You may have run into these bots a few times. What looks like an actual human being could have been a bot sending you Twitter spam...or even worse.During the last election cycle and over the past few months in particular, it’s now widely known that Twitter bots -- many with zero followers -- promoted fake news stories. Often, the goal was to stir up dissension among voters, influence political viewpoints, and (more importantly) generate revenue when people viewed banner ads. Some would argue these bots helped elect President Trump or at least influenced people on social media to vote one way or another.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
You may have run into these bots a few times. What looks like an actual human being could have been a bot sending you Twitter spam...or even worse.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Almost every day, there’s news about a massive data leak -- a breach at Yahoo that reveals millions of user accounts, a compromise involving Gmail phishing scams. Security professionals are constantly moving the chess pieces around, but it can be a losing battle.Yet, there is one ally that has emerged in recent years. Artificial intelligence can stay vigilant at all times, looking for patterns in behavior and alerting you to a new threat.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Almost every day, there’s news about a massive data leak -- a breach at Yahoo that reveals millions of user accounts, a compromise involving Gmail phishing scams. Security professionals are constantly moving the chess pieces around, but it can be a losing battle.Yet, there is one ally that has emerged in recent years. Artificial intelligence can stay vigilant at all times, looking for patterns in behavior and alerting you to a new threat.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Want to make a cool $20,000?All you have to do is hack the Nintendo 3DS, a handheld console that’s been out for a few years already. A listing on HackerOne spells everything out: Hackers will receive a cash payment for discovering a vulnerability in the system, which does let gamers make purchases and stores private information like your age and gender. There’s a range for this, of course -- some discoveries will pay $100. Also, anyone who files a report must follow the exact template.It makes you wonder -- why would a major Japanese corporation offer a reward like this? Why is it even worth the expense, especially when you know they have internal security researchers?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Want to make a cool $20,000?All you have to do is hack the Nintendo 3DS, a handheld console that’s been out for a few years already. A listing on HackerOne spells everything out: Hackers will receive a cash payment for discovering a vulnerability in the system, which does let gamers make purchases and stores private information like your age and gender. There’s a range for this, of course -- some discoveries will pay $100. Also, anyone who files a report must follow the exact template.It makes you wonder -- why would a major Japanese corporation offer a reward like this? Why is it even worth the expense, especially when you know they have internal security researchers?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A product marketing manager at your company just posted a photo on LinkedIn. The problem? In the background of the image, there’s a Post-It note that contains his network passwords. You can barely see it, but using artificial intelligence algorithms, hackers can scan for the publicly available image, determine there are network passwords, and use them for data theft.According to data security expert David Maynor, this is not rocket science. In fact, the AI program is easier to use than a search engine. “The AI can identify objects in an image and the environment of the photo, guess at a description of the image contents as well as your likely age, gender, facial expression, and more,” says Maynor. “And these tools are becoming increasingly powerful with every image they scan, learning and becoming more accurate.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
They have blinking lights and tend to chirp constantly. One of them can vacuum your living room carpet on a schedule. Another can play games with the kids using artificial intelligence.Yet, for homeowners (and security professionals) there’s a question about whether home robots could become an attack vector for hackers. Tapping into a live webcam feed and recording it? Stealing Wi-Fi information from an unprotected signal so you can transmit illegal wares? What makes a home robot such an ingenious ploy is that few of us think a vacuum could possibly become anything remotely viable for criminal use. Yet, that’s exactly the danger.“Homeowners never change the default passwords or use simple passwords which can be broken thus allowing hackers to leverage their way onto a home network and use the robot as a pivot point for further exfiltration of sensitive data or plant malware,” says Kevin Curran, a senior lecturer in computer science at the University of Ulster and IEEE member.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
They have blinking lights and tend to chirp constantly. One of them can vacuum your living room carpet on a schedule. Another can play games with the kids using artificial intelligence.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
