Antivirus Vendors
Some weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the fourth annual Child Internet Safety Summit in London. This event brings together teachers, education policy makers, researchers, professors, and foundations to discuss and debate the implications of the digital world for young people today.
Cyber threats have been around all year. It’s actually really hard to compile a list of the top 3 cyber-attacks as evaluating the damage caused by a single cyber thread is nearly impossible. However we have been monitoring the cyber space for the past year so we made it possible to highlight some of the really bad ones.
With complete respect towards democracy and people’s choices, it is not a secret thay hackers managed to get to many of the emails sent from and to one of the presidential candidates and members of her team. Yes, Hillary Clinton was under fire because emails of hers and her staff members ended up in the wrong hands.
Of course the authenticity of the emails was never officially confirmed but those emails cast a big shadow on her campaign. According to many, fake news generators mixed with ‘food for thought’ type of email leaks ended up deciding the results of the US presidential election.
We are never going to know if state hackers were behind the attacks or simply groups such as Anonymous and WikiLeaks. Who knows, maybe they wanted to get back at the Democratic Party for Obama’s actions during the Edward Snowden and Julian Assange cases. I guess we will never know…
Earlier this year Yahoo admitted to more than 500 million user accounts being stolen from them back in 2013. Yes, it is true – your username and password might have been on sale in databases offered on the Dark Web for the past few years. When this was officially announced Panda Security advised people who had interactions with Yahoo to change their passwords.
Users are advised to change their passwords every 3 months nevertheless most people won’t change them. Clearly this is a personal choice. However if you don’t change your passwords regularly, your login details may still be circulating in the dark web and you are still under danger of being hacked. Just so you understand how high the stakes are here, because of this hack, when Verizon acquired Yahoo earlier this year they were able to negotiate a better deal.
A massive cyber-attack against US DNS service provider Dyn knocked out major websites across the Internet earlier this year. The attack affected several websites, including Netflix, Twitter, Amazon and The New York Times.
The Internet service was disrupted for almost 11 hours, affecting more than one billion customers around the world. This attack added to the list of those suffered by a number of tech giants in 2016, such as the hack of 60 million Dropbox user IDs and 100 million LinkedIn passwords.
It surely has been a hell of a year so far, and it is not over yet. A few weeks ago Google was reportedly sending a new batch of warning emails to users, informing them that government-backed attackers might be trying to steal their passwords. The story is still unfolding. According to Wired, Russian hackers are targeting Germany’s elections. Would they succeed?
In 2017 we anticipate the unravelling of the Juliane Assange and Edward Snowden cases. Hopefully DDoS attacks will become harder to execute as regulations for connected consumer electronics are being strengthened. Would government supported hackers continue to change the political landscapes across the globe? We will also keep an eye on voice interactions with consumer electronics as they keep on growing.
Stay tuned!
The post The Biggest Cyber-attacks of 2016 appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.
The future of corporate security lies in artificial intelligence. In fact, for better or worse, algorithms will turn out to be crucial to the protection of corporate data. These two faces of the same coin will be nothing less than malware capable of mimicking human behavior and, on the flip side, solutions that can predict which threats will endanger your company’s networks.
To date, there are already algorithms capable of imitating writing styles, and this is precisely the key to the future of cyberattacks. Just imagine, for example, an employee who receives an email supposedly sent by a superior asking him to make a money transfer. The sender doesn’t arouse suspicion because the ill-intentioned algorithm has very believably mimic the superior in question’s writing style. This is a situation we are already seeing today.
According to the FBI, this sort of attack is not science fiction. There are already plenty of businesses that have fallen prey to these attacks, which have entailed losses of $23 million. As artificial intelligence makes headway and gains the ability to analyze more and more data of the person it plans to impersonate, so-called CEO fraud will become increasingly sophisticated and difficult to combat.
However, all is not lost. As difficult as it may seem to counter these methods, businesses should take comfort in the upsides of artificial intelligence.
Indeed, the cybersecurity systems of tomorrow will come by way of algorithms that can prophesize future threats. To do this, they must first identify corporate system vulnerabilities that could give way to malicious software. The goal is for A.I. to be able to detect anomalies on company networks before it is too late.
For better or worse, companies will need to keep up with advances in A.I. to keep their confidential data confidential. It will be both the problem and the solution all at once. A new starting signal in the cybersecurity race that calls for the adequate protection of your company.
The post Artificial Intelligence: the Future of Fighting Cybercrime appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.
Three Ways to Defend Against Ransomware – Forbes
Blockchain Technology Could Ensure Security of any Information, says Kaspersky Lab Chief Security Expert – EconoTimes
Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 10, is off to the fastest adoption of any version of Windows ever, and is already in use (33 percent), or being piloted, by more than 96 percent of enterprises. However, while security was a major focus of Microsoft in designing the software – Windows Defender and Windows Firewall – the huge success of the OS and the vast Windows installed base, which includes enterprise, SMB, public sector, and consumer, has made it a major focus of cybercriminals, too. CVE currently lists 166 Windows 10 vulnerabilities, and in an average week Avast prevents more than 2.3 million virus attacks on Windows 10 PCs.
