The real cost of a stolen identity
“Those who have had their identity stolen know the feelings of helplessness and violation that it can bring. The costs go beyond the pocketbook – it can be devastating to know that someone else out there is posing as you. What decisions are they making in your name? How much of your money have they spent? What can you do about it? This infographic by ZoneAlarm breaks down the costs of identity theft and illustrates what to do if yours has been compromised. Click to enlarge.” See infographic…
(source: Icanhasinternets)
Carrier IQ responds to complaints with legal threats
“Carrier IQ, in a move intended to make everyone love and respect them, sent this Cease and Desist order to TrevE, the developer who discovered the deep problems inherent in their software, for defamation when he called CIQ a rootkit and pointed out lots of issues. They also threatened legal action for copyright infringement because he posted excerpts from freely-available training documents in his findings.” Read more…
(source: Good and EVO)
Full disk encryption is too good, says US intelligence agency
“You might be shocked to learn this, but when a quivering-lipped Chloe from 24 cracks the encryption on a terrorist’s hard drive in 30 seconds, the TV show is faking it. “So what? It’s just a TV show.” Well, yes, but it turns out that real federal intelligence agencies, like the FBI, CIA, and NSA, also have a problem cracking encrypted hard disks — and according to a new research paper, this is a serious risk to national security.” Read more…
(source: ExtremeTech)
Tests show free Android antivirus programs don't work
“A report from AV-Test, a well-known security software testing lab in Germany, says that free antivirus products for Android don’t work well. In the lab’s tests, many didn’t find a single malware file scanned by them.” Read more…
Yet another huge security hole uncovered on all HTC EVO devices
“Well, it looks like we should be expecting another OTA security update from HTC fairly soon. This time, there’s a security hole that seems to effect all WiMAX-enabled HTC Android devices; in other words, all members of the HTC EVO family.” Read more…
(source: Good and EVO)
Virus infects U.S. drones
“A virus has infiltrated American drones like the ones used to kill al Qaeda chief Anwar al-Awlaki and others, military officials said Friday. So far, none of the missions carried out by the unmanned attack crafts have been interfered with, but specialists fear that the virus is recording drone pilots’ every move and are trying—so far unsuccessfully—to erase it.” Read more…
(source: The Daily Beast)
Android security threats, and how you can stay safe
“Android is a more open platform than most currently on the market. Users are afforded wide-ranging control over their devices and the applications they install. Though, that freedom is a two-way street. As mobile devices become more prevalent, they are increasingly becoming targets of malicious groups who exploit Android’s openness. There are several different types of security vulnerabilities and attacks that users should be aware of, not all of which can be easily defended against.” Read more…
(source: ExtremeTech)
Sentence your password
Sentence your password: How to make a pass phrase meet complexity requirements in a meaningful way…
“Within my community, I am promoting the thought that good passwords really should be called ‘good pass words’ - that they can easily be formed by the combination of four or more apparently random words in a memorable way” Read more…
(source: Infosec Island, via Current)
Myth: Apple products don’t get viruses
“[H]ow many times have you heard, or even said, “I won’t get that computer virus because I have a Mac”? While Mac users tend to feel somewhat insulated from viruses, it’s time for anyone who owns an Apple computer, iPhone, iPad, or other Apple device to listen up. The growing popularity of Apple products has inspired cybercriminals to create viruses that will harm Macs. Until now.” Read more…
(source: Infosec Island, via Current)
Security expert: Windows 7 is more secure than Mac OS X
“Conventional wisdom has it that Apple’s Mac OS X system is more secure than Windows. And though partisans on either side of the OS fence have differing reasons for believing that to be so—Mac users believe it’s because of the inherent superiority of OS X’s UNIX underpinnings, and Windows users claim that OS X’s tiny 5 percent usage share isn’t a sufficient target for hackers—this is perhaps the one area where they do agree. But security expert Alex Stamos of iSec Partners says the conventional wisdom is wrong. And this week at the Black Hat Conference, he claimed that Mac OS X is ‘significantly more vulnerable’ than Windows 7 when it comes to network-based attacks—you know, the kind that actually occur in the real world.” Read more…
(source: Windows Super Site)
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a cyber attack?
“With a few thousand bucks, a tool box and some technical skill, you could bring about the cyber apocalypse…. The plane can wreak lots of havoc. For instance, it can fly over a Starbucks and steal the personal information of everyone connected to the coffee shop’s free Wi-Fi network. It can intercept your cell phone conversations and even reroute your calls to another number. It can trace the location of specific people and follow them home.” Read more…
(source: CNN Money)
How digital detectives deciphered Stuxnet, the most menacing malware in history
A few weeks ago, I posted a grim video about the first known cyber weapon, the Stuxnet virus, which apparently was designed to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program. This article gives a detailed account of how a reboot loop in a single computer lead malware investigators from around the world to detect and decipher the design and purpose of Stuxnet. It is a fascinating read, much like a detective thriller. Read more…
(source: Wired)
Anatomy of a computer virus
Stuxnet: Anatomy of a Computer Virus from Patrick Clair on Vimeo.
Be afraid… Be very afraid! An open source weapon? WTF?
From the NSA: Home network security
Tekzilla’s Patrick Norton and Veronica Belmont discuss a paper (.pdf) from the NSA listing best practices for keeping your home network secure.
