IoT security: Defending a young industry from attack
As the IoT industry matures, it’s safe to say we’re well past “early adopter” phase and seeing broader development and deployment. While the prospect of a more established and stable IoT environment is exciting, we’re not there yet. What we are seeing is that the space is showing its youth, and along with it, its…
IPVanish VPN unveils new app, security improvements
US-based IPVanish VPN, whose VPN network spans 40,000+ IPs on 500+ servers in 60+ countries, has recently pushed out a major new edition of its app. The new version (v3.0) has many improvements: a sleeker design, an expanded server list, a QuickConnect feature that allows users to connect to their favorited server with a single…
Hackers changing tactics, techniques and procedures
Organizations need to conduct better penetration testing to combat continual changes in hackers’ tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), according to NTT Security. “Our Q3 2016 report confirms that hackers are relentless and constantly employing new means to penetrate networks to steal confidential data,” said Rob Kraus, Director, Security Research and Strategy, NTT Security. “Organizations’ first…
Chinese firm admits its hacked products were behind Friday’s massive DDOS attack
A Chinese electronics component manufacturer says its products inadvertently played a role in a massive cyberattack that disrupted major internet sites in the U.S. on Friday. Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology, a vendor behind DVRs and internet-connected cameras, said on Sunday that security vulnerabilities involving weak default passwords in its products were partly to blame.
5 apps for encrypting and shredding files
While safeguarding personal and business data has always been important, the necessity for maintaining digital privacy has become even more vital as more of our records are digitized. People are starting to realize that passwords alone aren’t enough. Even with password protection, anything on your computer can potentially be viewed by an enterprising hacker. And…
Week in review: DNS DDoS, Linux kernel zero-day, VeraCrypt audited
Here’s an overview of some of last week’s most interesting news, reviews and articles: Dirty COW Linux kernel zero-day exploited in the wild is now patched Linux developer Phil Oester has spotted attackers exploiting a Linux kernel zero-day privilege escalation flaw that dates back to 2007, and has raised the alarm.
IDG Contributor Network: Fasten your seatbelt in the IoT cybersecurity race
Using very old and simple techniques such as brute force attacks, cybercriminals are gaining control over a population of insecure internet of things (IoT) devices with arsenals of malware. Brian Krebs’ website was recently targeted in the largest ever distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The source code that powered the IoT botnet responsible for the attack…
Extensive DDoS attack against Dyn restarts, could indicate a new use of old criminal tech
Attacks against DNS service provider Dyn resumed today after a two and a half hour lull, and could indicate a new application of an old criminal technology, experts say. Dyn hasn’t shared details on the type of DDoS attacks used nor the size of those attacks that have affected access to sites including Amazon, Etsy,…
7 Imminent IoT Threats
Recent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks involving the use of thousands of compromised digital video recorders and IP cameras have highlighted the looming security threat posed by the Internet of Things (IoT). Analyst firm Juniper Research estimates that between now and the end of 2020, the number of “things” connected to the Internet will grow from…
Easy-to-exploit rooting flaw puts Linux computers at risk
The maintainers of Linux distributions are rushing to patch a privilege escalation vulnerability that’s already being exploited in the wild and poses a serious risk to servers, desktops and other devices that run the OS. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2016-5195, has existed in the Linux kernel for the past nine years. This means that many…