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Research

Android Android vulnerability patch time lag causes malware opportunity

Android vulnerability patch time lag causes malware opportunity

One of the blessings of Open Source initiatives is the rapidity with which coders can release quality collaborative code. This is one of the ways the Android managed to claw its way into the smartphone mainstream, after arriving late to the game. But as the app ecosystem matures, vulnerability/patch management becomes more of an issue,

anti-malware Kids’ computer game malware – Scammers stoop to new lows

Kids’ computer game malware – Scammers stoop to new lows

There’s a new batch of malware making the rounds, this time directed at spreading banking malware through childrens’ games. Though it’s hard to imagine, the scammers are taking advantage of the naivete of kids, who may not be as skilled at detecting scams as their more seasoned parents. According to an article in Softpedia, the

Apple Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011

Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011

ESET would like to extend our sincere sympathies to the friends, family and colleagues of Steve Jobs. Steve was a true visionary, without whom the world of computing would be very different. If you have never seen Steve's Stanford University Commencement Address, you should, it's truly inspirational. The third point he makes is that we

Cybercrime U.S. Government – Security incidents up 650% over 5 years

U.S. Government – Security incidents up 650% over 5 years

Citing weaknesses in security controls at 24 major agencies, a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) charts the stellar rise in incidents, and tries to highlight what went wrong. Just today my colleague Stephen Cobb also posted a government-related incident in the health care sector. The timeframe of the study, starting in

General Military Health Records Deserve Better Than This

Military Health Records Deserve Better Than This

Most people would agree that personal information, particularly health information, especially that pertaining to the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces, should be treated with care and protected from prying eyes at all times. But what should happen if this information is compromised? Surely we should do whatever we can to make sure no harm

Cybercrime Which anonymizing VPN is really anonymous?

Which anonymizing VPN is really anonymous?

On the heels of the arrest of Cory Kretsinger, aka “Recursion”, for one of the Sony data breaches, following an FBI request for traffic records from his VPN provider, users wonder whether anonymizing service providers really are all that anonymous. Using a VPN to connect securely out of reach of prying eyes, is a common

General Will FTC Scrutiny Prompt Facebook to Pull an Onstar?

Will FTC Scrutiny Prompt Facebook to Pull an Onstar?

Facebook's latest round of changes has prompted privacy concerns in many circles, including Capitol Hill. As reported by Byron Acohido in USA TODAY, numerous consumer groups have joined with several members of congress to call on the Federal Trade Commission–the FTC–to investigate "new sharing mechanisms designed to accelerate the collection and dispersal of information about

civil rights Rig an election for around 25 bucks

Rig an election for around 25 bucks

Actually $26, according to a study conducted by Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, which was able to hack a Diebold voting machine with “about $26 and an 8th-grade science education.” In light of the rapidly approaching 2012 U.S. Presidential Election, it seems there may be a need to give serious attention to securing our election

Cybercrime Corner Facebook, the natural home of the hoax

Facebook, the natural home of the hoax

You may have noticed a lot of excitement about Facebook's latest attempts to prune your privacy, and you'll probably see more commentary on this blog. Here's something a little different: a good old-fashioned chainletter that seems to be flourishing despite all its logical flaws. The story is at SC Magazine's Cybercrime Corner, to which I

Facebook How much photo data does Facebook really have?

How much photo data does Facebook really have?

According to a post by a Facebook Photos engineer, they receive around 200 million photo uploads per DAY, or about 6 billion per month. A separate post says Facebook currently hosts 4% of all photos ever taken. Specifically, it hosts 140 billion photos out of 3.5 trillion photos taken in history. Also, we see “it

Apple New Apple OS X Malware: Fake Adobe Flash Installer

New Apple OS X Malware: Fake Adobe Flash Installer

A new attack against Apple Mac OS X Lion (10.7) has been detected by Intego. The threat is a Trojan, dubbed Flashback, installed via a fake Adobe Flash installer downloaded from a third party site. As with the MacDefender and Revir malware, the Flashback attack uses social engineering to entice the user to download then

Malware Towering Qbot Certificates

Towering Qbot Certificates

New stolen digital certificates are used by the multi-purpose backdoor Qbot. The criminals behind the Qbot trojan are certainly not inactive. As I mentioned in a blog post earlier this month, after a quiet summer we have seen a batch of new Qbot variants. An interesting fact is that the malicious binaries were digitally signed.

data leakage OnStar to still gather vehicle data after service expires

OnStar to still gather vehicle data after service expires

Unless you specifically cancel the 2-way communication aspect, the default setting will be to continue a communication link to OnStar once the subscription expires, raising the ire of customers who wonder what the company does with the data. OnStar says that data is anonymized, but customers fear data showing current vehicle location doesn’t seem very