There’s a gaping hole in your security infrastructure right now. The front door is open, the side window is ajar, and there’s an open safe with a neon sign saying “steal my data” in flashing lights. While you might have locked down the network used for this software, instituted strict usage policies, and insist on having users stick to complex passwords, the data is leaking.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Mobile security is a bit of a misnomer. Few of us can say we’ve been attacked by a piece of malware or have quarantined an actual virus. The odds are stacked against us. Mobile operators like Verizon and Sprint routinely scan for threats, and both Google Android and the Apple iPhone include multiple security measures on their devices, from fingerprint scanners to full encryption.Yet, there’s a sneaking suspicion that mobile security is a bigger concern. According to one HP report, 67 percent of employees in the U.S. now work remotely. We’re relying on phones more and more. We store sensitive business documents on them and use them to make purchases.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Mobile security is a bit of a misnomer. Few of us can say we’ve been attacked by a piece of malware or have quarantined an actual virus. The odds are stacked against us. Mobile operators like Verizon and Sprint routinely scan for threats, and both Google Android and the Apple iPhone include multiple security measures on their devices, from fingerprint scanners to full encryption.Yet, there’s a sneaking suspicion that mobile security is a bigger concern. According to one HP report, 67 percent of employees in the U.S. now work remotely. We’re relying on phones more and more. We store sensitive business documents on them and use them to make purchases.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
For most business users, there’s one common device we all use that is still a common attack vector for hackers. We carry them with us everywhere, and we store most of our important files on the local drive, even if it’s just temporary. A laptop has more storage, more connection options, and more legacy apps than any smartphone or tablet.For any business, it’s important to take laptop security seriously, even if you already have an endpoint security product in place and teach enterprise users about best practices. Hackers are industrious; they develop new techniques and know that one of the easiest ways to steal passwords, break into file archives, and intercept a confidential email is through a laptop.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Wait, what?If this rumor about Verizon buying Yahoo for $5B is true, we have an honest to goodness schadenfreude moment for me as someone who remembers the days of the Buddy List, giant banner ads (which is actually still common at Yahoo Mail for some reason), and those plastic discs they might still sell at Walmart for gaining “high-speed Internet” access.As you may know, Verizon also owns AOL. Those three letters, combined with the Yahoo exclamation mark, create some vivid memories. Few of them are good ones. I remember having to wait for my modem to connect to AOL back in the day, and for the banner ads at Yahoo.com to finish loading. It’s a curious development, but it makes about as much sense as other luminous icons of tech combining into an ungodly entity driven by brand dominance.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Clear skies aheadImage by ThinkstockIt sometimes seems as if business travel is expressly designed to raise blood pressure. Cancelled flights, long airport security lines, even a misplaced receipt for your expense report can throw a monkey wrench into your trip. To help, we’ve rounded up several mobile apps designed to reduce travel stress in a variety of ways, from booking a flight or last-minute hotel room to finding a quiet airport lounge or secure Wi-Fi hotspot. With one exception, all of our picks are available for both iOS and Android devices, and many are free.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you're looking for a good lesson in enterprise security, there might be a few sitting in the parking lot. The automotive field is a glaring example of "worst practices" in security, say several automotive experts. And, the problem is only getting worse, not better.Over the past few years, the cars have come under fire for many things -- constant recalls, safety hazards, and diesel-engine tricks to name a few-- but security experts have noticed a disturbing trend.While it might be hard to break into a BMW unless you have a rock handy, there hasn't been as much effort in protecting wireless signals, establishing standards, creating new regulations and laws, and patching much more aggressively.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The automotive world is becoming much more dependent on modeling than ever before. Automakers are now using more aluminum parts; vehicles have complex computers on board, often working with each other; and there's an increasing need to make cars safer in the age of the distracted driver.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
The burgeoning market for gadgets that trigger a sprinkler system, help you count the number of times you swing a bat, or dim the lights automatically are rising.That’s a concern for any business due to how these devices are also starting to show up at the corporate office for use in conference rooms, executive suites, and even as a low-cost building security camera system. Experts claim the industry is not doing enough to protect these devices.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
People who lead large IT organizations don’t have much time to deal with the nitty-gritty technical details of how their systems run. Their priorities are to provide strategic technology leadership, set policies and manage the overall operation. CIOs and other IT leaders also have to work with executives in other departments to make sure IT is providing the services the business needs. But there are times when a technical problem crops up that requires the boss’s attention, and on those occasions finding the right solution can seem like an overwhelming challenge.To get a sense of the type of technical issues CIOs have to deal with, we asked five IT leaders to recall vexing problems they were able to solve without resorting to complicated, high-cost rollouts.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
What is a ‘fringe’ device in IT?
For some, it’s a gadget everyone has forgotten about — a printer in a corner office, an Android tablet in a public area used to schedule conference rooms. A fringe device can also be one that’s common enough to be used in the office yet not so common that everyone is carrying one around or has one hooked up to the Wi-Fi every day.
As with any security concern, many of these devices are overlooked. There might be security policies and software used to track and monitor iPads and Dell laptops, but what about the old HP printer used at the receptionist’s desk? In a hospital, it might be a patient monitoring device. In a more technical shop, it could be a new smartphone running an alternate operating system.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
John Brandon