If you had any lingering doubts that drones had truly gone mainstream, good news: Like most other consumer technology products, your drone can get malware now, too. Security researcher unveiled a new proof-of-concept malware called Maldrone that claims to give an attacker backdoor access to the popular hobbyist quadrocopter.
Maldrone can be installed on the drone remotely, over a wireless connection, without the operator knowing. Once in place, an attacker can take control of the drone, perform remote surveillance using the drone's video camera, and possibly even spread itself to other drones, too. Any drone with an ARM processor and Linux-based operating system.
Read moreThe US Justice Department has been covertly gathering and storing hundreds of millions of records about American motorists for a national database. The database can track the movements of vehicles across the country.
Government documents, as well as former and current government officials, confirmed to the Journal that the license plate-tracking program was initially used by the Drug Enforcement Administration to seize cars, money, and other assets associated with drug trafficking. Use of the database has grown, however, to include hunting for vehicles linked to other possible crimes, including kidnapping, killings, and rape.
Read moreIt’s no secret to anyone to know that Google keeps every bit of data it collects about each of its users. This data includes, but is not limited to, search phrase history, links clicked, Gmail conversations and so on.
All data is kept and processed “in their ordinary course of business,” which obviously includes spam filtering, selecting relevant ads for users and the individual tuning of search results. This last piece is still not obvious to most users, but for the last few years each of us has had our very own Google. If you find something funny or unexpected, or you see your own website on the first page of search results, don’t rush to show this to your friends.
Read moreHe says iPhone has special software that allows the government to spy on you. The Edward Snowden insecurity wagon stopped late last week in Russia for just long enough to scatter tales of wide-open iPhone hardware and easily cored user credentials.
Snowden's lawyer told reporters in Russia that he does not use an iPhone. We assume that he does not use a lot of common or open means of communication these days, because he worries about what it means for his liberty. Snowden, who is currently enjoying Russia as his home, does not have time to use the popular phone, and is unlikely to ever make time.
Read moreBanking trojans remain one of the most prevalent kinds of malware. Among them, trojans based on Zeus have long been the most prevalent, but in recent months a relatively new trojan has been challenging the reign of Zeus: Vawtrak.
Also known as Neverquest or Snifula, Vawtrak initially targeted users of Japanese banking systems, but it has since broadened its scope. Earlier Sophos researcher looked at the malware's infection vector, as well how it targets banks and other financial institutions. Like a Russian Matryoshka doll, it consists of multiple layers, with each layer containing the next one until the final layer contains a malicious DLL.
Read moreTesla Motors Inc's electric vehicles can be located and unlocked by criminals remotely simply by cracking a six-character password using traditional hacking techniques, according to newly released research.
A corporate security consultant said that he recently conducted a study of the Tesla Model S sedan and found several design flaws in its security system. He said his review did not uncover any hidden software vulnerabilities in the car's major systems. Tesla car can only be driven when a key fob is present, but it can be unlocked via a command to the car transmitted wirelessly over the Internet. If a password is stolen or cracked, someone could locate and gain access to the car.
Read moreIn the past few years, rapid growth in the volume of sensitive information combined with new technologies has chipped away at the effectiveness of traditional endpoint protections and network perimeter security. In tandem come warranted concerns about the number and types of employees who have access to sensitive data.
Simply by having access, privileged insiders may unwittingly put data at risk – or be used by an outside actor as a conduit for siphoning data. In 2014, the USA saw some of the worst data breaches in recent memory with household names experiencing massive financial and reputational blows due to cyber-attacks.
Read moreSome developments on the class action suit filed against Facebook over alleged privacy violations in Europe. Europe vs. Facebook, the group leading the suit now with 25,000 claimants in tow, has had its first hearing set for April 9, marking the first time Facebook will appear in court over the case.
The class action covers a number of areas ranging from data use policy under EU law to PRISM surveillance support and the unlawful introduction of “Graph Search.” According to Europe vs. Facebook, the social network refutes the claims, arguing that the lawsuit is inadmissable because it cannot be sued by its users.
Read moreGoogle took almost three years to disclose to the open information group WikiLeaks that it had handed over emails and other digital data belonging to three of its staffers to the US government, under a secret search warrant issued by a federal judge.
WikiLeaks has written to Google’s executive chairman to protest that the search giant only revealed the warrants last month, having been served them in March 2012. In the letter, WikiLeaks says it is astonished and disturbed that Google waited more than two and a half years to notify its subscribers, potentially depriving them of their ability to protect their rights to privacy, association and freedom from illegal searches.
Read moreAs employees increasingly demand a more mobile and social workplace, the pressure is on for enterprises to deliver the same technology experience employees have in their personal lives to their work lives.
With an emphasis on intuitive collaboration and enhanced productivity, initiatives such as BYOD encourage this sort of working behavior. From a security perspective however, it also heightens the level of risk in a company. In light of the changes to how we work, a new research conducted a global study which revealed the working habits of professionals around the world, and their attitudes towards online data protection.
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