The insecurity paradox
2011-08-29
The formula here attempts to explain a paradox in security analysis:
If it is true that security is only as strong as its weakest link, why are not those who use insecur...
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Ultimos artículos - Ingeniería social
An approach to an organization's risk factors (part 3)
In this third and final part of our article series about risk factors, we will examine Human attack factors and Physical factors.
An approach to an organization's risk factors (part 2)
The previous article discussed different procedures and systems that could be invoked in order to mitigate risk. In subsequent parts we will examine areas at risk, starting with Electronic factors.
An approach to an organization's risk factors (part 1)
The aim of this type of initial risk analysis is to identify potentially vulnerable points that may be exploited if they are not sufficiently secured.
Malicious images (codes)
The ease involved in creating QR codes that links to web pages implies that this will be a popular way to facilitate the propagation of malware for mobile devices.
The importance of typing correctly
Computers do what they are told. This may result in consequences that are funny as well as dangerous.
May we use your social network account, please
You should exercise extreme caution if you are allowing access to your social network account from any application.
Targeted attacks: More "Bang for the Buck"
Since the cybercriminals seem to shift from randomly directed mass attacks to more focused attacks, the total volume of spam will decrease.
Plug mouse into the computer - be compromised
It is almost impossible to protect completely against a targeted cyberattack against an organization.
Secure tokens turn insecure
Even organizations, which presumably are more security conscious than most, have vulnerabilities that may be exploited by an attacker who has sufficient resources and determination at her disposal.
The old dogs are still in learning mode
The web site (usually an infected site) that displays the message checks the browser visiting the site, and displays a warning message similar to the browser's real warning.
Dangerous images
Recent weeks have shown that images are used as a malware spreading technique; particularly images that appear after performing a Google image search.
The RTLO unicode hole - sequence manipulation as an attack vector
Do not rely on any file attachment or file on any device to be safe based on its file name.
Cybercriminals focus on new targets
Users of the operating system Mac OS X have so far been quite safe from malware infections compared to those who have chosen Windows as the operating system platform.
No access to your data unless...
Blocked access to important information - particularly if adequate backup routines are not in place - may be disastrous for the person who becomes the victim of ransomware.
Shamelessly exploiting disasters
In previous security articles, we discussed the fact that cybercriminals use big events to spread malware. Not surprisingly - nevertheless disgusting - the recent events in Japan have inspired shameless exploitations by cybercriminals.
Malware targeting the finance sector's customers
In our security article last week, we discussed cybercriminals who targeted financial institutions in an indirect way. However, the major bulk of malware aimed at the finance sector puts the finance sector's customers at peril. One obvious reason is that the average end user's system presumably is less secure than the systems used by the financial sector.
Indirect targeting of financial institutions
During the last weekend, The Wall Street Journal published information that intruders had penetrated computer systems controlled by the company that runs the U.S. Nasdaq Stock Market. Nasdaq handles around 19% if all stock trading in the U.S. The trading system itself should not have been compromised.
Personalized web advertisements - good or bad?
Advertisements (ads) on the web have become part of a multi-billion industry. These days it is almost impossible to read news on the web without being overwhelmed by a plethora of ads for everything from cars to diapers. However, it is presumably not optimal to display the car ads to children. Nor are most teenagers particularly interested in diapers.
PlayStation 3 security fully compromised
Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) has been viewed as one of the most secure gaming devices. Applications and games from other sources than Sony could not be installed and run on PS3, and a firmware update early in 2010 disallowed using other operating systems than the one set up by Sony. All this is now changed.
Holiday - relax, have fun, meet family and friends... and be vigilant
Major events, happenings and in general all kind of things that create much notice, also leave in their wake a stream of malicious software.
Malicous cold calls with high success probability
According to a posting 15 November on the blog belonging to the UK based organization Get Safe Online, one in four UK web users have been targeted by so-called cold calls.
Communication consolidation or security nightmare
In recent months there have been lots of rumors about the upcoming email system closely integrated with Facebook. More detaileds about this have recently been disclosed by Facebook, and we will examine some aspects of the new offerings.
Privacy and security in Social networks - part III
This is the third article in a series about privacy and security in social networks.
Privacy and security in Social networks - part II
This is the second article in a series about privacy and security in social networks.
Privacy and security in Social networks - part I
This is the first article in a series, which will focus on security and privacy issues involved in participating in social networks.
Man-in-the-middle goes Mobile
The term Man-in-the-middle in a security context refers to an attack where someone/-thing is inserted between two endpoints and intercepts the communication between those. The intent is usually to obtain information and use this for illegitimate purposes. Recently the term Man-in-the-mobile, abbreviated as Mitmo, emerged.
Ways to use botnets
This article will not go in depth with regard to how the different botnets function technically. We shall rather examine some of the ways botnets may be used, study one successful method used for fighting this threat, and finally discuss the idea of botnets used for benign purposes.
Old dogs learn new tricks
Fake antimalware software has become an increasing problem for end users and corporations. The creators of these rogue applications are able to earn easy money and are constantly searching for new ways to exploit their victims. A new technique has recently been seen. We shall look at this in more detail in this security article, and attempt to point to some general considerations regarding this type of software and malware in general.
