Developer Medoc Confirms Backdoor In Update

Ukrainian software company tax and accounting Medoc develops confirmed that attackers malicious code added to an update allowing the Petya-ransomware is installed. Initially the company denied even attackers had used the company's software to install Petya-ransomware. On Facebook , the company has been now confirms that the victim of a hack.

Previously, researchers at antivirus company ESET discovered attackers had added a backdoor on an update for Medoc which was released on June 22. The software company announced that it has developed an update that should fix the problem. The servers of the software have been seized by the police, so the update that addresses the issues and to prevent new attacks still can not be rolled. Ukrainian Police advise on Facebook to use non Medoc temporary and computers it is installed to disconnect from the network.

Google Stops From 2017 With Flash Ads

From January 2017 Google stops displaying Flash ads on their own ad networks, such as the Google Display Network and DoubleClick, as the Internet giant has over Google Plus disclosed. According to Google, it's important for advertisers to switch to HTML5 ads, so many people can be reached.

To accelerate this process will AdWords and DoubleClick Digital Marketing from June 30 to accept new Flash ads this year.From January 2, 2017 Flash ads will no longer be on the Google Display Network are displayed via DoubleClick. Google warns advertisers that they should have converted their ads to HTML5 for these dates. For now, the new measure does not affect video ads created in Flash.

Google has long been working to make Flash unnecessary. As YouTube videos are automatically played through HTML5. In the case of Flash ads that are distributed through AdWords, which are automatically converted to HTML5 since February last year. Since September 1st of last year, most Flash ads automatically in Google Chrome paused .

Last year, also called Alex Stamos, the new Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Facebook, which with Adobe Flash technology to stop , so that it can be switched completely on HTML5. HTML5 is natively supported by modern browsers and allows playback of videos and other "rich content" without installing additional plug-ins possible.

FBI Suspect In Case Of 1.2 billion Stolen Logins

The FBI has a suspect in the case of 1.2 billion stolen usernames and passwords. Last August announced the US firm Hold Security that it had uncovered a gang that through SQL-injection 1.2 billion unique passwords had been stolen at about 420,000 websites.

Research documents from the FBI show that the investigation service has found an email address that may be involved in the theft. The email address was registered in 2010 and was one of "mister gray" who offered his spam services. As part of the investigation, the FBI discovered on a Russian hacking forum a message from one "mr.grey" which in 2011 the login details of Facebook, Twitter and UK users offered. The information comes from a request from the FBI last year submitted to search e-mail and data last week has become public and which news agency Reuters on message. Further details about the state of research are lacking.

Amazon Makes Two-Factor Authentication

Amazon has quietly for the shop two-factor authentication enabled. The option is currently still stand out. Logging in Amazon normally goes with a username and password. But for added security, users can now also receive a code on their phone they have to fill in the login.

The introduction of two-factor authentication will the attackers more difficult for someone else to log on because they need to know in this case, both username and password, but also have access to the smartphone.

An employee of Engadget discovered the new option this week. According to reports on Twitter, Amazon would be the new two-factor identification introduced about two weeks ago.

Two-factor authentication is a widely used method to prevent abuse of login data. Other major Internet companies that offer this login method, include Google, Twitter and Facebook.

Who at Amazon wants to use the two-factor authentication, should go to their account settings and select it by changing the settings for 'advanced settings'.

WhatsApp Collects Phone Numbers And Call Duration

WhatsApp collects phone numbers, duration of calls and other information, as researchers from the University of New Haven determined. WhatsApp, the popular chat app in the world and has over 800 million users worldwide.

Last year it was acquired by Facebook for $ 19 billion. Due to the acquisition by the social network and the large number of users, according to the researchers, is important to know how the network protocol of WhatsApp works and what forensically relevant data it contains. For the study, the researchers decided to unravel the connection between the WhatsApp program and the WhatsApp servers.

Through the network traffic, the researchers were able to identify various data, such as WhatsApp phone numbers, metadata about the call set-up and the duration of the call. They also discovered the codec used WhatsApp for calls, as well as the IP addresses of the relay servers which run the WhatsApp conversations.

