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May 24, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Sometimes Google takes a heavy-handed approach to security, but it’s also widely accepted that their heart is in the right place. That seems to be the case with the company’s most recently announced change. In the near future, the search giant is going to start pushing Gmail and Google account holders to use two-factor authentication […]
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May 22, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Microsoft has a history of being notoriously slow to change. Just to cite one example, the company’s venerable “Paint” application has been in the mix since the earliest days of Windows. Although it was relatively feature-poor and under-powered even back when it was introduced, the company never made any effort to improve on it. They […]
May 21, 2021 by Vertical Axion
A new, high severity vulnerability has been found in Qualcomm’s MSM (Mobile Station Modem) chips, including the company’s latest 5G-capable versions. The security issue could allow hackers to access a user’s call history, text messages, and even listen in on their conversations. Unfortunately, given the ubiquity of these chips in today’s smartphones, this flaw impacts […]
May 20, 2021 by Vertical Axion
There’s an ongoing, global scale phishing attack you should be aware of, even if your firm isn’t currently being targeted by it. The attack is being tracked by Mandiant, who recently published a report about it. According to that report, the attack was planned in waves, hitting more than 50 different organizations spanning a broad […]
May 19, 2021 by Vertical Axion
On April 20, 2021, Google released Chrome 90.0.4430.85, designed to address a zero-day exploit hackers are currently taking advantage of, tracked as CVE-2021-21224. The patch also patches four other high severity security flaws that had previously been plaguing the most popular browser on the web. By the time you read these words, the latest version […]
May 18, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Recently, researchers at Qihoo 360 Network Security discovered a particularly stealthy piece of malware designed to create backdoors in the Linux ecosystem. It was so good at its job, and so stealthy that it went completely undetected for years. That gave the hackers controlling it a convenient access point literally for years. Based on the […]
May 17, 2021 by Vertical Axion
If you’re still using Skype for Business at your firm, be advised that Microsoft recently sent another friendly reminder out to all users of the service. The reminder says that it’s going away as of July 31, 2021, so you’ll need to complete your migration to Microsoft Teams (or an instance of Skype for Business […]
May 15, 2021 by Vertical Axion
QNAP recently addressed a critical security vulnerability you need to be aware of. Previous to the fix, the company had included hard-coded credentials to serve as a backdoor to the device. Unfortunately, hackers became aware of this and began abusing those credentials. That resulted in a number of confirmed instances where hackers gained access to […]
May 14, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Geico, the second largest insurance carrier in the US, recently became the latest high-profile company to suffer a data breach in the United States. The company is the second largest auto insurance carrier in the US, with more than 17 million policies in effect, covering more than 28 million vehicles around the country. Based on […]
May 13, 2021 by Vertical Axion
If you’re a Microsoft Edge user, be aware. Beginning in July, with the release of Edge 92, the browser will automatically redirect users to a secure HTTPS connection any time they visit a website via the HTTP protocol. Microsoft is not alone in this, and in fact, is coming a bit late to the party. […]
May 12, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Targeted advertising has become a mainstay of life on the web these days. You do a search on Amazon for say, exercise bikes, and then, just about every other website you visit will show you ads relating to your recent search. It’s almost scary how good the ad targeting is. If you’re not a fan, […]
May 11, 2021 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new malware threat you need to be aware of, and it recently made its way onto the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre’s radar. Called FluBot, it is designed to steal information including passwords and banking particulars. There are a couple of interesting aspects about this threat that are noteworthy. First, it is currently […]
May 9, 2021 by Vertical Axion
NASA has big ambitions to put 4G internet on the moon, and has tasked Nokia with turning their dream into a reality. It seems like the next logical step, really, since 4G has basically conquered planet earth. It can even be found on offshore oil rigs and atop Mount Everest, but the moon? It’s actually […]
May 8, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Last year, Google made some important changes to their Chrome browser in a bid to increase user security. Among these changes was to default to “HTTPS” in the browser in an attempt to reduce the number of “man in the middle” and similar types of attacks. Their strategy worked. Other companies adopted Google’s approach and […]
May 7, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Jiri Kropac, the head of ESET’s Threat Detection Labs, recently reported a new malware campaign to be aware of. This one is a bit different in terms of methodology. Hackers most commonly employ emails utilizing various social engineering tricks in an attempt to lure unsuspecting recipients into clicking malicious links or downloading poisoned files. In […]
May 6, 2021 by Vertical Axion
You know how, when you buy a new router to set up a home network, it comes with a default password like ‘Admin,’ which you have to remember to change? If you don’t, you run the risk of having your new network breached with ease. Good news, that’s a step closer to going away. There’s […]
May 5, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Password security has long been a thorn in the side of IT Security Professionals. It’s easy enough to understand why. Passwords are inconvenient from the perspective of users, which is why they tend to keep them as simple as possible, so they can remember them. On the other hand, IT Security staff keeps warning users […]
May 4, 2021 by Vertical Axion
It’s no secret that Microsoft has struggled where web browsers are concerned. Internet Explorer was basically a security-riddled disaster and was eventually retired for that very reason. The company’s next attempt was Microsoft Edge, but unfortunately, it never gained much traction in the market and the company never did a lot with it. What they […]
May 3, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Adobe continues to work at a feverish pace to address critical security vulnerabilities in its product line. Their most recent patch addresses a total of ten security flaws across the following four products: Photoshop Adobe Digital Editions Adobe Bridge RoboHelp Of the ten flaws addressed by the latest patch, seven are rated as being Critical […]
May 1, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Back in February, Google began experimenting with a new feature that defaulted all URLs to use “https:” rather than the less secure “http:.” While defaulting to the secure socket layer isn’t ironclad protection for ‘netizins, it’s certainly a step in the right direction, which is why Google recently promoted the change out of the canary […]
April 30, 2021 by Vertical Axion
The Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team recently issued a dire warning that every IT professional should take seriously. They’ve discovered an emerging threat in the form of hackers utilizing legitimate “Contact Us” forms associated with Google websites to distribute malware to unsuspecting site visitors. Since the website is legitimate, it almost always bypasses email […]
April 29, 2021 by Vertical Axion
About eighteen months ago, a number of big mobile carriers got together to create the “Cross-Carrier Messaging Initiative.” Their goal was to roll out a Rich Communication Services (RCS) platform designed to allow for text messaging across a variety of platforms, creating a seamless user experience. It’s something that sounds simple enough, and it’s a […]
April 28, 2021 by Vertical Axion
Scammers have found a new way to take advantage of people, so be on your guard. The U.S. Department of Justice has recently issued an alert warning people of fake emails sent out asking recipients to take advantage of a post vaccination survey. Naturally, as part of taking the survey, each participant will be asked […]
April 27, 2021 by Vertical Axion
There’s a new cryptomining worm threat to be aware of, and it’s making the lives of IT Administrators who manage Windows and Linux environments nightmarish. This news comes from a recently published report offered by a research firm called Juniper, which began monitoring the activities of the new Sysrv Botnet back in December of 2020. […]