Most people think that hackers only target PCs and laptops. Some may also be aware that cybercriminals are now targeting smartphones too. But did you know that virtually any device – including your eReader – could be a potential target for attack?
With the exception of the Amazon Kindle, dedicated eReaders are now quite rare. Most people actually use cheap Android-powered tablets to read ebooks.
Obviously this is perfectly sensible – a reader that can be used to browse the web is really useful. But just like any other Android-powered tablet, there is a risk of security compromise.
These eReader tablets can install and run apps, just like Android smartphones – and this is there the problems arise. Malware infected apps are depressingly common; once installed they can steal personal information, access your passwords, allow criminals to commit identity theft and even use your tablet to attack other systems.
Malware is not just restricted to apps however. Determined hackers may disguise their apps as ebooks in the hope of tricking people into downloading them. Once loaded, these fake ebooks will install malware in the background, so you may not even know that there is something wrong.
Even if you never download apps to your eReader app, there is still a risk that cyber criminals could break in. WiFi connected devices are increasingly popular, allowing you to do all kinds of automated tasks. Remote light switches, connected thermostats, CCTV cameras and the like can all be joined to your home WiFi network to make your life easier through automation.
Known as the Internet of Things, these new technologies promise to change the way we live our lives at home. Unfortunately, every WiFi connected device also provides criminals with a range of potential targets to attack. Once in, they can then begin stealing data from the other devices attached to your network – including your eReader tablet.
Because of these risks, you must protect your eReader in the same way you do your PC and smartphone. You should only ever download ebooks and apps from recognised, reputable stores like Amazon and Google Play for instance. This will help greatly reduce the risk of downloading an infected file.
You should also ensure that you have a suitable mobile security app installed on your eReader – like Panda Mobile Security. This will help prevent malicious apps from installing themselves, and alert you when there is a potential problem. You can then stop your information being stolen, or your device damaged.
If you suspect that your eReader has already been hacked, you should download Panama Mobile Security immediately. The longer an infection is left untreated, the greater the potential loss and damage caused.
For more help and advice on protecting your eReader, please get in touch.
The post Did you know your eReader can be hacked? appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.
A malware infection can do more than leak your contacts and drain your bank account. It might result in you getting shot. A specialized app for sighting field artillery has reportedly been hacked and repackaged with malware. Instead of just helping Ukrainian soldiers set up their artillery units more quickly, the hacker-enhanced app also sent […]
The post Warning: Malware can get you shot appeared first on Avira Blog.
Almost a decade has passed since the arrival of Furby, which made quite a splash on the children’s toys market. That was just the beginning. Now, Christmas serves as a time to usher in new companions that, of course, come with their respective apps and are able to have full conversations, as though they were alive. The Internet of Things has come to the toy store.
This new brand of entertainment carries along with it certain privacy risks for children. In fact, a recent study carried out by the Scandinavian consultancy Bouvet demonstrates how certain technologies included in modern toys connected to the Internet could present some danger.
According to the study, the Cayla doll and the robot i-Que, two American toys that are also available in a few European countries, are far from being the ideal entertainment for the kids.
For starters, they come with a voice recognition system enabling them to hold a conversation with their young owners. Built by the American company Nuance Communications, this system records the children’s speech at all times and sends it to the company, which stockpiles the audio data.
Apart from this unsettling surveillance of children, these toys pose another risk. According to the study, these products employ surreptitious advertising. Bouvet discovered that, over the course of conversations, the toys talk about other products, such as specific animation films.
As if that wasn’t enough, the investigators also discovered that the toys are able to be manipulated and that cybercriminals could hack them to cut into conversations with children or steal the conversations being recorded.
However, these aren’t the first incidents that have triggered alarms when it comes to smart toys. In fact, some companies have been adapting children’s entertainment to devices for over half a decade, not without certain risks. Just a year ago, the seventh installment of Star Wars came to toy stores with the BB-8, a friendly robot that you could control from a smartphone. Shortly after, it was revealed that this toy could be hacked and hijacked by a cyber assailant.
Last Christmas, even Barbie herself was accused of posing a danger to children. An interactive doll able to converse with humans and improve itself with automatic learning, the Hello Barbie continuously listened to what children were saying in an espionage fluke that parents and associations didn’t find very funny.
Santa Claus will have to double check the things he places under the tree this year. For starters, we should assume that to some degree all smart toys collect at least some data from our children. Before purchasing a toy connected to the Internet of Things, check consumer reports to see if there are any known vulnerabilities. And most of all, enjoy your holidays without worry.
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Free Ransomware Decryption – The Wall Street Journal