"Our research shows which data can be gathered through forensic examination of WhatsApp and provides a way for others to conduct additional research on network forensics messaging apps," said researcher Ibrahim Baggili. The researchers note that decrypting the network traffic was not easy. For this it is necessary to have access to both the data on the device as the entire network traffic. The research of the researchers: "WhatsApp Network Forensics: Decrypting and Understanding WhatsApp Call Signaling Messages" is published in the journal Digital Investigation.

Facebook Will Warn Victims Stands Hackers

Facebook users whose account was hacked by state-sponsored hackers or these are the target will now be alerted by Facebook. That's Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos of Facebook last week announced.

Where Facebook is a strong suspicion that, whether or not successful attacks on a Facebook account the work of hackers who work for a State, users receive a separate notice. "We do this because such attacks are more sophisticated and more dangerous than other attacks, and we encourage the users affected to take the necessary actions to secure all their online accounts," said Stamos. He notes that the warning does not mean that Facebook itself has been hacked.

According to the CSO, the warning is displayed when the computer or the user's phone as possible malware has become infected, causing the attackers then have the account hijacking. The warning also get affected Facebook users than the advice to "Login Approvals" enable, so others can not log into the Facebook account. In case it tries to log in from another account or other device is a security code sent to the user's mobile phone, so that only those can log on. Earlier decided Google to warn all users stands for hackers.

Apple Removes Adblockers With Root Certificates From App Store

Apple has removed several adblockers from the App Store that install root certificates to inspect the traffic of users. Through the root certificates can be blocked ads within apps, but it also gives the AdBlocker the ability to analyze via HTTPS encrypted traffic, including confidential information.

The situation is similar to the Superfish debacle where Lenovo had previously dealt with this year. Due to the security and privacy risks these adblockers Apple has now been removed. "We have removed a number of apps from the App Store which root certificates installed allowing network users' data could be monitored which could be used again for SSL / TLS solutions to compromise," said a spokesman opposite iMore.

Apple claims that it works with app developers so that apps be ready to be placed back in the App Store, without thereby passing the security and privacy of users danger. One of the deleted adblockers of Bone Choice. The developers of this app via Twitter that she adblocking for apps from Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Pinterest will remove again so as to meet the rules of Apple.

Proton Mail Supports Encrypted Emails From Facebook

The free encrypted email service Proton Mail has a new feature added allowing users now receive encrypted emails from Facebook that are automatically decrypted. To make this possible, PGP encrypted emails from Facebook supported. The social networking site decided in June to send encrypted e-mail notifications support.

Facebook users can add their OpenPGP public key to their profile. This key is then used by Facebook for encrypting the email notifications that are sent to the email address of the user. Facebook has chosen to implement the e-mail encryption for GNU Privacy Guard (GPG), the popular and free implementation of the OpenPGP standard.

Ease of Use

Proton Mail claims to be the first e-mail service that supports the PGP-encrypted e-mails from Facebook now "seamless".This means that PGP-encrypted messages from Facebook automatically open in Proton Mail. Previously internet users had to use PGP in Facebook install the PGP software, keys generate and use different plug-ins. Proton Mail users now only need to key in their public Facebook import. If it is the developers will automate this process in the future.

"If we really want a more private and secure Internet is crucial to work together and we congratulate Facebook for the use of open standards," according to the developers of Proton Mail. "We are pleased that major players such as Facebook support these efforts and as more companies will join in the movement to improve online privacy not stop." Proton Mail was developed with the help of scientists from Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the European research lab CERN.

Google Chrome Will Pause Flash Ads

From September 1, Google Chrome will automatically pause most Flash ads, so has Google via Google Plus disclosed. In June, Internet giant had already announced that it wanted to pause certain plug-ins, including Adobe Flash Player, in order to reduce power consumption and load times.

Google has long been trying to make Flash redundant. As YouTube videos are automatically played through HTML5. In the case of Flash ads that are distributed via AdWords, which are since February this year automatically converted to HTML5.Google argues that advertisers with Flash ads are working have several options to ensure that their ads are still shown to Chrome users, such as automatically to HTML5 to put out or to do it yourself.

Last month, also called Alex Stamos, the new Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Facebook, which with Adobe Flash technology to stop so completely on HTML5 can be switched. HTML5 is natively supported by modern browsers and allows playback of videos and other "rich content" without installing additional plug-ins.

