Mobile app developers: Make sure your back end is covered

Application security isn’t just a developer’s problem. IT staff and the security team also have roles to play in setting up the infrastructure and implementing security controls. When IT administrators forget the security basics for the app’s back-end servers, they undermine the developer’s good security decisions. Researchers at mobile security company Appthority recently analyzed apps…

Week in review: PowerPoint malware delivery, dark web fraud guides, security through APIs

Here’s an overview of some of last week’s most interesting news and articles: UK ICO offers grants for practical privacy research The programme is open to academic institutions, civil society groups, trade and industry associations and organisations with a genuine commitment to public benefit outcomes. Proposals do not need to be technology based but must…

Building Upon Trump’s Executive Order on Cybersecurity

Just days after President Trump signed his executive order on cybersecurity, the massive WannaCry attack dominated the news cycle. The assault infiltrated 150 countries, penetrating national networks and infrastructure. A breach of such international scale has rightly raised questions about government preparedness for digital warfare. In answering these concerns, Trump’s executive order should not be…

Al-Jazeera reportedly hit by systematic hacking attempts

Al-Jazeera, the Doha-based broadcaster owned by the ruling family of Qatar, says the websites and digital platforms of Al Jazeera Media Network, its parent company, “are undergoing systematic and continual hacking attempts.” “These attempts are gaining intensity and taking various forms. However, the platforms have not been compromised,” the broadcaster said in a statement that…

Securing Your Enterprise Assets While Traveling for Work

Traveling for work is a regular occurrence for many of us. Most of the time, traveling for client meetings, conferences, team meetings and other work-related activities also means taking a laptop or other portable devices traveling too. These devices could easily include your company’s IP, strategic plans, financials or other sensitive enterprise assets. With this…

Fireball: Adware with potential nuclear consequences

Advertising can sometimes be annoying — and sometimes it can be malicious. Businesses that make their money selling advertisements sometimes go too far trying to make sure you see their ads. Recently researchers found that one such business — a big digital-marketing agency — went as far as installing adware on 250 million computers running…

How vulnerability research benefits both vendors and customers

Zero-day vulnerabilities – newly discovered exploits that haven’t been previously identified – are now emerging more often. Worse still is the fact that these dangerous flaws sometimes aren’t pinpointed until hackers have already exploited them. According to a prediction from Cybersecurity Ventures founder and Editor-in-Chief Steven Morgan, the frequency of zero-day exploits – which were a…