Malware

Simpler, Better, Hacker…

August 11, 2014 — Leave a comment

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To have an idea that the most successful hackers are top rocket scientists, who at one moment turned to the dark side is at least to say childish. In most of the cases they are educated fools with money on their minds. What is even more important to say they need a helping hand. Who could that be?

Unfortunately, when it comes to the cyber trouble you cannot believe how many times we are the accomplices of our own misfortune. The hackers themselves, on the other side, are practical people who look for the imperfections of the system and the negligence of the users. That is the catch.

Instead of whining about the endangered privacy and compromised cyber security, we can question our own behavior and habits for a change. At least what we can do is to make hackers work harder for their dirty profit. Do not leave them an open door and do not act as if it is not going to happen to you.

We all know these simple truths, and we keep forgetting them all the time. How strong and devastating a cyber blow into your face has to be in order for you to start learning and applying some basic IT self defense techniques? Be a quick doer and a careful listener in this one, will you?

Smart Cars. Ingenious Hackers.

August 10, 2014 — Leave a comment

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The cars are getting smarter with each new day. We are literally surrounded with smart things. Everywhere you look there is smart this and smart that. Unfortunately, the hackers themselves are smart enough, or very often much smarter. The series of misfortunate events with the Tesla cars has brought to our attention the trouble of car hacking.

Nowadays, it is possible to hack a car just like any other smart device such as a smartphone or computer. The hackers have an opportunity to gain access or even control over your car through wireless tools in it such as radio, Bluetooth, navigation, and similar. What can we do about it? How safe are we in fact?

These kinds of things make you wonder, do we need an antivirus for our own cars? It is an inevitable paradox. The more sophisticated are cars become, the easier it gets to hack them successfully. Hacking on wheels – maybe this should have been the more appropriate title for our post?

For what is worth, we have some new details to take care about the next time we choose our favorite car. We are not talking only about the driver’s and traffic safety, but also about the IT security, as well. It seems that your car’s equipment just got itself an additional category. More job for IT security experts, as well.

Privacy Data Punisher

August 3, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Let us not act surprised, shall we? It simply had to happen sooner or later. For what is worth, this bad news for our privacy protection is very likely to have a positive epilogue. How? What happened? Well, after this one there will not be any more excuses. We will never be treated as the collateral damage of security breaches.

The United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered that the Think W3 Limited as a distinguished UK online travel service has to pay almost $250,000 for fines. Why? It seems fair for almost one million stolen credit cards related data. Could this one have been prevented?

Honestly, it is hard to say, but there is one thing that puts a blame on this agency. Since they acquired their data system in 2006 they have not bothered, not even once as a matter of fact, to run an appropriate security test. Plenty of time for hackers to prepare accordingly, indeed.

Now, these guys from the travel service have more than 250,000 reasons to thoroughly examine all of their security vulnerabilities. Just imagine for a moment how significant saving could have achieved, if they were to conduct the simplest security test a couple of years ago.

The Malware Human Rights

August 2, 2014 — Leave a comment

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The things are getting serious with hacking, aren’t they? Apparently, so serious that even The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has to intervene. What happened? It seems that the Latvian creator of the Gozi Trojan, which is specially designed to attack banks, thought he will face some unfair treatment by the US Justice Department.

Unlucky for him, in its opinion the ECHR sent a message that Gozi’s father has to answer for his wrongdoings, and that a legal treatment across the ocean will be just fine in this case. This was his last chance to prevent the extradition to the USA, and it has failed.

This obviously talented 29 year old hacker has every right to fight his legal battles. Why? Well, he is facing a 67 years of imprisonment penalty in the USA. You can do the math, can’t you? In other words, this a lifetime sentence. And, the message is strong. Who will dare to attack the US banks after this one?

Maybe, this Latvian hacker can make some kind of a deal with the US government. He can become the US version of Nikita. Why not? In exchange for his freedom he can provide training or even his own personal hacking services to the government. Who knows? He knows too much to work in the prison’s library. Right?

Hackers Love Superman Too

July 27, 2014 — Leave a comment

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The guys from the McAfee have a sharp expert IT security eye for all intriguing things taking place in the background, or to be a little bit more precise in the backstage. So, what do they have for us this time? They came up with a Superman warning. What are we talking about?

Well, it seems that hackers are using some of the most popular superheroes to camouflage their malicious links. If you do not think twice before you click on a certain link associated with your favorite superhero, there is a chance that you make unwanted friendship with some malware or Trojan.

These superheroes may fly and have all kinds of super-powers. However, when it comes to the cyber space there are quite helpless. As soon as you experience a close encounter with some malware or Trojan you need to call heroes of a different kind. Your IT security experts come for a rescue.

It is a sad thing that flawless Superman’s reputation has been violated in such a shameless manner. To make things even worse for us movie fans the upcoming saga Superman vs Batman is very likely to be misused in a similar way. Oh dear, is there something sacred to these villains hackers?

Tesla For Hacker Dummies

July 26, 2014 — Leave a comment

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All of our hats off to Nikola Tesla, one of the most brilliant minds in an entire human history. Thanks to his inventions we are able to write our posts in the first place and you enjoy them on your devices, as well. No wonder, the inventors of one of the most successful oil-free cars honored their model with his name.