Professor: Facebook Users Should Pay

Most people think that Facebook is free, but actually paying them with their private data that are worth much more. Facebook users would have to pay for it, says Tim Wu , a professor at Columbia Law School. According to Wu, most people think that Facebook "a good deal" is.

"We think that Facebook is" free "and as marketing professors explain, consumers overreact to things that are free." Most people think they pay nothing for Facebook as they do in reality with their private data, even though they do not feel that a transaction takes place. People thereby underestimate how much their data are actually worth.

Recently asked a user to Facebook to pay in cash for the service. It would amount to 20 cents per month, the amount that Facebook earns from ads. Facebook did not respond, which according to Wu makes sense. The private data are useful for showing ads, which are the main source of revenue for Facebook. The data, however, are also worth money. "It's like a virtual Fort Knox where the gold mine is stuck on," he notes.

Companies that directly paid by their clients exist by virtue of how they serve their customers and treat. For companies that are paid by users in attention and private data there is a conflict. "We are their customers, but we are also their products to eventually be sold to others. We will probably always continue to use free stuff, but we'll pay and the only question is how," concludes Wu.

Facebook Pays $ 100,000 For Protection Online

Facebook has four researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology $ 100,000 paid for their research to protect Internet users. Since last year, Facebook is organizing the " Internet Defense Prize "for researchers who are working to improve the safety of the web.

According to the social networking get offensive security work and theoretical academic research often more recognition than the defensive work to prevent vulnerabilities and reduce the effectiveness of attacks. The price was $ 50,000 last year, which is now doubled to $ 100,000. The four investigators were given a price for their research ( pdf ) to so-called "bad-casting" vulnerabilities, causing memory corruption can occur.

An attacker could then use these types of vulnerabilities for various purposes, such as running code. Despite the impact and the fact that the number of bad-casting increases vulnerabilities, the security community ignores the problem, the researchers said. They decided to do not only investigate this attack vector, but also to develop a tool that can help detect these vulnerabilities. So were discovered via the tool two unknown vulnerabilities in Firefox, which have been patched by now.

Free Tools Detect Hacking Team Backdoors

Both Facebook and the US security Smoke Security have developed a free tool that allows users and administrators to detect backdoors on their systems which come from the data that was stolen by the Italian Hacking Team.

Smoke Security analyzed the more than 400GB of data stolen and discovered herein 40 files that could be used to attack users or could assist. To detect these files, the security company developed the " Milano "tool. The tool features a 'quick scan' and 'deep scan'.

The quick scan checks for file name. If the retrieved file name matches the name of one of the found Hacking Team files, it is then also the MD5 hash compared with that of the stolen Hacking Team file. The deep scan compares the hash of all files on the computer with that of Hacking Team files.

Facebook

Last year, Facebook launched " osquery ", an open source project to monitor multiple platforms including Ubuntu, CentOS and Mac OS X. The current state of the operating system can be viewed on the basis of SQL based queries and tables, such as processes, loaded kernel modules and open network connections. According to Facebook's osquery for putting all kinds of things, such as intrusion detection, compliance and vulnerability management.

Facebook now has a new version of osquery launched which should be more user friendly. So are used "query packs", which basically clustered SQL queries are being offered as a file. One of the packs offered by Facebook specifically targets Mac OS X backdoors. Through the "OS X attacks pack" Organizations can now check whether a Mac computer in their area is infected with malware. It therefore comes to the Mac backdoor that was found in the stolen data of Hacking Team.

Anti-Virus Company: Adobe Flash Player Is Just Like Smoking

The use of Adobe Flash Player is similar to smoking, people know that it is bad for them, but can not always stop, according to the Japanese anti-virus company Trend Micro. Last week, three vulnerabilities in the browser plug-in discovered, two of which are used by cyber criminals to infect computers with malware. The vulnerabilities were discovered by the Italian Hacking Team.

A company with forty employees. "As a relatively small company like Hacking Team can find these types of vulnerabilities, consider the tools that other parties, including countries dispose of. Previously, we only had suspicions about the extent of this problem. Now we have a better idea of the risk, "said analyst Martin Roesler . He notes that disappears in an ideal world Flash in its current form. Whether it is replaced by a technology such as HTML5, or Adobe finds a way to protect the software. According Roesler it is unlikely that this will happen.

