Tag Archives: Security

Broadcom chip bug opened 1 billion phones to a Wi-Fi-hopping worm attack

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“It fills the airwaves with probes that request connections to nearby computing devices. When the specially devised requests reach a device using the BCM43xx family of Wi-Fi chipsets, the attack rewrites the firmware that controls the chip. The compromised chip then sends the same malicious packets to other vulnerable devices, setting off a potential chain reaction.”

Read more: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/broadcom-chip-bug-opened-1-billion-phones-to-a-wi-fi-hopping-worm-attack/

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Medical Devices Are the Next Security Nightmare

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“There’s a need to protect patients, so that attackers can’t hack an insulin pump to administer a fatal dose. And vulnerable medical devices also connect to a huge array of sensors and monitors, making them potential entry points to larger hospital networks. That in turn could mean the theft of sensitive medical records, or a devastating ransomware attack that holds vital systems hostage until administrators pay up.”

Read more: https://www.wired.com/2017/03/medical-devices-next-security-nightmare/

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John Whitehead, America’s Reign of Terror: A Nation Reaps What It Sows

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“We’re not dealing with a government that exists to serve its people, protect their liberties and ensure their happiness. Rather, these are the diabolical machinations of a make-works program carried out on an epic scale whose only purpose is to keep the powers-that-be permanently (and profitably) employed.”

Read more: https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/americas_bloody_reign_of_terror_a_nation_reaps_what_it_sows

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Microsoft says governments should stop ‘hoarding’ security vulnerabilities

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“Microsoft references the WannaCry ransomware’s source as an vulnerability known by the NSA, noting that similar security holes were revealed on WikiLeaks in documents stolen from the CIA. It says that the governments of the world should treat the WannaCry attack as ‘a wake-up call,’ to consider the ‘damage to civilians that comes from hoarding these vulnerabilities and the use of these exploits,’ and to adopt the ‘Digital Geneva Convention’ the company first suggested in February. That Convention would have a new stipulation, too: ‘a new requirement for governments to report vulnerabilities to vendors, rather than stockpile, sell, or exploit them.'”

Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/15/15639890/microsoft-wannacry-security-vulnerabilities-ransomware

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UK hospital meltdown after ransomware worm uses NSA vuln to raid IT

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“UK hospitals have effectively shut down and are turning away non-emergency patients after ransomware ransacked its networks.  Doctors have been reduced to using pen and paper, and closing A&E to non-critical patients, amid the tech blackout.  The security hole has been patched for modern Windows versions, but not WindowsXP – and the NHS is a massive user of the legacy operating system.”

Read more: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/12/nhs_hospital_shut_down_due_to_cyber_attack/

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Soon You’ll Be Able to Hijack Weaponized Police Drones in Connecticut

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“Not content with having a fleet of insecure surveillance drones, the state of Connecticut wants a fleet of insecure weaponized drones. What could possibly go wrong?”

Read more: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2017/04/soon_youll_be_a.html

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Some consumer PCs also appear to have dangerous Intel exploit

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“If you think you’re immune from a scary exploit found in Intel’s Active Management Technology just because you’re a consumer, think again. The problem is, plenty of consumers use business-class hardware—and not just the fringe who’ll buy or inherit commercial-class laptops and workstations. Many budget PCs use chipsets, firmware, and motherboards that were designed for small business machines. These machines may be exposed to the exploit through Intel’s Small Business Advantage technology, which is is a scaled-down version of AMT.”

Read more: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3195246/security/how-to-check-for-the-intel-active-management-exploit-that-lets-hackers-take-over-your-pc.html

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HP is shipping audio drivers with a built-in keylogger

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“That fancy new HP EliteBook laptop you just bought? It may be silently recording every keystroke, according to Swiss infosec firm ModZero.  For what it’s worth, it doesn’t look like there’s malice here – just staggering incompetence.”

Read more: https://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/05/11/hp-is-shipping-audio-drivers-with-a-built-in-keylogger/

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Thieves drain 2FA-protected bank accounts by abusing mobile networks

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“The unidentified attackers exploited weaknesses in Signalling System No. 7, a telephony signaling language that more than 800 telecommunications companies around the world use to ensure their networks interoperate. SS7, as the protocol is known, makes it possible for a person in one country to send text messages to someone in another country. It also allows phone calls to go uninterrupted when the caller is traveling on a train.  The same functionality can be used to eavesdrop on conversations, track geographic whereabouts, or intercept text messages.”

Read more: https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/05/thieves-drain-2fa-protected-bank-accounts-by-abusing-ss7-routing-protocol/

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I never knew how screwed up global banking was until I started my own bank

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“You can imagine my surprise when I found out that SWIFT runs on Windows Vista – an obsolete operating system that Microsoft no longer supports.  When my bank received its SWIFT code, we were told that we had to have a computer running Vista in the office in order to connect to SWIFT.  It was such an absurd exercise to find an obsolete computer running an obsolete operating system to connect to the supposedly most advanced and important international payment network in the world.  Unsurprisingly, SWIFT has been hacked numerous times, both by the NSA as well as private hackers who have stolen a great deal of money from their victims.”

Read more: https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/i-never-knew-how-screwed-up-global-banking-was-until-i-started-my-own-bank-21494/

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