spamming charges. Levashov, who allegedly went by the hacker name “Peter Severa,” or “Peter of the North,” hails from St. Petersburg in northern Russia, but he was arrested last year while in Barcelona, Spain with his family. Authorities have long suspected he is the cybercriminal behind the once powerful spam botnet known as Waledac (a.k.a. “Kelihos”), a now-defunct malware strain responsible for sending more than 1.5 billion spam, phishing and malware attacks each day.

ComputerWorld Independent

February 5, 2018 admin

Hold your breath, avoid the snake oil, and get Windows updated

Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2018 09:50:00 -0800

January 2018 was a month that will go down in patching infamy. Looking back on my notes, we had patches released, yanked, re-released and/or re-re-released on 15 different days in January. Untold thousands of machines were bricked by Microsoft patches. Millions of hours were lost chasing down bad patches and bad advice.

Although there were a couple of real bugs fixed in the January patches — the Equation Editor vulnerability being suspect #1 — most of the angst was completely superfluous. The Meltdown/Spectre patches at the heart of the drama attacked a problem that wasn’t — and isn’t — there. We still have no known Meltdown or Spectre exploits in the wild. None.

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ComputerWorld Independent

February 5, 2018 admin

Apple provides superior cybersecurity protection

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2018 07:55:00 -0800

Apple has kept CEO Tim Cook’s enterprise security promise, and in doing so staked space in one of the few growing sectors of the insurance market, revealing a new enterprise-focused cybersecurity offering bought to market with Cisco, Aon and Allianz.

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Independent Securiteam

February 4, 2018 admin

SSD Advisory – Python Bytecode Disassembler and Decompiler (pycdc) Multiple Vulnerabilities

Credit to Author: SSD / Maor Schwartz| Date: Sun, 04 Feb 2018 12:03:20 +0000

Vulnerabilities summary The following advisory describes 12 (twelve) vulnerabilities found in Python Bytecode Disassembler and Decompiler (pycdc). Python Bytecode Disassembler and Decompiler (pycdc) “aims to translate compiled Python byte-code back into valid and human-readable Python source code. While other projects have achieved this with varied success, Decompyle++ is unique in that it seeks to support … Continue reading SSD Advisory – Python Bytecode Disassembler and Decompiler (pycdc) Multiple Vulnerabilities

ComputerWorld Independent

February 2, 2018 admin

Get 3 Years of NordVPN Service for Just $2.75 Per Month

Credit to Author: DealPost Team| Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2018 07:43:00 -0800

NordVPN promises a private and fast path through the public internet, with no logs and unmetered access for 6 simultaneous devices. They are currently running a promotion, but you’ll have to use this link to find it. Its typical price has been discounted to $99 for 3 years of service. That’s a good deal at just $2.75 per month. See the $2.75/month NordVPN holiday deal here.

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Independent Krebs

February 2, 2018 admin

Attackers Exploiting Unpatched Flaw in Flash

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2018 14:21:06 +0000

Adobe warned on Thursday that attackers are exploiting a previously unknown security hole in its Flash Player software to break into Microsoft Windows computers. Adobe said it plans to issue a fix for the flaw in the next few days, but now might be a good time to check your exposure to this still-ubiquitous program and harden your defenses. Adobe said a critical vulnerability (CVE-2018-4878) exists in Adobe Flash Player 28.0.0.137 and earlier versions. Successful exploitation could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.