Independent – Page 418 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: Darlene Storm| Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2017 07:52:00 -0700

The phone, given to you by your company, could be targeted at some point and end up with a malware infection, but you wouldn’t expect the malware to be preinstalled “somewhere along the supply chain.” Yet preinstalled malware is precisely what one security vendor found on 38 Android devices.

Check Point Software Technologies did not name the affected companies, saying only that the phones belonged to “a large telecommunications company” and “a multination technology company.” A good chunk of the infected phones were Samsung models, but phones by Lenovo, LG, Asus, ZTE, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi were also preinstalled with malware after leaving the manufacturers but before landing in the hands of the companies’ employees.

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ComputerWorld Independent

March 13, 2017 admin

GOP senator alleges password-hijack attempts after blasting WikiLeaks founder

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2017 06:31:00 -0700

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) Saturday claimed that hackers were trying to gain access to his personal and government-issued devices through bogus password-reset notifications.

In a short flurry of Twitter messages, Sasse blamed the hacking attempts on his criticism of WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, earlier in the week.

“Heads-up…I’ve been critical of Assange & WikiLeaks this week. So…big surprise: Am having multiple ‘password reset’ attempts right now,” Sasse tweeted Saturday. The probing was hitting “basically every device, every platform, personal and govt,” he added in a follow-up tweet.

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ComputerWorld Independent

March 13, 2017 admin

Zix wins 5-vendor email encryption shootout

Credit to Author: David Strom| Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2017 04:23:00 -0700

Email encryption products have made major strides since we last looked at them nearly two years ago. They have gotten easier to use and deploy, thanks to a combination of user interface and encryption key management improvements, and are at the point where encryption can almost be called effortless on the part of the end user.

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(Insider Story)

ComputerWorld Independent

March 13, 2017 admin

Setting up DLP features for email security

Network World contributing editor David Strom provides a roundup of how to enable data leak prevention features on three email security platforms.

ComputerWorld Independent

March 10, 2017 admin

BlackBerry claims QNX automotive software is safe from CIA

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2017 14:31:00 -0800

A day after it was revealed through WikiLeaks that the CIA has allegedly explored hacking vehicle computer-control systems, including BlackBerry’s QNX OS, the company said its software is safe.

“We are not currently aware of any attacks or exploits against BlackBerry products or services, including QNX. Still, the news is a bit frightening, now that we are in the semi-autonomous driving age and evolving towards fully self-driving cars,” Marty Beard, BlackBerry’s chief operating officer stated in a blog.

BlackBerry claims its QNX software is in 60 million cars represented by more than 240 car models. The company has its sights set on becoming the leading end-to-end software platform provider in connected cars.

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Independent Krebs

March 10, 2017 admin

Dahua, Hikvision IoT Devices Under Siege

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2017 20:07:51 +0000

Dahua, the world’s second-largest maker of “Internet of Things” devices like security cameras and digital video recorders (DVRs), has shipped a software update that closes a gaping security hole in a broad swath of its products. The vulnerability allows anyone to bypass the login process for these devices and gain remote, direct control over vulnerable systems. Adding urgency to the situation, there is now code available online that allows anyone to exploit this bug and commandeer a large number of IoT devices.

ComputerWorld Independent

March 10, 2017 admin

IDG Contributor Network: Phishing: Draining the corporate bottom line

Credit to Author: Robert C. Covington| Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2017 09:36:00 -0800

Quick quiz — how many of you have not experienced a phishing attack on your organization in the last month?

I suspect that there are not many hands up. As you likely know, phishing is a pervasive problem for the corporate world, and the problem is growing. One organization I work with has seen a 400% increase in phishing attacks in just the last year.

I think most people with some knowledge of the information security world understand the gravity of phishing attacks. The results of a recent study indicated that approximately 93% of phishing messages carry ransomware. On top of that, many seek to collect personal information for later use, a practice known as social engineering.

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