Self-protection from malware - part II
In the previous article in this series about self-protection, we discussed examples of attempts to trick you to expose yourself for malicious software. Infected web sites are currently the most used technique for propagation of malware. By increasing your own awareness of the techniques the cyber criminals use, you can avoid this exposure.
Self-protection from malware - part I
There are several levels where you can set up protection mechanisms in order to minimize the risk of falling victim to malware. Different protection mechanisms are needed depending on which danger situation we are discussing.
Malware infections by telephone
An interesting news item has appeared in several UK-based media lately. Several end users have received phone calls from someone who present themselves as security personnel. The caller informs that the computer is infected by malware and offers to help. Varying social engineering techniques are used to persuade the recipient to allow the use of remote access software in order to "fix the problem".
The first part of 2010 - overview of security issues
In this Norman report on security issues during the first half of 2010, we will go through some incidents and tendencies. We will focus on those that Norman perceives as most important in these past six months.
A cunning new phishing technique - Tabnabbing
Over the years new ingenious words for security issues have come up. We have seen the neologisms pharming, vishing, clickjacking and slurping, just to mention some. This week a new one was born - tabnabbing. Which turns out to be more scary than most.
Effective social engineering scares
Malicious programs do increasingly rely on social engineering techniques to be able to propagate and successfully execute. Gone are the days when a tempting file name in an email sufficed. In this security article we shall examine variants of one of the more successful social engineering schemes.
Resumiendo 2009: predicciones para el año que se inicia
Diciembre es el mes en que habitualmente se echa un vistazo al año que acaba, y en este artículo intentaremos resumir la situación desde el punto de vista de una empresa de seguridad. La observación más significativa en materia de actividad de malware durante el año que pasó es que diferentes redes sociales se han convertido en un importante objetivo para los autores de programas maliciosos.
Vacaciones: la época preferida por los niños y ...los delincuentes
Los eventos y acontecimientos importantes, y en general todas las cosas que llaman mucho la atención, también dejan a su paso una estela de software malintencionado.
Producción de identidad maliciosa
El robo de identidad es un término que se ha convertido en algo familiar durante los últimos años. Hasta hace poco tiempo, lo más exótico ha sido la producción de identidad con fines maliciosos. Una nueva versión de Koobface hace eso exactamente de manera automática.
Numerosas cuentas de correo electrónico gratuito comprometidas
A principios de este mes, varias decenas de miles de contraseñas de entrada a cuentas gratuitas de correo electrónico de Microsoft (Hotmail), Google (GMail) y Yahoo se vieron comprometidas.
El primer semestre de 2009 visto tras la óptica de seguridad
Ha llegado el momento en que resulta útil echar un vistazo al primer semestre de este año e intentar resumir la situación desde el punto de vista de Norman en tanto que empresa de seguridad.
Direcciones URL abreviadas: ¿buen o mal sistema?
Obviamente, la funcionalidad de direcciones URL abreviadas tiene sus méritos. No obstante, existen deficiencias y problemas que hacen que el sistema resulte menos seguro de lo que sería deseable.
Do birds speak the truth?
The social network Twitter has become extremely popular in quite a short time. This time we will discuss this technological phenomenon from a sociological perspective, and use the most talked-about incident these days as a kind of case study - the swine flu.
GhostNet: una auténtica red de espionaje
Esta semana, la atención de los medios estuvo dirigida a un informe publicado el 29 de marzo en el Information Warfare Monitor (Canadá) titulado Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network (Seguimiento de GhostNet: Investigación de una red de ciberespionaje).
Ingeniería social con un toque virtual
El tema de la ingeniería social, en sus diversas formas, ha sido un tema abundantemente tratado en nuestros artículos de seguridad. Esta vez la abordaremos desde un ángulo diferente, el tradicional, con un nuevo toque bastante inteligente.
No diga que no le avisamos
El tema de la necesidad de aplicar parches de seguridad a los sistemas operativos y aplicaciones ha sido abordado en varias ocasiones en nuestros artículos de seguridad. El último de ellos, Parches de seguridad: un problema de seguridad adicional, se escribió a finales de octubre de 2008.
Descarga de programas desde Internet: una actividad de riesgo
Internet ofrece una plétora de aplicaciones, películas, imágenes, textos... todos los contenidos digitales que puedan ocurrírsele (¡y otros que no!). Saber qué elegir entre tantas alternativas y oportunidades resulta difícil, y en diversos aspectos incluso puede ser peligroso. En este trataremos algunos de esos peligros.
Juegos en Internet - Nuevas oportunidades para los visionarios (sospechosos)
El uso del dinero que maneja en los juegos en línea ha sido tradicionalmente solo la cuota de entrada para comprar el propio juego (si no es gratuito). No obstante, en este artículo les demostraremos que esto ya no es así.
Clickjacking: ¿un nuevo peligro o un nuevo nombre innovador?