"Despite the risks, people continue to use it as security alone is not sufficient reason not to do it." Makers of Web sites still use Flash, allowing users need the plug-in. Roesler calls therefore on end users to remove Flash Player if it is not needed, or click to set to play in. In this case, an extra mouse click required to activate the plug-in. In addition, companies are advised not to use Flash when developing new websites. Also Alex Stamos , the new head of security at Facebook, made ​​a call earlier that Adobe Flash has to stop so that there can be switched to HTML5.

Facebook CEO Wants Adobe To Stop Flash

If the newly Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Facebook is going Adobe to stop Flash and also stop all browser developers supporting the popular technology in their browsers. Alex Stamos , which previously held the highest security function at Yahoo is not yet two weeks of the new CSO of Facebook.

Via Twitter , he said that Adobe will announce a date after which Flash is no longer supported. Browser developers such as Mozilla, Microsoft and Google then can a "killbit" record, so the technology after that date no longer work in their browsers. According Stamos is the only way to get all websites and technologies that are Flash dependent apart and at one time to upgrade the entire ecosystem.

The remark Stamos seems to be separate from the recent vulnerabilities found in Adobe Flash Player. He focuses on Flash and web technology. According Stamos select developers and software companies choose not to upgrade to their HTML5 tools and programs, as they expect that Flash will be supported forever. If Adobe provides a date can however be started to reduce dependency on Flash and HTML5 to switch.

Criminals Hacked Apple And Microsoft Still Active

A group of cyber criminals in 2013 Microsoft , Apple , Facebook and Twitter hacked is still active and has provided the large companies, which both malware for Windows and Mac OS X is used. Before the attack on the US Internet companies at the time the attackers used a zero-day vulnerability in Java. At the time of the attack there was no update available for the leak.

After all the attention to the burglaries, the attackers vanished in 2013 for almost a year, but now they are back and they use a previously unknown vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and use a certificate from the Taiwanese manufacturer Acer to sign with malware. That report anti-virus firms Symantec and Kaspersky Lab today. Both virus fighters have put a group of the analysis.

This is according to anti-virus companies to a group of cyber criminals who operates on a much higher level than other cyber criminals. So is wanted there for credit card information, but to very valuable information. The attacks were the past few years aimed at law firms, Bitcoin-related companies, investment companies, IT companies, health companies and brokers, as well as individual users. Most victims are located in Canada, Europe and the United States.

Attacks

To infect victims they have used the aforementioned zero-day vulnerability in Java and at least one vulnerability in Internet Explorer 10, says Symantec. Kaspersky Lab reports that the attackers have used an unknown vulnerability in Flash Player.The victims are attacked by the leak is unknown. At the first attacks in 2012 and 2013 were hacked websites which targets already visited by itself. How the attackers in the new series of attacks proceed in 2014 and 2015, however, a mystery. In case the attack is successful, the attackers use various tools, including a backdoor for Mac OS X and Windows.

The attackers have mostly provided on mail servers. Once access to the Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Domino servers obtained the e-mail traffic probably bugged, says Symantec. There may also be "fraudulent e-mails" are injected.Furthermore, Kaspersky Lab discovered the malware that was used this year by the group signed with a legitimate certificate from Acer. The certificate has been obtained is unknown. The certificate authority that issued the certificate has been asked to withdraw the certificate.

"Compared with other intelligence groups, this group is one of the most exciting we have analyzed and monitored," Kaspersky Lab says. The virus fighter warns that the criminals are still active. Symantec also warns companies of the group, which not only has excellent operational security, but also succeeded in expanding the activities and not be noticed. "The group is a threat that companies should take seriously," said the virus fighter. The data that the group steals the possible uses for their own financial gain, or by selling to the highest bidder.

Spoofing Vulnerability In Google Chrome Can Distort Address

A spoofing vulnerability in Google Chrome makes it possible for a malicious website to spoof the address bar, the browser also shows a valid SSL certificate. The attack last Tuesday on the Full Disclosure mailing list revealed by researcher David Leo.

Then was the demonstration of Leo adapted by Mustafa Al-Bassam , the HTTPS version of Facebook was spoofed. The security company which operates Leo reported the problem to Google, but the Internet giant announced that it will not fix the vulnerability, because this is actually a denial of service, even if the browser crashes.

