Zero-day vulnerability in Flash Player exploited by attackers

A zero day vulnerability in Flash is being actively used by cybercriminals, according to Forbes.

The vulnerability uses the Angler exploit kit, and targets users in drive-by-download attacks via compromised websites, PC World explains. Fortunately, not everyone is affected, with Windows 8.1 users seemingly immune, along with those that use the Chrome web browser.

Zero-day vulnerability in Flash Player exploited by attackers

Madonna hacking suspect arrested by Israeli police

Israeli police, working in co-operation with the FBI, have arrested a 38-year-old man who allegedly hacked into computer systems and stole unfinished versions of songs from Madonna’s upcoming “Rebel Heart” album, leaking the Material Girl’s material online.

According to police spokesperson Luba Samri, Madonna was not the only recording artist to have suffered at the hands of hackers:

Madonna hacking suspect arrested by Israeli police

Public Wi-Fi hacked by seven year old in 10 minutes

The danger of public Wi-Fi hotspots has been exposed by a seven year old girl following a short video tutorial, reports ITV.

The experiment – part of a public awareness campaign by VPN provider ‘Hide My Ass’ – provided seven year old British girl Betsy Davies with a laptop, a tutorial, and a subject willing to be hacked in an environment imitating that found in many of the United Kingdom’s 270,000 public Wi-Fi spots. The results were worrying: not only did Betsy complete the hack, she managed to pull off the attack in just over 10 minutes, according to Information Age.

Public Wi-Fi hacked by seven year old in 10 minutes

How to Secure Business WiFi Using These 4 Easy Steps

It’s not even been a couple of decades since the advent of the Internet. Yet, this technological innovation has spread across all walks of life. And these days, it’s not about helping people to get access to Internet. It’s more about offering internet in the most user-friendly manner. People prefer to get the best Wi-Fi connection free of cost from different business owners. And it’s not that difficult either. Even small businesses can set up Wi-Fi hotspots and offer free Wi-Fi to their customers. And this free Wi-Fi is likely to boost the business prospects.

Wi-Fi hacking is an issue that small businesses need to control properly. They have to be wary of their Wi-Fi services being hacked. Hence, they need to secure the services properly. There are easy ways to do that though. Below are some of the most effective and not-so-difficult ways.

How to Secure Business WiFi Using These 4 Easy Steps

Weakest, common passwords of 2014 revealed

A study of more than 3.3 million passwords leaked in 2014 has been released, exposing the most overused, predictable passwords.

SplashData released the annual top 25 most common passwords, which represent 2.2% of the 3.3 million leaked passwords studied. According to PC Advisor, this represents a decrease, although by our calculations that still means over 72,000 of the passwords leaked in the sample were in this list. PC Advisor speculates that the decline may be down to a wider awareness of the importance of security, with a number of high profile password leaks pushing the issue up people’s agendas in the last year.

Weakest, common passwords of 2014 revealed

CTB-Locker: Multilingual Malware Demands Ransom

As we have seen in previously published articles regarding ransomware, such as TorrentLocker targeting UK with Roya Mail phishing and ransomware in a country near you, these threats are appearing more frequently and in different regions.

Starting a few days ago, we began receiving multiple reports of malware-spreading campaigns in various countries mostly in Latin America and Eastern Europe. A fake email purporting to contain a fax is in fact nothing more than a campaign to spread malicious code, of which the ultimate goal is to encrypt their victims’ files and then to extort a ransom in bitcoins for retrieval of the encrypted information.

CTB-Locker: Multilingual Malware Demands Ransom

Myth versus Reality: Hollywood Takes on Blackhat Hackers | Fortinet Blog

The latest big budget release out of Hollywood takes on the very lucrative world of blackhat hacking with the appropriately named, “Blackhat”.



Myth versus Reality: Hollywood Takes on Blackhat Hackers | Fortinet Blog

New IT data analytics solution gives organizations the power to search and analyze vast amounts | Dell

Dell today announced the latest release of Dell InTrust 11.0, a new IT data analytics solution that gives organizations the power to search and analyze vast amounts of IT data in one place, with real-time insights into user activity across security, compliance and operational teams. The solution’s newest feature, IT Search, is an interactive search and store engine that speeds security, compliance and operations visibility for investigations and audits with instant insight into relationships between data and users. Through a single web interface, IT administrators and security teams for the first time can quickly find answers to all three key compliance and security questions: Who has access to data, how was it obtained and how was it used. With Dell InTrust, IT and security teams can thwart hidden security threats and quickly discover suspicious event trends and anomalies through dynamic breadcrumb investigations into users, groups, files, and events that might otherwise be overlooked and result in possible data breaches.



