Medical data: Accessible and irresistible for cyber criminals

How valuable is personal healthcare data?Apparently it depends. Based on at least some price comparisons on the Dark Web – the underground online marketplace for cyber criminals – electronic health records (EHR) are not even close to premium goods.McAfee, now a division of Intel Security, reported recently that the price for an individual medical record ranges from a fraction of a cent to $2.50, while a so-called “fullz” record – name, Social Security number plus financial account information from a credit or debit card can fetch $14 to $25.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Mobile banking trojans adopt ransomware features

Cybercriminals are adding file-encrypting features to traditional mobile banking trojans, creating hybrid threats that can steal sensitive information and lock user files at the same time.One such trojan is called Faketoken and its primary functionality is to generate fake login screens for more than 2,000 financial applications in order to steal login credentials. The malicious app also displays phishing pages to steal credit card information, and it can read and send text messages.Faketoken's creators have added the ability to encrypt user files stored on the phone's SD card sometime in July and have since released thousands of builds with this functionality, according to researchers from Kaspersky Lab.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Mobile banking trojans adopt ransomware features

Cybercriminals are adding file-encrypting features to traditional mobile banking trojans, creating hybrid threats that can steal sensitive information and lock user files at the same time.One such trojan is called Faketoken and its primary functionality is to generate fake login screens for more than 2,000 financial applications in order to steal login credentials. The malicious app also displays phishing pages to steal credit card information, and it can read and send text messages.Faketoken's creators have added the ability to encrypt user files stored on the phone's SD card sometime in July and have since released thousands of builds with this functionality, according to researchers from Kaspersky Lab.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: How edge compute is making cameras ‘conscious’

Cameras used to be more about the lenses and the aperture, but today’s security and sportscams are building in technology to make them “conscious,” using edge computing and on-chip processing to get past challenges around massive data generation and poor image quality and bringing exciting new capabilities, such as facial and object recognition, in the camera itself.Take the example of Silk Labs, a company using intelligent real-time video to alert people when a package has been delivered at the home door or alert them about a stranger at the door. Or consider Knit, a camera that can see how well your baby is sleeping, inform parents about her sleep trends and monitor breathing for peace of mind during the night—all without any devices attached to the child. And more will come. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Has Amazon Overthrown Apple as the ‘I Hate Buttons’ Leader?

 

Steve Jobs is notorious for hating buttons. Here's Jobs explaining the foulness of buttons during his famous iPhone introduction:

What's wrong with their [other phones] user interface? The problem with them is really sort of in the bottom 40. They all have these keyboard that are there whether you need them or not to be there. And they all have these control buttons that are fixed in plastic and are the same for every application. Well every application wants a slightly different user interface, a slightly optimized set of buttons just for it. And what happens if you think of a great idea six months from now? You can't run around and add a button to these things. They're already shipped. So what do you do? It doesn't work because the buttons and the controls can't change.

The iPhone solved the button problem with a new multi-touch screen and by using your finger as the pointing device (not a nasty nasty stylus). We all know how this works now, but it was novel back in the olden days.

The iPhone was one of three new products based on revolutionary user interface development: the mouse and the Macintosh; the click-wheel Continue reading

Can Teridion Really Boost Internet Throughput?

Teridion claims to bring cloud optimized routing to dynamic content delivery. The home page continues We go beyond traditional CDN and WAN optimization combining the best of SDN and NFV to generate a better QoS and QoE for customers of cloud-based content , application, and service providers. Got that? Perhaps it’s not the most succinct elevator pitch, but Teridion’s concept is at the very least interesting, and as a thought exercise it’s a fascinating look at how the Internet both enables us, yet fails us in so many ways. Even if the product is not for you, the problem Teridion claims to solve is an good thought exercise in and of itself, and it brings to the forefront the reliance we place on the internet despite the fact that we have no control over how our traffic traverses it.

Morpheus

Perhaps Morpheus is being slightly misleading in the image above, but otherwise the statement is pretty much true, although this isn’t a product intended for purchase by home users, for example. At its core, Teridion’s product concept is actually fairly simple. The Internet is used as a conduit to move data between locations around the world because it’s significantly more cost effective than Continue reading

Intel’s Joule 550x computer ships, but initial units heavily overpriced

Intel is now shipping a new single-board computer, the Joule 550x, that will challenge the dominance of Raspberry Pi.The board was announced in August but didn't ship right away. The Joule 550x is a full-fledged computer on a small circuit board, and it packs more horsepower and graphics capabilities than the Raspberry Pi 3.But at prices of up to US$349, the Joule 550x costs about 10 times more than Raspberry Pi 3. The board is now available from online retailer Mouser. It is available for $291 on Newegg.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: 5 most common data privacy misconceptions

Average internet users are starting to realize they should be protecting their personal information better. But do they understand why?Protecting private data is more important than many people realize, and also quite simple. I’d like to unpack the top five most common misconceptions of cybersecurity to demonstrate why you should learn how to protect yourself and your data. 1. I have nothing to hide. Why do I need my data to be encrypted?No skeletons in your closet? No searches you’d prefer didn’t surface? That’s fine, but what about your credit card information, passwords and Social Security number? Just because you don’t have dirty laundry to air doesn’t mean your personal data isn’t worth protecting.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: 5 most common data privacy misconceptions