In addition, the impact of spoofing vulnerability is limited because users can not do anything in the spoofed pop-up or page. A direct phishing attack via this vulnerability is not possible, Al-Bassam noted. Readers of Hacker News report that the spoofing problem is partly also present in Firefox, the browser only because it crashes.

HackerOne Receives Investment Of $ 25 Million

HackerOne, the platform for reporting vulnerabilities in various software projects and applications, during a new round of investment $ 25 million received. HackerOne was in 2013 founded with the help of Facebook and Microsoft. Initially HackerOne focused on rewarding bug reports in popular software projects from which millions of people use. Meanwhile, all kinds of software companies through the website launched a so-called "bug bounty program."

HackerOne fulfills coordination between bug detector and the software in question. Also advises the platform software vendors for their own software via HackerOne want to start a rewards program. The money in the latest round of investment was raised include from Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff, Dropbox's CEO and co-founder Drew Houston and Yelp CEO and co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman.

Since the last round of investment HackerOne the number of employees has expanded from 10 to 50. By now, Yahoo !, Twitter, Adobe, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Snap Chat and Airbnb all use the services of the platform. The total number of customers has now passed the 250. These software companies and projects in recent years to more than 1,500 researchers over $ 3.2 million was paid. The money was used to locate nearly 10,000 vulnerabilities and fix. Despite the positive noises made ​​LinkedIn recently announced that it had started a private reward program for a select group of researchers, because programs where everyone can join would create too much noise to. Why chose LinkedIn sure to route payments to researchers via HackerOne.

Facebook Lets 2 Million Computers Remove Malware

Thanks to Facebook more than 2 million computers have been virus-free for the past three months again.When logging on to the social networking site Facebook detected that the computers were infected with malware. Then, users were offered a tool to remove the infection.

The removal tool runs in the background and users will see a notification when the scan is performed. Facebook already offered the tools of ESET, F-Secure and Trend Micro, and there is now also the Malware Scan for Facebook joined Kaspersky Lab as the social networking site let know . In total, there would be via the scanner Kaspersky Lab for over 260,000 Facebook users have been helped.

Belgian Privacy Commission Drags Facebook For Court

The Belgian Privacy Commission is dragging Facebook to court because of the following people who are not members of the social networking site. The case, which starts Thursday, is about the social plug-ins are available on many websites and allows visitors to share content on social media.

These buttons allow Facebook also visitors can follow which are not members of the social networking site. The problem came up during an earlier investigation of iMinds, VUB and KULeuven which had carried the Privacy Commission. It stated that Facebook members but non-members "secretly tracks" and its data processed.

"Even people who specifically indicate that they want to be followed are still followed", says Willem Debeuckelaere, chairman of the Belgian Privacy Commission. Across De Morgen let him know that the behavior of Facebook can not be tolerated. "We have a subpoena last Thursday show output to Facebook Belgium, Ireland and the United States."

On the basis of the previously held research presented the Privacy Commission on May 13 of this year, concerns and recommendations. It is mainly concerned that Facebook should be more transparent. Facebook did know, however, that it does not accept the Belgian law and the authority of the Belgian Privacy Commission, and that it all rests on a misunderstanding. "For us that was the signal to go to court," said Debeuckelaere. It is the first time that Facebook is towed by a European privacy commission to court for not respecting the privacy laws.

Male Skype Users Extorted Via Videochat

Users of Skype should be careful that they are not extorted through recordings made during the video chat, warns the American police. It is mainly about male Skype users who are tempted by female scammers during a video chat.

Often the men are partially disrobed and video chat is without them knowing or pause recorded it. Then the scammer threatens to make the pictures public unless it is paid, reports Online Threat Alerts . In the case of the warning by the US police it is a 26-year-old international student who met a woman on Facebook and eventually a Skype video chat with her ​​began.

The woman asked the man to undress, which he did. The images were captured and the woman then asked for $ 1,000, via Western Union had to be made. Otherwise they put the nude video on the Internet and send them to friends and family on Facebook. The student put it Skype, removed his Facebook account and called the police. Also at the forum of Skype are all kinds of threads to find that people indicate that they have been victims of extortionists.