Happy Privacy Day

February 9, 2015 — Leave a comment

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Did you know that even the privacy has its own birthday? We are a little bit behind. Remember January the 28th. So, what are you supposed to do on that day? At least what you can do is think about the concept of privacy under the modern circumstances. What about the candles? Who is going to take care of them?

Who else, than our grandpa Microsoft. For what is worth, Microsoft has launched a privacy awareness campaign. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to guess, which date is going to be used as the official launching date, do you? OK, we have a birthday. Microsoft will take care of the birthday party.

It is time to wish something. So, what could be our privacy’s birthday wish? Now, we are obviously moving into the tricky terrain. Unfortunately, when it comes to the privacy the rule, be careful what you wish for – because it may become true and real, is not going to happen in this case by default.

Maybe, this is the only how it should be. We need to be reminded each year that our privacy is not something that is going to work all on its own. As a matter of fact, we need to have a privacy’s birthday every single month, but as to begin with, let us start with once a year, shall we? Just do not forget.

Click To Report A Crime

February 7, 2015 — Leave a comment

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The busy little bees in the UK police force have come up with an intriguing idea. How about reporting a crime by using the Internet instead of using your phone, which is the most common thing to do in these situations by default? Would not that be a ground shaking change to the entire system?

For what is worth, the UK police believes that this new system of online crime reporting could bring some substantial savings in both time and resources. Of course, this new solution would be reserved only for the crimes, which are not extremely urgent in their nature or required response time.

On the other side, in order for this warning system to truly work it is necessary to develop a fully functional and above all a secure website. We do not even dare to think what could happen, if some hacker is to put false warnings on this system. So, what is the moral of this story? What should we think?

It is not so hard to come up with an idea such as this one. However, it is a completely different thing to see it running. There is so much work to do and so many practical problems to solve. Yet, that does not mean we are supposed to give it up. Right? The crime, we are supposed to fight against it. Together.

Talk To The Hand

February 7, 2015 — Leave a comment

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Here is one of the worst SF nightmares knocking at our doors, right now. More than 700 employees in one Swedish company are being offered with one extremely unusual and above all controversial choice. What do you say about an implant in your hand? Small and cozy microchip inside your own body.

These Swedish humans implant pioneers are not forced. At least, not for the time being. There is a recommendation from the manager’s level that these implants are supposed to ease their everyday’s working duties and use of machines. So, it is supposed to be a helpful and time saving tool.

Then, how come we are not convinced? Are we exaggerating or witnessing the first and most important manifestation of our brave, but bitter new future? We do not even dare to think what could happen to our already endangered and compromised privacy. Do we really need this 1984 scenario?

Is this supposed to improve our working efficiency or eliminate the last stronghold of our privacy? It just does not feel right, does it? What is going to happen to the workers, who refuse to comply with the new company’s implant policy? We were afraid, but this obviously happened too soon. Right?

Galaxy S(ecurity) 6

February 5, 2015 — Leave a comment

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Here is a promise in the air. It is entirely up to you, whether or not you are going to fall for it. Among other shiny and memorable things and features the new Samsung Galaxy 6 is supposed to do something useful for our security and privacy, as well. Can you guess what could it possibly be? Do you dare?

For what is worth, your finger comes with a big secret. There is a serious rumor about the new and improved ID fingerprint scanner. All what it would be necessary for you to do in order to use it properly is to press the specially designed area. That is all. No left or right. No forward or back. Only a simple touch.

We.do not want to spoil the party, nor ruin your optimistic mood, but there is an unavoidable dark cloud in the Samsung’s Galaxy. You have probably heard that there is a way to hack this fingerprint scan technology. Apparently, there is a way you can take the pictures of a fingerprint in order to trick the system.

This is a nice initiative and an effort, which deserves some honest respect on our end. However, what is going to happen with the old enemy within? Who or what is going to protect us from the malicious things we cannot touch with our precious and sensitive fingers? How about that Samsung for a change?

The Older, The Better

February 3, 2015 — Leave a comment

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It turns out that the busy little crime bees in the UK have their must-have phone models. Pay attention to our words. Mobile phones, but not the smartphones. Why? The so-called primitive and outdated mobile phones are simply perfect for someone, who does not want to be tracked by the police.

For these purposes, the old and once extremely popular Nokia models are literally priceless for the UK crime lords. They do not have any of the modern smartphone features, which allows anyone to locate and follow their owners. In addition, they do not have to worry about recordings or police spying.

In addition, there is one more specific characteristic, which makes them to be the number one choice for the criminals. When it comes to these grandpa phones, the battery can literally last for days. This can be a matter of free life or time in prison, for someone committing crimes on a daily basis.

What do you know, the UK criminals are obviously going back to the basics of mobile phones. This can be a great story with the fascinating educational potential for the makers of smartphones. It reminds us nicely, what the modern mobile phones are to be all about in their essence.

