The IoT world is abuzz with the discovery of a new Bluetooth flaw that opens the door to man-in-the-middle attacks, which are exactly what they sound like — attacks where a third party wedges itself between two of your networked devices and helps itsel…
Magniber ransomware grows stronger and scarier
The Magniber strain of ransomware is back, stronger than before, and starting to spread through much of Asia. Cybersecurity experts are taking note of the substantial changes the malware has undergone ov…
Smoke Loader chokes Windows in a new way
Cyberthreats and attacks have been a negative side effect of our computer age for more than three decades. The first viruses or worms were less harmful, designed to slow a system down or annoy other users. Some even say the first viruses were designed …
SamSam ransomware is back with a surprising addition
The ransomware strain that locked up the city of Atlanta in March of this year has returned, cybersecurity experts report, but with one mysterious addition. This new variant of the most infamous ran…
Microsoft fixes 50 flaws for Windows, Adobe, Spectre, and more
Microsoft packed a lot into its Patch Tuesday updates this week, providing 50 fixes for vulnerabilities covering everything from the Windows OS, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office to …
Some unfortunate travelers had their thirst for adventure rewarded with a steaming mug of scam. Users of the popular travel-booking site booking.com received bogus texts directing them to change their passwords “due to a security breach.” A malicious link in the text, if clicked, gave the phishers access to that user’s bookings. A second text then capitalized on the booking data by demanding bank info to “process payment” for the user’s specific trip. Booking.com is part of the hospitality magnate that includes priceline.com, kayak.com, and opentable.com. A spokesperson for the site states their system was not compromised, pointing to select hotel partners as the attack victims. The company claims all impacted guests have been notified and that any damages will be compensated.
Introduction
As one of the leading companies in computer security, we work hard every day to bring the highest level of protection to all of our users. This requires us to constantly explore new ways of defeating malware, often experimenting with blee…
Last week, we reported how the FBI had seized a key domain to the botnet VPNFilter. That story continued yesterday when the Bureau publicly asked all US residents to reboot their routers. The advice comes with the knowledge that while VPNFilter can take control of a router, part of the malware can be easily kicked off the system with a simple reboot — turning the device off for a moment. This renders the malicious program harmless, though the router can be reinfected. To prevent that, users are also advised to make sure the router’s security is fully up to date and the password has been changed from the default to a suitably complex one. The malware attacks many kinds of routers, most notably Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, and TP-Link. Each of those companies have posted further detailed instructions to combat VPNFilter on their websites.