Cybersecurity & Privacy
Distributed Denial of Service Attacks have doubled in Q2
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“800”] Image by thierry ehrmann used under creative commons license [/caption] Akamai, the 800lb gorilla of internet security, has published its Q2 2016 State of the Internet Security Report. DDoS attacks seem to be a prefered attack vector and have doubled in number over the past 12 months. In Q2, The security teams at Akamai have counted a 129% YoY increase in the number of DDoS attacks translated to 4,919 attacks being mitigated in Q2. Beyond just absolute number, we are constantly looking for the size of the attacks and the report does not disappoint.
Your browser will betray your identity
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”] Image by Lisa Brewster used under Creative Commons License [/caption] Without doing anything wrong, your browser sends out information that makes you unique on the internet. This basically betrays your efforts to stay anonymous (unless you know what you are doing). Every time you visit a website, your browser sends (or makes available) information about your browser configuration to the site. This information includes content such as fonts, browser type, elements supported, etc. In many cases, this will allow a site, network or bad actor to track you across the internet without cookies.
Your phone calls and SMS messages aren't secure
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1800”] Image by Matthew Hurst used under Creative Commons License [/caption] In the above 2015 presentation, security researchers broke the secrecy around a protocol called SS7 and explained how a technically proficient user can "break it" and easily compromise your mobile phone call data and text messages. Seeing an opportunity, 60 minutes produced a popular segment that scared viewers and I still receive emails from readers asking if this is "a real thing". Let's take a look at this together.
Samsung Note 7 to come bundled with McAfee security
Itell Security (formerly McAfee) announced that the Samsung Note 7 will come bundled with McAfee VirusScan mobile security. The press release claims "Samsung customers can enjoy better protection from more diverse and sophisticated threats in mobile world." Truth be told, I do not advocate using an antivirus on Android smartphones but you have to ensure you don't break any of the built in security features (like side loading apps). To me, this looks like the kind of bundling cash grab we see in the PC space (manufacturers get $1-$5 to bundle an app in the base image helping make the device a bit more profitable).
Why use Facebook over the TOR secure network
When people think about the TOR network, they either think its a means for criminals to buy illicit products or for fugitives trying to hide their online activities from the law. Tor is much more than that. It is a mechanism to protect your online activities when needed. Sitting at home, my packets bounce through dozens of different routers before they arrive at their final destination. I just performed a traceroute and had 11 hops between my computer and the Facebook site.
Google deploying SPAM call protection to some Nexus devices
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Nexus One image by closari used under Creative Commons License [/caption] Google's quest to squash SPAM isn't stopping with email. The sultan of search is now pushing an update to some Nexus and Google One devices to warn users when they receive a potentially SPAM call. The feature allows you to block the number or report it. The Use caller ID & spam protection will be turned on by default. The feature was launched with a post on the Nexus Google+ forum.
Pokemon Go players targeted in robbery & police issue safety tips
Pokemon Go is an incredible phenomenon encouraging people to get outside, walk and socialize. For all its faults, it has tones of positive attributes. The challenge (and what keeps the game interesting), is the fact you never know where Pokemon are going to pop up. Here is the stampede that ensued when a rare Vaporeon Pokemon showed up in central park. Notice the guy that just leaves his car in the middle of the road and rushes in. While its a great game, many get too enthralled in the game and forget to stay alert and aware of their surroundings.
iCloud attack was really a phishing
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“4000”] Image by Christiaan Cole used under Creative Commons License [/caption] Remember the "iCcloud hacking" where celebrity photos were stolen and published? Well the man behind it (aka Celebgate) was convicted of accessing more than 300 iCloud and Gmail accounts (30 of which belonged to real legitimate celebrities). You can read the district attorney brief if interested. Now this is the story that wasn't... While most media outlets were shocked that Apple would allow hackers to "break into"
Hacker eavesdropes on Quebec Liberal Party Meetings
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“977”] Photo from Journal de Montréal [/caption] A local Quebec french language newspaper (Journal De Montréal) has an interesting report about a hacker exploiting a critical flaw in the PLQ (Quebec Liberal Party) video conferencing system allowing him to eavesdrop on private strategy discussions. Lucky for the PLQ, the hacker is a white-hat (good guy) and informed employees of the flaw. He also proved his exploit by sharing videos taken from the private discussions. A black-hat could have exploited this information for personal gain or to make a political statement.
Chinese developer charged with espionage
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2000”] Image by Katy Levinson used under Creative Commons License [/caption] American federal authorities have charged a Chinese developer (believed to be an ex-IBM employee) with stealing source code from big blue. The defendant, Xu Jianqiang was arrested by the FBI in December and since they have raised the indictment to 6 charges (from the original one): 3 x economic espionage and 3 x theft of trade secrets. The prosecutor claims the source code was stolen to benefit Chinese authorities and are "