4 signs you’re a victim of ransomware

The word ransomware conjures images of kidnappers and ransom notes. But that doesn't quite capture the reality of PC ransomware. In fact, "it’s not always obvious when ransomware is the problem," says Mike Cobb, director of engineering at data recovery and digital forensics firm DriveSavers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Hacked companies still prioritize innovation over cybersecurity

Eight out of 10 executives surveyed acknowledge that their companies had been compromised by cyber attacks in the past two years, according to a new study by KPMG. Yet less than half of the 403 CIOs, CISOs and CTOs the firm surveyed said that they had invested in information security in the past year.“We’re still seeing companies taking a passive or reactive approach toward cybersecurity, when in fact cyber should be a top-line business issue thought about and practiced company-wide," says Greg Bell, leader of KPMG's U.S. cyber practice. Bell spoke to CIO.com after publishing his “Consumer Loss Barometer" report in July.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why (and how) to start planning your HoloLens apps

Augmented reality isn't new. Boeing has been using it since the 1990s to speed up installing the hundreds of miles of writing inside its planes. But those early systems were both clunky and expensive, and, so far, more portable augmented reality wearables like Google Glass haven't taken off. Microsoft's mixed reality HoloLens looks set to change that.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Researcher scams fake tech support scammer, infects scammer’s PC with Locky ransomware

While the big security news was happening in Las Vegas at conferences, security researcher Ivan Kwiatkowski’s story was too funny to pass up – at least if you loathe scareware scams.After only 30 minutes on a new computer, his parents surfed to an online tech support scam which claimed their PC was infected with Zeus. Ivan Kwiatkowski Fairly atrocious attempt at scareware by tech support scammers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Researcher scams fake tech support scammer, infects scammer’s PC with Locky ransomware

While the big security news was happening in Las Vegas at conferences, security researcher Ivan Kwiatkowski’s story was too funny to pass up – at least if you loathe scareware scams.After only 30 minutes on a new computer, his parents surfed to an online tech support scam which claimed their PC was infected with Zeus. Ivan Kwiatkowski Fairly atrocious attempt at scareware by tech support scammers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

A Few Thoughts from Black Hat 2016

Last week’s Black Hat 2016 conference was a whirlwind of activity.  Here’s a few of my takeaways:1.      I kind of like Black Hat better than the RSA Conference.  At Black Hat, you talk about the real challenges facing our industry and discuss intellectual ways to overcome them.  At RSA, everyone throws buzz words at you and tells you how they solve all your problems.  And maybe it’s because RSA is in San Francisco, but you can always count on the Sand Hill Rd. crowd to show up at RSA and let you know how rich they’ve become protecting all of our sensitive data.  Black Hat is whiskey and grit, RSA is Merlot and PR messaging.  In other words, the folks who really know, live, and fight for cybersecurity are in Vegas while those looking to make money on cybersecurity are at RSA.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Qualcomm-powered Android devices plagued by four rooting flaws

Hundreds of millions of Android devices based on Qualcomm chipsets are likely exposed to at least one of four critical vulnerabilities that allow non-privileged apps to take them over.The four flaws were presented by security researcher Adam Donenfeld from Check Point Software Technologies on Sunday at the DEF CON security conference in Las Vegas. They were reported to Qualcomm between February and April, and the chipset maker has since released fixes for the vulnerabilities after classifying them as high severity.Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that all devices are yet protected. Due to the fragmentation of the Android ecosystem, many devices run older Android versions and no longer receive firmware updates, or they receive the fixes with months-long delays.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Qualcomm-powered Android devices plagued by four rooting flaws

Hundreds of millions of Android devices based on Qualcomm chipsets are likely exposed to at least one of four critical vulnerabilities that allow non-privileged apps to take them over.The four flaws were presented by security researcher Adam Donenfeld from Check Point Software Technologies on Sunday at the DEF CON security conference in Las Vegas. They were reported to Qualcomm between February and April, and the chipset maker has since released fixes for the vulnerabilities after classifying them as high severity.Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that all devices are yet protected. Due to the fragmentation of the Android ecosystem, many devices run older Android versions and no longer receive firmware updates, or they receive the fixes with months-long delays.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FTC seeks research help from DEF CON hackers

The Federal Trade Commission made an appeal at DEF CON in Las Vegas this past week in hopes of getting hackers to help them crack down on manufacturers and service providers that leave customers vulnerable.Top of the list: ransomware, malvertising, networked cars and security for the internet of things.Of particular interest in the case of IoT is preventing one device from compromising a consumer’s entire private network, says Lorrie Cranor, the FTC’s chief technologist.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FTC seeks research help from DEF CON hackers

The Federal Trade Commission made an appeal at DEF CON in Las Vegas this past week in hopes of getting hackers to help them crack down on manufacturers and service providers that leave customers vulnerable.Top of the list: ransomware, malvertising, networked cars and security for the internet of things.Of particular interest in the case of IoT is preventing one device from compromising a consumer’s entire private network, says Lorrie Cranor, the FTC’s chief technologist.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

One Rack To Stack Them All

Stacking up electronics equipment in precise form factors that slide into standard racks is not a new idea, and in fact it is one that predates the modern era of computing. As is the case with any standard, the constraints it imposes brings order to the market while at the same time restricting it, and making any substantial change in something as fundamental as the datacenter rack requires a pretty significant payback.

Any standard also requires volume manufacturing to really take off and yield benefits, and this has certainly not happened with rack-scale architectures to date. The time is perhaps

One Rack To Stack Them All was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.

60% off SOWTECH HDMI Splitter, Full HD 1080P and 3D Support – Deal Alert

This splitter from SOWTECH takes one HDMI full HD 1080P signal and outputs two duplicate signals, full strength with no signal degradation. Amazon indicates that this is a #1 best seller in its category, is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 120 customers (read reviews), and right now its list price of $36.99 is discounted by 60% to just $14.87. See the discounted SOWTECH HDMI splitter now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple—and America—have lost the mobile platform wars

It may be about time to finally declare a winner in the long and sometimes bitter battle for mobile dominance between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. According to a recent survey of thousands of developers around the world, Android is increasing its lead for developer mindshare, eroding the long-standing maxim of creating apps for “iPhone first.”Android sets a record In Developer Economics: State of the Developer Nation Q3 2016, released last week, VisionMobile reports Android now has a whopping 79 percent "mindshare" among mobile developers, the highest for any platform the company has measured since it began its quarterly surveys back in 2010. The record comes as the mindshare for iOS has consistently tracked at 51 percent to 55 percent since 2013 (although that figure rises to 61 percent for professional developers). To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New products of the week 8.8.16

New products of the weekOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Open Threat Exchange (OTX)Key features: AlienVault OTX is an open threat intelligence community where security practitioners research and share emerging threat data. Members can create private discussion groups related to specific industries, regions and threats. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New products of the week 8.8.16

New products of the weekOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Open Threat Exchange (OTX)Key features: AlienVault OTX is an open threat intelligence community where security practitioners research and share emerging threat data. Members can create private discussion groups related to specific industries, regions and threats. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Wearables at the Rio 2016 Olympics

See the gadgets athletes are using at the Rio OlympicsImage by IOC/David Burnett/ContactThe 2016 Rio Olympics is finally getting underway and there'll be no shortage of tech at this year's event. Athletes use all kinds of gadgets to help them train and stay fit, from heads-up displays used by cyclists to jump trackers worn by the volleyball team. Here's the a few of the gadgets that have made it to Rio. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here