One In Four

January 31, 2015 — Leave a comment

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There are some impressive and intriguing statistics, we just cannot decide whether or not they are pessimistic or optimistic ones. We leave it up to you to decide. Here is goes. Buckle up for this ground shaking news. It seems that one in four hackers in the USA is actually working for the FBI.

Or, some other government agency. So, what is the trouble with this discovery? We hate to disappoint you, but you have no other choice than to look for the bigger picture. When you hear something like this, it can mean only one thing. The government is in the full control of the entire situation.

If you have so many whistleblowers deeply incorporated into the living tissue of the US hackers’ community, then there is nothing to worry about. Right? Or, maybe we are facing a much greater danger than the hackers themselves. What are your feelings about the state sponsored hackers?

We like to complain about the North Korean, Chinese or Russian state sponsored hacker groups. However, we tend to forget our own good boys in black, who are doing the bad things in the cyber world. What if this one in four is actually a hacker’s team leader? Who is responsible for all the trouble?

A Smartwatch On A Watch

January 31, 2015 — Leave a comment

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You know how it goes, don’t you? The ignorance is the mother of all cyber troubles. We are so blindly focused on smartwatch performances that we are completely neglecting the serious threats and potential damages in this field. Are you confused, or maybe you think that we are exaggerating?

Who in the world would hack a smartwatch and why? Well, you should know better or at least think twice. When you attack a smartwatch, you are actually after the bigger target. A smartphone is something you are trying it to reach through a smartwatch. How? Communication is the key here.

What is that supposed to mean? You do not have to be a rocket scientist to know that your smartphone and smartwatch have to communicate and exchange tones of data almost each second, do you? This is exactly what the hackers are aiming at. This is the Achilles’ heel of modern smartwatches.

What can we do about it? It is not such a bad start to be fully aware of this serious danger. Now, we are ready to do something about it for real. We need to implement some effective measures in order to prevent that our data transfers are intercepted and misused. How hard could it be? Right?

Jailbreak IOS 8.1.2

January 30, 2015 — Leave a comment

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Hold your horses, and be extremely careful about this one. Just because it is out there somewhere, it does not necessarily mean it is absolutely safe. We should be fully aware about two extremely dangerous things. On the one side, there is the dark side of the jailbreak’s moon. Who is responsible for it?

Well, who else then the hackers themselves. They give you something useful, just like this tool, but they also ask something in return. How about a secret door for an uninvited visit to your device, whenever they feel good about it. On the other side, there is an ever present instability danger.

When it comes to this one, there is not much you can actually do about it. Why? Who knows, what the jailbreak operation can do to your system’s stability. That is why this a tricky thing to do, and as a matter of fact, it has always been. So, what is the moral of our story? Have we learned something?

It all comes down to, you should better think twice that is our only advice. Really? Honestly, there is no other thing we can offer you. For what is worth, no one can. On the second thought, we feel guilty for sharing this one with you. Maybe, it is better for you not to be aware about all available options.

The Security Patch Wars

January 29, 2015 — Leave a comment

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It all started when Google had published a report about one extremely security flaw in the Windows 8 system. Microsoft was furious. For them that was an obvious sign of practices, which cannot be treated as fair and positive in their nature. In its defense Google said that it has waited long enough.

How long exactly? Well, more than 90 days, that was for sure. There is an unwritten rule that you have to wait for 90 days before you go public with your security flaw discovery. Why? This is a time period left for the warned party to do something about it and come up with the proper security patch.

Then, Microsoft decided to fight back with an announcement about the security trouble with the latest Android 5.0, or better known as the Lollipop. In the meantime, Google has found some security risks in the IOS, as well. Huh, and there is more. Google has just published two additional Windows security risks.

What is there for us, the users? This war of security patches is supposed to improve our safety and privacy. Instead, all what is left for hackers to do is to sit and wait for the next I-found-something-wrong report. By the time the appropriate security patch hits the network, you can rest assured they will take an advantage of the situation.

Google Bug Whistleblower

January 27, 2015 — Leave a comment

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What is happening with Google? It seems that they just cannot have enough of their a finger in the eye policy. What are we talking about? Well, the busy little bees in Google identify a bug in their competitor’s system. The worse it gets, the better it works for Google security experts. What is the next move?

They wait for 90 days and then they go public with their findings. This is exactly what happened with Microsoft. It was definitely a painful thing for someone to publish a detailed explanationnabout a bug in your system. This MS bug allows hackers to pay an unwanted visit to your Windows 8 at any given moment.

Now, Apple is in a similar situation. There is a similar bug in the OS. We also had the 90-day waiting period. The word about this bug is out. Just like with the Microsoft, in the previous case, Apple itself cannot do much about it. Actually, there is one thing to be done in this situation, which makes sense.

You have to come up with the appropriate security patch, haven’t you? That is the trouble. This is not something you can do in a blink of an eye. While you are waiting the users are trembling, and the competitors are celebrating. You can rest assured that your damage report at the end of the day is going to be a huge one.