Now, after this relaxing and educational introduction you are ready for the right stuff. Did you know that you can hack a car? This is exactly what happened with the Tesla Model S. To make things even more interesting the hacking took place during the SyScan +360 security conference. The Chinese guys were after a prize of $10,000, that is their sin.

How they did it? Well, all they had to do is to hack the six digit code for the Tesla Model S mobile app. It is a secret how they managed to take control of almost all vital car’s functions in the first place. Unfortunately, this is a weak comfort for all current and potential Tesla car users. So, what is left for us to do?

For what is worth, be careful with your Bluetooth, radio, wireless, and navigation maps in your car, because through them you can get some unwanted virtual guests next to your seat. Maybe, it was not a smart thing to put a computer in your car, in the first place. You do not need a smart car. You need a smart driver and reliable machine. No more, no less.

Internet Security: Who Is To Blame?

July 25, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Finally! Someone has spoken our minds on this matter. The troubles with the IT Security are not one month or a year old. Seth Hanford, who is the head of Cisco’s Threat Research Analysis and Communications, has hit the right nerve with his observations. The proper IT Security has only been an illusion all of this time.

What does it mean to be a little bit more precise? Well, for what is worth, the situation with our IT Security has not been worse or better compared to the previous periods of time. The only difference is that we are now more aware about it. We conduct more surveys, tests and analysis. That is actually the only difference in this story.

In other words, it is similar to the situation when someone has accidentally turned on the light after nights and nights of complete darkness. And, we have apparently become aware of our current condition. On the second thought, this does not have to be necessarily bad. How do we dare to come up with such a claim?

Well, now that we are fully aware of all threats and dangers that are waiting for our next move in the cyberspace, we can finally do something about it. Not bad for a change and something that should have been done years and years ago. The old and wise Chinese said something like that a long journey starts with a small first step.

How To Hack Your Hotel Room?

July 22, 2014 — Leave a comment

 

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Here is one hot topic literally. You are already there or planning to hit the road to a nice looking beach. Here is the catch. With a little bit of patience and nothing more than an iPad 2 you can take control over your hotel room. We are talking about the real control, including all the services your hotel room has to offer, such as cooling system, lights, TV, and others. You name it, you can have it.

However, there is also some bad news. Someone else other than yourself can easily hack your hotel room. Or, as a matter of fact the entire hotel. You can easily end up paying someone else’s hotel bills. Or, even worse, you can be forced to look for another hotel as soon as you arrive. According to the hotel books and computers everything is as it should be, but only you know that is not true.

It seems that the hotel industry has to update itself, as soon as possible. The times when hotel robbers took their tools with them are long gone. Nowadays, you do not have to get your hands dirty in order to rob a hotel. All you have to do is to play smart and use your smartphone or tablet. In this matter, the sky is the only limit you face while you walk down the virtual hotel lobbies.

Well, it is about time for prestigious hotels make some additional investments for appropriate software. It is not enough to have the top booking software. What about the security of hotel in the first place and its guests? The last thing you need is some new virtual hotel’s manager with the dishonest intentions to take over the control. The IT room service is at your door.

Malware On The Run

July 17, 2014 — Leave a comment

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According to the recent findings of the Anti-Phishing Group more than one third of all world’s computers could have been infected with some form of malware by now. Who or what is responsible for this unprecedented malware explosion? Well, the things have changed immensely in the meantime.

Not so long ago you had only one virus, which attacked thousand computers. Nowadays, you thousands and thousands of completely different types of viruses, which attack only one computer. This was a rather simplified illustration of the problem, but very nice one for you to get the right picture.

Here is one more thing to contribute strongly to the dawn of the malware rule. The catch is to do your thing without being detected in the first place. Compared to the “traditional” viruses the modern day malware may cause less damage, but they are extremely hard to be detected by the anti-virus programs.

So, what can we do about it? There is a good news in this endless pessimistic sea filled with trouble. The modern day malware always knocks at your device’s door. This way or another you take part in your own IT doom, if you are not careful enough. Think about it.

Bank Fraudsters World Cup

July 15, 2014 — Leave a comment

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It seems that the German football team was not the only trouble to hit the Brazilians this summer. While they were watching their national team’s unparalleled embarrassment, there were some busy little bees with no interest in football at all. So, what happened?

Well, the most popular online banking system in Brazil called Boleto Bancario suffered a serious damage as a result of a malware doings. Unfortunately, the hackers picked up the moment of the greatest possible vulnerability. Yes, they were working like crazy during a match between Brazil and Germany.

As a result Brazilians lost a little bit of their national pride, and a lot of their money. Now, they have to fight back the ugly memories and unwanted financial losses. Could all of these been prevented in the first place? Well, you can eliminate a threat, but you can certainly diminish it.

Can we predict something like this? Absolutely, you do not have to be a rocket scientist to expect that major events attract major security threats with a magnetic force. Someone has to be always on a watch. If we have to watch a game, our software solutions certainly do not have to.