Pocas semanas atrás comenzó a circular un nuevo en las alertas de seguridad: "clickjacking". Desde entonces, algunas organizaciones de seguridad, (como US CERT), así como diversas agencias de noticias por Internet, han venido destacándolo como importante y nueva amenaza.
Slurping: un problema de seguridad que a menudo se ignora
Slurping (sorber) no es solo un método para apagar la sed. Es también un término que se utiliza para un tipo concreto de problemas de seguridad que a menudo se ignora.
Servidores de Internet inseguros: la propagación del malware aumenta
Un nuevo vehículo de propagación se está haciendo cada vez más popular entre “los malos": los sitios web maliciosos.
SPIM: ¿una nueva amenaza para la comunidad internauta?
Varios usuarios del servicio de mensajería instantánea MSN Messenger han sido atacados recientemente por los llamados "SPIM" (correo no deseado que llega a través de los servicios de mensajería instantánea). Algunos de ellos pensaron que habían sido atacados por un virus o gusano de MSN, cuya misión era hacer daño a sus ordenadores.
Smishing: otra ingeniosa variante del término phishing
La mayoría de personas que trabajan en el ámbito de la seguridad y posiblemente una gran parte del público en general, conocen el término phishing ...
“Spear phishing”: ataques dirigidos a una organización
Recientemente ha comenzado a aparecer una forma especializada de phishing y el término empleado para designarla es “spear phishing".
Las instituciones financieras, más expuestas a ataques de piratas informáticos y a intentos de fraude
Las principales instituciones financieras cada vez están más expuestas a los ataques de piratas informáticos, a códigos malintencionados e intentos de fraude. Según un reciente estudio, el número de organizaciones que han sufrido ataques creció hasta llegar al 78% el pasado año.
"VISHING": la nueva tecnología reaviva las antiguas actividades delictivas
"Vishing" es el resultado de combinar los términos ingleses "voice over IP" (voz sobre IP) y "phishing" (derivado del inglés fishing, "pescar") y consiste exactamente en eso: el empleo del cada vez más extendido método de voz sobre IP con el objeto de engañar a alguien para que revele información personal con la intención de cometer fraude.
The usage of child porn: a sad but true story…
Where in the past malware file names would have ‘interesting’ names such as “Anna Kournikova" or “Britney Spears Naked", many things happened but seeing a picture of the two aforementioned idols was not one of them.
Qué es realmente el phishing
La mayoría de las empresas de seguridad consideran que el phishing será una de las amenazas más frecuentes contra la seguridad informática durante 2006. Según el grupo Gartner, las pérdidas directas relacionadas con el phishing experimentadas por los bancos y las instituciones emisoras de tarjetas de crédito de Estados Unidos ascendieron a los 1.200 millones de dólares en 2003.
Nuevos objetivos de los phishers
Los phishers o ladrones de identificadores solían atacar importantes instituciones financieras pero últimamente parece que los grupos en los que se fijan han cambiado. Actualmente los phishers están atacando todo tipo de organizaciones, incluso instituciones sanitarias. La guerra entre phishers y grupos anti-phishing es cada vez más dura. Y la posible víctima es usted.
"You ain't seen nothing yet" - or - The Warhol worm and worse
It is hardly controversial to claim that the end of February and beginning of March 2004 was the worst period ever regarding the sheer number of new mailicious programs threatening the Internet community. New variants of Bagle, MyDoom and Netsky were spread daily - sometimes even more than once per day.
An analysis of Sobig.F and its ability to harm Internet users around the world
In September 2003 Internet users and organizations experienced the most severe attack on the Internet infrastructure since the "Morris worm" in November 1988. The outbreak of W32/Sobig.F caused major problems because of the huge amount of emails flooding the infrastructure.
A new e-mail hoax
Security Information Week 39, 1999 Recently a new e-mail hoax has been spreading quite aggressively. Subject of the e-mail is !!!WARNING -- DESPITE-virus!!! -FMBW. The body of the ...
The major security risk: Users
Security Information Week 9, 1999The IT department in an organization often uses vast resources to be updated on security risks associated with hardware and software ...
Deceitful patch to Internet Explorer
Security Information Week 7, 1999Since January this year several users have received an e-mail apparently from Microsoft. The mail informs the receipient that the attachment ...
Where to get security information
Security Information Week 12, 1999 On the Internet there are several sites which offer very good security information. The different sites are of two kinds: Security sites ...
Quality control of information on the Internet
Security Information Week 3, 2000The Internet is a cornucopia of information of every kind. One may find web pages dedicated to any thinkable of unthinkable ...
Ultimas entradas del blog [EN]
The 10 most insecure passcodes
2011-06-16
Earlier this week I read an extremely interesting and impressing blog item by Daniel Amitay: Most Common iPhone Passcodes.
Amitay has analyzed more than 200 000 passcodes used in an app with a similar...
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Purchasing and downloading outdated software
2011-05-23
Last week in the "JoshMeister On Security" blog, the topic was about Apple's Mac App Store, and the fact that software available from this store may not be the latest version.
The blog's aut...
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