Antivirus Vendors
Some shop owners leave their shops unattended, be it due to bad configuration or missing updates. It’s the “Key in the ignition – engine running” scenario. The problem: those oversights are easy to spot and hack, all one needs to do is write a script.
The post Shanghaied shops & ABS / Scout detection appeared first on Avira Blog.
IoT devices, while extremely useful for simplifying various mundane aspects of everyday life, also offer criminals a new attack platform: your appliances.
The post The Hive Mind: When IoT devices go rogue appeared first on WeLiveSecurity.
At Avast Threat Labs, we are constantly monitoring the threat landscape and evaluating current risks. Most of the time, we face prevalent strains of malware, such as Locky or Cerber ransomware, but from time to time we are alerted by our automated systems about anomalies within active in-the-wild samples. These alerts are either new techniques used by known malware or a discovery of a new strain.
To help better serve users of the WhatsApp messaging app, Facebook recently implemented a number of changes to the terms and conditions associated with the service. The new policy addresses information sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook – anyone who continues to use the app agrees to having some of their personal data sent back to Facebook for analysis and marketing purposes.
Concerned about potential abuses of this new sharing agreement, a German regulator has stepped in, forcing Facebook to put their plans on hold. Facebook has been ordered to stop sharing the information of their German users. They have also been forced to delete any data that has already been transferred from WhatsApp.
According to the data commissioner for Hamburg who issued the stop order, the 30 million German people currently using WhatsApp should have the option of whether or not they want to connect their account to Facebook. By forcing every WhatsApp user to make the link, users are deprived of the choice.
Which is apparently illegal under German data protection laws.
According to the new user agreement, Facebook is collecting a few specific details from WhatsApp – the names and numbers of people contained in your address book, who you call, and how long you speak for. They claim that this information can then be used to put WhatsApp users in touch with “relevant” businesses, and to help improve suggested friend recommendations on the Facebook social network.
Facebook has assured users that they will not be selling these details to advertisers, or sharing personal data publicly.
WhatsApp and Facebook have stated that their data collection and sharing programmes are entirely legal – both at EU and local government levels. But following the German announcement, information commissioners in the UK and the US have also voiced concerns about the deal. Neither has yet confirmed whether there will be any further investigations or sanctions however.
For WhatsApp users, this all sounds pretty scary. Facebook’s disclosure seems fairly straightforward – but government reactions reveal the complexities of managing and controlling personal data in the social media age.
It is extremely important to note that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook have access to your calls or messages sent using the app however. Every communication is encrypted between you and the recipient so no one, including Facebook, can listen in.
Which means that even if Facebook changes their data sharing policies again in future, your most sensitive conversations will not be used in any way.
The WhatsApp data sharing row is a timely reminder that your personal data is valuable, and it is being shared between providers. If you haven’t read every word of the terms and conditions for every app installed on your smartphone, you probably don’t know which are doing it though.
You can regain some of that control using Panda Mobile Security. This Android anti-virus app not only detects malware, but it also allows you to control the data access permissions for every app you have installed. You can control who can access your data, reducing the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft – or the target of determined advertisers and sales people!
The post Facebook banned to stop collecting users data on WhatsApp appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.
ESET’s threat analysts have taken a closer look at the software used by Sednit to spy on its targets and steal confidential information.
The post Lifting the lid on Sednit: A closer look at the software it uses appeared first on WeLiveSecurity.
Whether you usually use a personal or corporate credit card, anyone can be the victim of a data breach. Criminals can easily use a phishing attack to take your card number, PIN and even the security code on the back of your card. What’s worse is that they’re so quick! By the time you’ve discovered the theft, it will be too late. Even if your company quickly cancels the card, you will already have some serious problems… the thief will have already spent your hard earned cash.
These kind of attacks happen more often than you think. In the first half of 2016 there were more than a million cases of financial fraud with the objective of robbing credit card data. This statistic is worrisome, without a doubt, especially considering that this number doubled the results from 2015.
This is where Motion Code steps in. This new technology was developed by the French company Oberthur and will revolutionize the way we make purchases. Its goal is pretty simple: to preserve your security by changing the security code on the back of your credit card, constantly.
How will they do this exactly? Well, unlike the cards we use now that have a tiny rectangle on the back with three secret numbers, Oberthur has proposed a solution: they want to substitute this rectangle with a small screen that changes the numbers every hour. At first glance, the credit cards are exactly the same, but instead of the security code changing every three years, the numbers change every hour.
This means that the cybercriminal won’t be able to steal a dime: by the time a phishing attack is completed and the data is stolen, the screen will have changed and the whole scheme will be a complete waste of time for the criminal.
It may be inconvenient for your employees to use these cards because they will no longer be able to memorize the security code on the back. But really, who cares? They will have to check the security code every time they use it, but this smallest effort could also bring them the most security benefits in your company.
The post The Antifraud Card of the Future! appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.
Avira redefines digital safety with the Free Security Suite: digital lives made safer, faster, and more private than ever before.
The post Avira Free Security Suite – The first free security suite ever! appeared first on Avira Blog.
Chinese firm says it will recall vulnerable components, but as long as insecure devices continue to be attached to the internet, there will be opportunities for malicious hackers to exploit them and use them for their own ends.
The post Webcam firm recalls hackable devices after mighty Mirai botnet attack appeared first on WeLiveSecurity.
On Friday October 21st, a series of IoT DDoS attacks caused widespread disruption of legitimate internet activity in the US. Stephen Cobb investigates.
The post 10 things to know about the October 21 IoT DDoS attacks appeared first on WeLiveSecurity.
Is it time for internet of thing (IoT) devices to get a ‘Good Housekeeping’ seal of approval?
The post IoT is eating the internet appeared first on Avira Blog.