Average internet users are starting to realize they should be protecting their personal information better. But do they understand why?Protecting private data is more important than many people realize, and also quite simple. I’d like to unpack the top five most common misconceptions of cybersecurity to demonstrate why you should learn how to protect yourself and your data. 1. I have nothing to hide. Why do I need my data to be encrypted?No skeletons in your closet? No searches you’d prefer didn’t surface? That’s fine, but what about your credit card information, passwords and Social Security number? Just because you don’t have dirty laundry to air doesn’t mean your personal data isn’t worth protecting.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: The economic model of Marai

Several media outlets have reported that a botnet based on the TR-064/TR-069 Mirai variant is being used to provide DDoS as a Service. These so-called Booter/Stresser or DDoS-for-hire services allow anyone willing to pay the price the ability to mount a DDoS attack against targets of their choice. Of course the fact that a botnet, Mirai-based or otherwise, is being used to make money should not come as a shock to anyone. Indeed, that is the whole purpose of this botnet. The economic model roughly mimics that of a mobile virtual network operator or MVNO. —Arbor

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Senators call for special committee to investigate Russian election hacking

The election is well over, but the storm is still brewing with no end in sight when it comes to trying to figure out what to do about Russian hacks aimed at influencing the election.On Sunday Dec. 11, US Senators John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham and Jack Reed urged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell not to allow an investigation into Russian interference of the election to become a partisan issue. It’s an issue which “should alarm every American.”That same day, President-elect Donald Trump blew off the idea that the intelligence community had a clue as to whom was behind the hacks. His transition team later added, “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Senators call for special committee to investigate Russian election hacking

The election is well over, but the storm is still brewing with no end in sight when it comes to trying to figure out what to do about Russian hacks aimed at influencing the election.On Sunday Dec. 11, US Senators John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham and Jack Reed urged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell not to allow an investigation into Russian interference of the election to become a partisan issue. It’s an issue which “should alarm every American.”That same day, President-elect Donald Trump blew off the idea that the intelligence community had a clue as to whom was behind the hacks. His transition team later added, “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Facial recognition to kick in for 2017

Computers fully comprehending things they see in front of them will be the technical advance that takes us to the next level in our digitized world, experts say.“The next leap in computing will be in how we interpret images,” said Jem Davies, an ARM executive at an embedded technology conference recently. “That will be revolutionary,” he said, according to IEEE Spectrum, writing about the processor executive’s talk in the article “Bringing Eyes to the Internet of Things.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco ONE simplifies security purchasing

'Tis the season to be jolly, they say, which is true unless you’re involved with enterprise security. For those individuals, tis the season to be wary as the number of highly publicized breaches continues to grow, as does the complexity of trying adequately secure the business. One of the biggest challenges is the vendor landscape has exploded with hundreds of point products. In fact, the 2016 ZK Research Security Survey found that large enterprises have an average of 32 security vendors deployed. + Also on Network World: What to expect from Cisco in 2017 + More security vendors doesn’t make companies more secure. It just makes things more complex. Despite the number of point products, finding a breach still takes well over 100 days. Think of the damage that can happen in over three months. A persistent threat can make its way around the company network, map out the whole environment and provide a blueprint for hackers to take whatever data they want. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco ONE simplifies security purchasing

'Tis the season to be jolly, they say, which is true unless you’re involved with enterprise security. For those individuals, tis the season to be wary as the number of highly publicized breaches continues to grow, as does the complexity of trying adequately secure the business. One of the biggest challenges is the vendor landscape has exploded with hundreds of point products. In fact, the 2016 ZK Research Security Survey found that large enterprises have an average of 32 security vendors deployed. + Also on Network World: What to expect from Cisco in 2017 + More security vendors doesn’t make companies more secure. It just makes things more complex. Despite the number of point products, finding a breach still takes well over 100 days. Think of the damage that can happen in over three months. A persistent threat can make its way around the company network, map out the whole environment and provide a blueprint for hackers to take whatever data they want. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The new rulers of the cybersecurity realm: Automation, Analytics Artificial Intelligence

It may be a brave new world in 2017 but it’s also a darn scary one for IT security professionals.READ MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 5 enterprise technologies that will shake things up in 2017+Just take a look at some recent Gartner assessments of the security situation: By 2020, 60% of digital businesses will suffer major service failures, due to the inability of IT security teams to manage digital risk. By 2020, 60% of enterprise information security budgets will be allocated for rapid detection and response approaches, which is an increase from less than 30% in 2016. By 2018, 25% of corporate data traffic will flow directly from mobile devices to the cloud, bypassing enterprise security controls. Through 2018, over 50% of IoT device manufacturers will not be able to address threats from weak authentication practices. So what technologies are going to change this scenario back in favor of IT? The new security AAA: Automation, analytics and artificial intelligence say proponents.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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