How blockchain will kill fake news (and four other predictions for 2020)

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Mon, 02 Dec 2019 03:00:00 -0800

As blockchain’s hype cycle continues to befuddle many about its potential beyond  cryptocurrencies, businesses and governments are moving ahead with projects involving everything from digital identities to voting and supply chain tracking.

Blockchain has slipped into the “Trough of Disillusionment” (see Gartner Hype Cycle), because it got ahead of its technical and operational maturity. As a result, interest has waned as most experiments and implementations failed to provide expected results.

To read this article in full, please click here

Read more

Apple confirms HomeKit-secured CCTV and router systems

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 06:14:00 -0800

Apple has at last confirmed which routers and smart home security systems will support the HomeKit Secure Video and HomeKit-enabled routers systems it introduced in iOS 13.

Safe as houses?

HomeKit Secure Video and HomeKit-enabled routers patch two of the bigger gaps in smart home security coverage: they give users strong control over who can access video captured in your home and provide a welcome additional barrier against hackers and others attempting to break into home networks via the router.

To read this article in full, please click here

Read more

It’s Way Too Easy to Get a .gov Domain Name

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 02:08:55 +0000

Many readers probably believe they can trust links and emails coming from U.S. federal government domain names, or else assume there are at least more stringent verification requirements involved in obtaining a .gov domain versus a commercial one ending in .com or .org. But a recent experience suggests this trust may be severely misplaced, and that it is relatively straightforward for anyone to obtain their very own .gov domain.

Read more

Sale of 4 Million Stolen Cards Tied to Breaches at 4 Restaurant Chains

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2019 13:32:21 +0000

On Nov. 23, one of the cybercrime underground’s largest bazaars for buying and selling stolen payment card data announced the immediate availability of some four million freshly-hacked debit and credit cards. KrebsOnSecurity has learned this latest batch of cards was siphoned from four different compromised restaurant chains that are most prevalent across the midwest and eastern United States.

Read more

Hidden Cam Above Bluetooth Pump Skimmer

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2019 16:40:24 +0000

Tiny hidden spy cameras are a common sight at ATMs that have been tampered with by crooks who specialize in retrofitting the machines with card skimmers. But until this past week I’d never heard of hidden cameras being used at gas pumps in tandem with Bluetooth-based card skimming devices. Apparently, I’m not alone. “I believe this is the first time I’ve seen a camera on a gas pump with a Bluetooth card skimmer,” said Detective Matt Jogodka of the Las Vegas Police Department, referring to the compromised fuel pump pictured below. Apparently, I’m not alone. “I believe this is the first time I’ve seen a camera on a gas pump with a Bluetooth card skimmer,” said Detective Matt Jogodka of the Las Vegas Police Department, referring to the compromised fuel pump pictured below.

Read more

Why isn't Apple (yet) supporting Tim Berners-Lee to 'save the web'?

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2019 07:36:00 -0800

Apple isn’t (yet) among the signatories for a global campaign to save the web launched by Tim Berners-Lee.

I hope this is something the company plans to change.

What’s the story?

Berners-Lee, inventor of the web, is concerned that the web is becoming a forum for political manipulation, fake news, privacy violations and other harms that he fears may plunge us all into what he calls “digital dystopia.”

He’s launched a new global action plan and is asking governments, companies and individuals to commit to protecting the web and ensuring it benefits humanity.

“The power of the web to transform people’s lives, enrich society and reduce inequality is one of the defining opportunities of our time,” he said.

To read this article in full, please click here

Read more

110 Nursing Homes Cut Off from Health Records in Ransomware Attack

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2019 05:02:32 +0000

A ransomware outbreak has besieged a Wisconsin based IT company that provides cloud data hosting, security and access management to more than 100 nursing homes across the United States. The ongoing attack is preventing these care centers from accessing crucial patient medical records, and the IT company’s owner says she fears this incident could soon lead not only to the closure of her business, but also to the untimely demise of some patients.

Read more

Blackberry refreshes its UEM suite, focuses on zero-trust access

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2019 10:17:00 -0800

Read more

The 5 true takeaways from Android's camera vulnerability circus

Credit to Author: JR Raphael| Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2019 09:21:00 -0800

I don’t know if you’ve read much news this week, but it seems the sky is falling and we’re all terribly doomed.

No, I’m not talking about that news — as usual, that’s another column for another publication — but rather the news that a security flaw in some Android camera apps could turn our phones into privacy-plundering spy portals and bring an end to human life as we know it.

I mean, have you seen some of these headlines?!

  • “Hundreds of millions of Android phone cameras can be hijacked by spyware”
  • “Android flaw lets rogue apps take photos, record video even if your phone is locked”
  • “An Android flaw lets apps secretly access people’s cameras and upload the videos to an external server”

Holy hibiscus, Henry! Even I’m trembling from all of that, and I know it’s a bunch of misguided, sensationalized hooey.

To read this article in full, please click here

Read more