The Internet

Microsoft Online Services Bug Bounty Program

October 3, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Here is a nice way for you to earn $500, or even more. Microsoft has launched the Bug Bounty Program for its online services. The awards begin with the amount of $500 and increase accordingly. Yet, you are required to focus your findings on the MS online services alone. And, there is one more thing.

You need to identify a problem as precisely as possible and offer the most suitable suggestion in order to resolve it successfully. Microsoft will carefully evaluate your contributions and award you accordingly. It comes without saying that is a good and highly recommended activity for any IT player.

This brings us back to the good old days when we had a promising abundance of the bug bounty programs and competitions. Those were the days, weren’t they? It seems that we needed some time to start appreciating again the benefits of these recently undermined ways of improving the cyber security.

We sure hope that other players of the major IT league will join the party, as well. This is an extremely efficient solution for our cyber troubles, which we often take for granted. Luckily, there is a sign of positive changes on the horizon. So, what are you waiting for? The grandpa Microsoft dares you.

Top Level Domains = Top Level Phishers

September 26, 2014 — Leave a comment

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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has decided to cheer us up with the fresh new extensions, such as .guru, .email and .support. The only trouble here is that the TLDs or top level domains are something irresistible for top phishers just like blood in the water for sharks.

How and what do we know about it? Well, it seems that the very first customers standing in line are the phishers themselves. Yes, busy little bees, they are. Do you remember when the .biz top level domain hit the Internet? The bad guys were the very first customers. Here is one more nice example.

Can you dare to guess what kinds of troubles and frauds you can cause with the skillful missus of the .pharmacy top level domain? The ICANN can focus its attention a little bit more on the security and protection, rather than only on the customer’s satisfaction. There has to be something we can do.

Anti-phishing measures should follow automatically each new release of the top level domain. On the other side, we need to make sure that only the people with justified causes and honest intentions acquire the new top level domains. How to achieve all these things? Well, that is a homework for all of us.

Putinux

September 23, 2014 — Leave a comment

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The more serious political and military conflict between the West and Russia becomes, the less likely is that US based IT titans will hold their previous positions in Russia. For what is worth, Microsoft opened the Russian door, and it is more than obvious that it will close them eventually. What is the situation now?

On the one side, Russian government transfers its entire IT infrastructure from Windows to Linux on a massive and an unprecedented scale. On the other side, one serious rumor has it that Russian IT experts are working on their own version of Windows. In this matter, China has set an excellent example.

The game of stubbornness in the IT field has literally become a grotesque one with no signs of improvement. What is next? Nowadays, you have to be a rocket scientist or lucky to find a single Apple’s device in the Russian government. The IT nationalism is an inevitable reality and there is nothing we can do about it.

The most serious challenge is the World Wide Web. It is only a matter of time before the Balkanization syndrome strikes the Internet itself. For the time being, only China has the appropriate capacities to launch its own Internet at any given moment. How far is the Internet made in Russia?

Gmail And The Russian Winter

September 17, 2014 — Leave a comment

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It seems that this year the Russian winter has come a little bit early for Gmail. It is hard to believe, but on one Russian online forum you can find more than five million Gmail users names and passwords. So, what are we supposed to say or think about this incident size of a small country?

Why? Is this some kind of a secret plan in the KGB style to “nationalize” the Russian users? The Russian government has a shinning Chinese example to get an inspiration from. Is this the next logical step? First, we had a demand to land all major servers on Russian soil. And, that was only the beginning.

You can forget about the privacy for bloggers and public network users in Russia. Windows has a shaky ground, as well. Apple can forget about the Russian market. And, now this. What is the point? If you are Russian forget about Gmail, and use the Russian version instead. What else to think?

Let us wait to hear what Google itself has to say about this one. For what is worth, the East, including both Russia and China does not love too much Google and its associated services. Is it too late to change something? What is going to happen with the five million disclosed Gmail accounts in Russia?

The Phishers Are On The Run

September 11, 2014 — Leave a comment

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McAfee Labs Threats Report for August 2014 has some bad news. It seems that phishing definitely pays off for the hackers all over the globe. Unfortunately, that is only the beginning of our troubles. It may come as a surprise, but our beloved hackers are profit oriented mean machines. They are extremely careful when it comes to investing their time and resources.

If we are able to fix one weak IT security point, you can be rest assured they will look for the new one. On the other hand, if something works just fine for them, you can expect that they will stick to it including the inevitable improvements. This is exactly what happened to the phishing itself. This is the new El Dorado for hackers.

The trouble with the curve in this situation is that after a series of successful phishing activities the hackers will become even more patient. In addition, it is worth mentioning that they only need one good catch. No more. No less. One open door, and they can infiltrate the entire system before you even realize what happened.

Oh dear, what are we supposed to do? We have to remind you again that there is no successful phishing without your active participation. Therefore, better think twice before you follow certain link, open a suspicious email or visit a funny looking website. That is why it is so complex, because it is so simple. Right?

