Stop. Think. Connect. Tips Infographic!

Here’s an awesome infographic on Stop. Think. Connect. Which is a National Cyber Security Awareness initiative by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Learn more here.

NCSAM_Week1_PT1

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Stop. Think. Connect. Tips Infographic!

Bypass Physical Security Using the Help of a Craigslist Job Ad

I spy, with my pi.

A job ad was found on craigslist where some bad actors are hiring and paying up to $50/month to anyone who doesn’t adhere to their security policies and is willing to plug in a Raspberry Pi onto company networks. Most likely remotely sniffing all traffic.

Click the picture for a larger version.
piSpy

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Bypass Physical Security Using the Help of a Craigslist Job Ad

T-Mobile CEO Pissed Off at Experian

Hackers took T-Mobile customer names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birthdays, and even sensitive identification numbers from the servers owned and operated by Experian.

Those FIFTEEN MILLION people whom applied for a regular T-Mobile USA postpaid plan between Sept. 1, 2013 and Sept. 16, 2015 might be affected. T-Mobile used Experian to validate credit.

Experian says the servers breached wasn’t part of their normal data warehouse, so it is isolated.

Don’t worry though… Experian will offer those affected some credit monitoring… Though it requires you give Experian more private and sensitive information.

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on T-Mobile CEO Pissed Off at Experian

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month!

National Cyber Security Awareness Month kicks off with STOP. THINK. CONNECT’s 5th Anniversary. Take a look at the week’s description and key messages. Also included are examples of how you can get involved, learn more and stay in touch.

Also, check out this really cool infographic!

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month!

Don’t Be a Victim of Tech Support Scams

This year alone, an estimated 3.3 million people in the United States will pay more than $1.5 billion to scammers.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson and experts from Microsoft explain how scammers pretending to help you with computer problems can steal from you. Please share this, with family and friends.

Microsoft nor their partners make unsolicited phone calls to charge people for computer security or software fixes. If someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support calls you:

  • Do not purchase any software or services.
  • Ask if there is a fee or subscription associated with the “service.” If there is, hang up.
  • Do not give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer.
  • Take the caller’s information down and immediately report it to your local authorities.
  • Do not provide your credit card or financial information to someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support.

To report a scam that came from a “Microsoft Rep”, go to www.support.microsoft.com/reportascam

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Don’t Be a Victim of Tech Support Scams

19 Laws of Information Security

Law #1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it’s not solely your computer anymore.
Law #2: Nobody believes anything bad can happen to them, until it does.
Law #3: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it’s not your computer anymore.
Law #4: Security only works if the secure way also happens to be the easy way.
Law #5: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it’s not your computer anymore.
Law #6: If you don’t keep up with security fixes, your network won’t be yours for long.
Law #7: If you allow a bad guy to run active content on your website, it’s not your website any more.
Law #8: It doesn’t do much good to install security fixes on a computer that was never secured to begin with.
Law #9: Weak passwords trump strong security.
Law #10: Eternal vigilance is the price of security.
Law #11: A computer is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy.
Law #12: There really is someone out there trying to guess your passwords.
Law #13: Encrypted data is only as secure as its decryption key.
Law #14: The most secure network is a well-administered one.
Law #15: An out-of-date antimalware scanner is only marginally better than no scanner at all.
Law #16: The difficulty of defending a network is directly proportional to its complexity.
Law #17: Absolute anonymity isn’t practically achievable, online or offline.
Law #18: Security isn’t about risk avoidance; it’s about risk management.
Law #19: Technology is not a panacea.

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 19 Laws of Information Security

How the Internet Blackmarket is Structured

The video above shows the mapping of how the blackmarket works.
Research done @Google in collaboration with Berkeley, Databricks, UCSD, UCSB, George Mason University and Michigan State University.

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on How the Internet Blackmarket is Structured

Volkswagen Hack

In the traditional meaning of the word hack, there are some half-million diesel powered Volkswagens out that have the capability to detect when they are hooked up to an emissions computer and switch modes to ‘burn clean’, which are normally pushing out much higher than regulatorily allowed pollutants into the air. The investigations are still underway, but it is said that there are emissions discrepancies in eleven million diesel vehicles worldwide.

Volkswagen also owns other vehicle brands, but it’s is not known if the emissions hack exists in those vehicle systems as well.

It’s not known how far up the chain of command the decision to install the hack capability to commit emissions-fraud was made, but Volkswagen CEO, Martin Winterkorn, has stepped down and out.

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Volkswagen Hack

Remember Galen Marsh?

I wrote about Galen Marsh as the guy who posted the information of 900 clients on PasteBin with promises that he had a LOT more to sell. Roughly the private information on 730,000 Morgan Stanley clients.

There was rumor that he was being framed. Well… He just pleaded guilty to being the person who actually did steal his employing company’s data and posted it online.

 

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , | Comments Off on Remember Galen Marsh?

The Internet of Shit

IOTlivingRoom

There are so many things that are spawning with Internet of Things technology. Internet connected everything! Most devices spy on us… What happens when devices learn they can blackmail us?

The Internet of Shit’s Twitter presence is one to follow.

Posted in Security Blog | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Internet of Shit