Android App Secretly Flashes User Data
An extremely popular Android app which turns users smartphones into torches “deceived” tens of millions of users by covertly sharing their device IDs and locations with advertisers. Goldenshores Technologies LLC, the developer behind the Brightest Flashlight Free app, has agreed to settle an FTC case which alleged that the company had violated provisions of the […]
Over 80% Of Employees Use Non-Approved Saas Applications At Work
A new McAfee survey has discovered that eighty per cent of employees are using non-approved SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) applications at work. Alarmingly, the worst offenders amongst those surveyed were those working in IT who used more unauthorised apps than any of their co-workers. Stratecast suspects that this is a case of IT employees’ overconfidence in their […]
What Should We Do With Governments And IT Consultants Who Can't Look After Their Data?
When it comes to securing your private data it is essential that you consider the hardware it is stored on. That means thinking about physical security as well as data protection and having a backup policy in place. But there is also another consideration and it seems many people fail at this final hurdle: when […]
Ministers To Order ISPs To Block Extremist Websites
“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Attorney General Ramsey Clark,1975. UK government ministers will order internet service providers to block websites that publish extremist views, despite the misgivings of broadband companies. James Brokenshire, minister for crime and security, said that proposals for censoring such content would be made public in the near future. […]
Twitter's New Security Measures Will Make Snooping 'Impossible'
Social media giant Twitter has announced new security measures designed to make it impossible for security agencies and cyber criminals to snoop on its users. Following the raft of high-profile security scares in the media recently, Twitter has joined the likes of Google and Facebook in adding an additional layer of security, dubbed ‘Perfect Forward […]
60% Rise In Cyber Crime Costs Britain £81bn, More Specialists To Be Recruited
The Metropolitan Police is set to increase the number of specialised officers dealing with cyber crime. Hundreds more investigators will be brought in as senior officers look to increase manpower fourfold in this area in response to what they say is “the growth industry of the criminal underworld.” The increase in online criminal activity in Britain […]
Think Of Your Users' Security Before Thinking Of Yourself
If you were to grab some non-technical friends together and ran a straw poll, inquiring as to how hard or easy they thought it was to run a successful website, then you may well get quite a mix of answers. Some of them may look at the plethora of content management systems available these days […]
November Patch Tuesday – Your PC May Have Failed To Install The Latest Updates
Microsoft this week issued its latest round of patches in what has long been known as ‘Patch Tuesday’. This latest batch of fixes was relatively light with there being only three critical bulletins and five important updates. The eight security bulletins cover a total of 19 separate vulnerabilities aimed at fixing bugs in Windows, Internet […]
Waking Shark II – UK Banks To Host Cyber War Games Tomorrow
Banking staff in London’s financial district will, tomorrow, take part in a large-scale exercise to see how they would cope in the event of a real cyber attack. The ‘war games’ scenario, dubbed “Waking Shark II” according to Reuters, is a replay of a similar event which took place on March 11 2011. That first […]
Can You Fix-It? Latest Microsoft Zero-Day Not Fixed In Upcoming Patch Tuesday
Next week Microsoft will release eight security bulletins as part of November’s Patch Tuesday, but the latest zero-day is not one of them. The Windows/Office hole, which could allow a targeted attack via booby trapped images, will not be plugged as part of Microsoft’s forthcoming monthly security update. Group Manager of Response Communications, Dustin Child, […]