New IT data analytics solution gives organizations the power to search and analyze vast amounts | Dell

The 6 vital steps to deterring cybercrime, compiled by ESET

Cybercrime is costing us all. How can we address this problem? ESET takes a deep dive into the steps required to reduce the threat of cybercrime.



The 6 vital steps to deterring cybercrime, compiled by ESET

Survey: young people overwhelmingly in favor of biometric security

A survey by Visa Europe has found that the majority of those aged 16 to 24 would feel comfortable with biometric security replacing the traditional password for their day to day security, Computer Business Review reports.

The research, which surveyed more than 2,000 young people, discovered that 76 percent felt comfortable making payments using biometric security measures including facial recognition, fingerprint and retina scans. 69 percent felt that replacing the password with these measures would make their lives easier and faster.

Survey: young people overwhelmingly in favor of biometric security

DDoS & Security Reports » DDoS Attacks in the Wake of French Anti-terror Demonstrations

On January 15th, France’s chief information systems defense official, Adm. Arnaud Coustilliere, announced a sharp rise in online attacks against French web sites:



DDoS & Security Reports » DDoS Attacks in the Wake of French Anti-terror Demonstrations

1800 Minecraft logins leak online

More than 1,800 Minecraft login details have been leaked online, German news site Heise.de has revealed.

Email addresses and passwords – predominantly of German gamers – were released online in plain text format, allowing those who had not bought the game to download it for themselves using the stolen login data. However, as The Guardian notes, “the more serious implication would be for any players who had used the same email address and password combination for other online services, from shopping and banking to email and social networking.”

1800 Minecraft logins leak online

Thunderstrike! How a radar-proof rootkit could infect your Mac

If you have a lovely, shiny MacBook you might be feeling pretty happy with yourself.

After all, compared to Windows, there is relatively little malware written for OS X. And, for that Mac malware which does exist, you are (hopefully) running a decent anti-virus product and keeping on top of security patches and updates.

Thunderstrike! How a radar-proof rootkit could infect your Mac

Cybercrime deterrence: 6 important steps

Cybercrime can be defined in many ways, but however you define it, I think we can all agree on two things about cybercrime: there is too much of it, and we need to do more to deter it. With thePresident of the United States now making frequent references to “doing more about cybercrime” now is a good time to look at what steps need to be taken. You can go directly to the steps but first I think a little context would be helpful.

For the definition of cybercrime I like this one: “crimes in which computer networks are the target or a substantial tool” (Koops, 2011). That neatly covers the long and growing list of high profile incidents that have come to light over the last 18 months, including the illegal hacking into, theft of data from, and/or denial of service attacks against: Target, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase, Sony Pictures, Microsoft Xbox Live, Sony PSN, eBay, NSA, Adobe, Apple iCloud, and Community Health Systems.

Cybercrime deterrence: 6 important steps

Internet of Things hacking: World Economic Forum warns of "global threat"

The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks report has highlighted risks inherent with Internet of Things style connected devices.

The report called for industry and regulatory bodies worldwide to provide “effective governance” to minimize the potential for Internet of Things hacking, reports Computer Business Review.

Internet of Things hacking: World Economic Forum warns of "global threat"

Aussie Travel Cover breached in December hack

Australian travel insurance company Aussie Travel Cover has been breached in a hack that has seen ‘hundreds of thousands’ of travel records stolen, reports Yahoo News Australia.

Unusually, at this stage the company has opted not to inform affected customers, according to ABC News. In an email to its agents, the company stated that because it had reached out to consultants to investigate the breach, “at this stage there is no reason to advise policyholders.”

Aussie Travel Cover breached in December hack

Holiday security tips - booking online safely

With Christmas fast becoming a distant memory and the January blues setting in, thousands of us are turning our eyes to booking a holiday abroad. But the recent hacks at United and American Airlines show that hackers see the travel industry as fertile territory.

You should – and if you’re careful, you will – be able to book a holiday without fear of fraudsters, but the proliferation of travel scams and hacking attacks on travel booking websites (more than 20 in the past two months alone) mean that you need your wits about you when you’re booking just as much as you would if you were strolling through a bustling street market. Follow these holiday security tips for the best chances of avoiding a scam.

Holiday security tips - booking online safely

How can businesses save money on internet security in 2015?

A recent report from Piper Jaffray found that 75% of companies expected to increase their IT security spending in 2015, following a year of high-profile hacks and data breaches in 2014. But are there ways businesses can save money on their security spend?

Some of the top tips of recent years – particularly the encouragement for businesses to switch to cloud storage and enterprise software – are being received with caution after notable attacks on cloud providers. And while old adages about “getting what you pay for” remain as true as ever, there are ways to reduce company spending on IT – or rather, ensure you don’t over-spend.

How can businesses save money on internet security in 2015?