This Week in Security News

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. Below you’ll find a quick recap of topics followed by links to news articles and/or our blog posts providing additional insight. Be sure to check back each Friday for…

The race to quantum supremacy and its cybersecurity impact

Quantum computing uses the power of atoms to perform memory and processing tasks and remains a theoretical concept. However, it is widely believed that its creation is possible. Most experts now agree that the creation of a quantum computer is simply a matter of engineering, and that the theoretical application will happen. Optimistic estimates for…

Offshore law firm Appleby confirms data breach

Appleby, a major offshore law firm based in Bermuda, has confirmed it has suffered a data security incident in 2016 that resulted in some of their data being compromised. It’s doubtful that the wider public would have ever known about this were it not from the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and partner…

Ubuntu 17.10 brings enhanced security and productivity for developers

Canonical released Ubuntu 17.10 featuring a new GNOME desktop on Wayland, and new versions of KDE, MATE and Budgie. On the cloud, 17.10 brings Kubernetes 1.8 for hyper-elastic container operations, and minimal base images for containers. Enhanced security and productivity for developers The Atom editor and Microsoft Visual Studio Code are emerging as the new wave of…

The privacy implications of email tracking

Emails are a widely used means for third parties to tie your email address to your activities across the web, Princeton University researchers have discovered. The extent of email tracking Email tracking was originally aimed at allowing senders to know whether the recipient has read the sent email. Unfortunately, many third parties also receive this…

Equifax, former CEO reveal more details about the devastating breach

Mandiant has concluded the forensic part of its Equifax breach investigation, and the results are as follows: 2.5 million additional US consumers were potentially impacted, bringing the total to 145.5 million The initial estimate of some 100,000 Canadian citizens being impacted was incorrect: in the end, the information of some 8,000 Canadian consumers was compromised,…

Is your Mac software secure but firmware vulnerable?

Mac users who have updated to the latest OS version or have downloaded and implemented the most recent security update may not be as secure as they originally thought, Duo Security researchers have found. That’s because many of them did not receive the newest firmware along with OS and software updates.

Criminal hacking: Top technology risk to health, safety and prosperity

Americans believe criminal hacking into computer systems is now a top risk to their health, safety and prosperity. Criminal hacking, a new ESET survey finds, outranks other significant hazards, including climate change, nuclear power, hazardous waste, and government surveillance. The survey was conducted by ESET security researchers, and asked randomly selected adults to rate their…

Addressing security concerns around connected ecosystems

The convergence of IoT applications with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, Big Data, and context-aware computing could help address current security concerns around connected ecosystems. Pervasive security through context-aware access control is one of the future areas currently being explored by developers.