The NSAnet

September 6, 2014 — Leave a comment

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DO you work in some of the government agencies such as the DEA or the FBI? Do you know what is the ICREACH? OK. Time for some explaining. This is one more of the Snowden’s lessons about the NSA. The ICREACH stands for the Intelligence Community Reach. What in the world is that?

Well, let us put it in this way. This is the NSA Internet, or to be even more precise a specific form of a social networks for secret agents. As soon as you access this network you get an immediate overview of literally billions and billions of extremely sensitive data. How convenient it is indeed. Impressed?

Or, stressed? So, the next time you want to experience the full scale privacy breach, use the NSA’s ICREACH. Nevertheless, the things are a little bit serious in this matter. Therefore, we will leave poems for some other occasion. If other agencies can access the NSA forbidden data kingdom, how about hackers?

Although, the NSA has locked the door and made the key copies for the limited number of users, who can guarantee us that there is no skilled locksmith with dishonest intentions on his mind. Someone, for example, who is listening this story first hand from the most famous whistleblower in history. You know who is that, don’t you?

Spying On A Spy?

August 30, 2014 — Leave a comment

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So, what do you think about this picture? This a nice looking Greenpeace and a bunch of other similar organizations and activists balloon, which is floating over the NSA’s data facilities in Bluffdale, Utah. Why? Well, to draw our attention with the simple sign: The NSA – Illegal Spying Bellow.

How can they do such a thing? Is it illegal? The NSA can call a couple of fighter jets to blow it away from the sky. Yet, here it flies, making itself to be an outstanding object for making fantastic pictures. Can this one change something or is it going to end up its purpose in annoying the NSA guys?

Well, this is hard to say for certain. The main thing is that we are talking and thinking about what the NSA is doing to and with us. And, hopefully something good will come out of it. So, this can easily turn out to be a balloon of hope. However, we should hold our horses with this one and be realistic.

It takes more than one balloon to teach some discipline the guys in the black suits from the NSA. And yet, there is a strong hope that the public pressure can be strong enough to really turn the tide one day. Until then, we will launch balloons, write letters, make movies, and something new you come up with.

Hackers With The Government’s IDs

August 27, 2014 — Leave a comment

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When the government gets its fingers in the hacking field in most of the cases you end up with the cyber terrorism. Yes, we are not exaggerating and that is the right word for it. When you examine the latest statistical data about the most serious cyber attacks, you simply have no other choice then to jump to certain conclusions.

The absolute majority of all cyber attacks in the northern and western Europe comes from Russia. On the other hand, the USA is the favorite destination for the hackers from China. Are these statistics merely a coincidence or a reflection of our seriously compromised political relationships?

For the certain types of hacker’s attacks a very serious IT infrastructure and flawless organization is an absolute must. Are we supposed to believe that our governments have nothing to do with these, and they are completely unaware of what is going on in the cyberspace? We are not that naive.

The hackers with the government IDs and the state’s blessing are our everyday’s reality, like it or not. We sure hope we will not be lost in the unprecedented hypocrisy where we condemn while stimulating at the same time the same type of cyber crime and attacks.

Hacking The Ghost Plane

August 26, 2014 — Leave a comment

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This one you may find a little bit hard to digest. It seems that a group of Chinese hackers attacked the Malaysian Airlines HQ and stole the confidential data about the missing MH370. What in the world they plan to do with this kind of information? Are they going to sell it eventually?

Maybe, the Chinese hackers are eager to solve this mystery on their own? And, this is how you end up easily in the conspiracy labyrinth. Can you hack an airplane and blow it away from the sky? What if someone tries to cover his tracks with this quite unusual hacking activity?

When you ask these kinds of questions, you simply cannot avoid a situation of ending up with the bitter taste in your mouth. Is there some kind of a cyber curse over the Malaysian Airlines? What they need to change all of that? Well, they have to restore our trust as the top priority, that is for sure.

Keep an eye on the Net, will you? Maybe, we will have an opportunity to see some of the top secret unpublished data about one of the greatest missing airplane mysteries in the modern history. Who knows, the Chinese hackers can easily turn out to be truth seekers just like the rest of us.

Manchester United vs iPad

August 22, 2014 — Leave a comment

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For the sake of all of us, let us be a little bit more precise with this one, shall we? Manchester United has nothing against Apple. They just do not want you to carry your iPad into Old Trafford. In addition, you are not allowed to carry any of the “large electronic devices” with you during the games.

The funny part about this story is that you are allowed to use your smartphone, but not a tablet while the football match is on. Why? Well, it is very likely that the club’s management has realized that something like that would be the mission impossible, literally. So, what now?

Enjoy in your favorite football moments without your tablet. There is a concern that the football fans could record the matches by using their tablets. Yet, they could do the same with their smartphones. Right? It is really hard to find a logical reason for a drastic decision such as this one.

It is a simple and well-known fact that there is no device in the world, which can give you the true feeling and excitement of the live attendance to the football games. That is why this fear of huge sized gadgets seems almost as it is a bad joke. Let us wait and see what will happen with tablets and football, shall we?