Nothing is more difficult than making predictions. Instead of trowing out wild ideas what might be coming, will be making educated guesses based on what has happened during the last 12 months and several years before that.
The past year has seen a rapid increase in the adoption of up-and-coming technologies. Everyday items are getting
smarter and more connected. Companies are saving millions with new technologies and cities are racing to
implement smart solutions. 5G promises to bring wireless high speed broadband to everywhere. On the other hand those solutions add new kinds of vulnerabilities. Competing in today’s digital marketplace requires that organizations are cyber-savvy. 2020 is when cybersecurity gets even weirder, so get ready.
Here are some trends and predictions for cyber security in 2020:
Cyber Attacks: Cyberattacks grow in volume and complexity.Many countries that are going to emerge as major threats in the 2020s. Nation-state backed cyber groups have been responsible for major incidents over the last decade. And now more countries want the same power. Cyberattacks range from targeting your database to steal information that can be sold on the dark web, to hijacking unused CPU cycles on your devices to mine for cryptocurrencies, or trying to infect vulnerable systems so they can be used later as part of a botnet.
IoT security: IoT security is still getting worse until it starts to get better. IoT security is an extremely hot topic right now and will be hot for many years to come. Industrial IoT risk has been discussed a lot. Physics dictates local application deployment, because the control rate of most industrial systems is 10 milliseconds or below. Smart Building Security Awareness Grows. The risks of the IoT in financial services are great. An explosion in IoT devices significantly raises the threat level. Gartner predicted that the world will see nearly 21 billion IoT devices by next year and it would be nice if all of them would be secure, but many of them unfortunately are not secure. Hackers are continually looking for ways to exploit device vulnerabilities. From smart TV’s, IP cameras, and smart elevators, to hospital infusion pumps and industrial PLC controllers, IoT and OT (Operational Technology) devices are inherently vulnerable and easy to hack. Why? Because IoT security is complicated and security should consider and integrated with IoT deployments. Gartner Says Worldwide IoT Security Spending Will Reach $1.9 Billion in 2019, and will raise to $ 3.1 billion in 2021, making it one of the fastest growing segments in cybersecurity industry. IoT landscape is complex, and so are the security solutions. These tackle the different challenges of IoT- device hardening, encryption, discovery, data protection, malware and anomaly detection, policy enforcement and more. You might have to do a little work with your internet of things devices to stay secure. A failure by many IoT device manufacturers to follow cryptographic best practices is leaving a high proportion of the devices vulnerable to attack. One in every 172 active RSA certificates are vulnerable to attack. It is a good idea to build a separate network segments for IoT devices so that they are isolated from the normal office network. FBI recommends that you keep your IoT devices on a separate network.
IoT privacy: Silicon Valley Is Listening to Your Most Intimate Moments. The world’s biggest companies got millions of people to let temps analyze some very sensitive recordings made by your “smart” speakers and smart phones. A quarter of Americans have bought “smart speaker” devices such as the Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod. Consulting firm Juniper Research Ltd. estimates that by 2023 the global annual market for smart speakers will reach $11 billion, and there will be about 7.4 billion voice-controlled devices in the wild. That’s about one for every person on Earth. The question is, then what? Having microphones that listen all the time is concerning. Also some attackers are terrifying homeowners and making them feel violated in their own homes.
Medical systems security: Cyberattacks on Medical Devices Are on the Rise—and Manufacturers Must Respond. Attacks on networked medical devices, and the data they collect and transmit, can be costly. Patient safety is a critical concern, especially with devices such as defibrillators and insulin pumps that could cause patient harm or death if they malfunction. It’s shocking that a few years after WannaCry and NotPetya, the healthcare industry is still not prepared to deal with ransomware attacks. Many hospitals and healthcare networks that have been hit by ransomware over the past few months.
Surveillance cameras: Surveillance cameras are capturing what we do on the streets, at airports, in stores, and in much of our public space. China’s Orwellian video surveillance gets a bad rap but the US isn’t far behind as US has nearly the same ratio of security cameras to citizens as China.And the numbers are growing all over the world. One billion surveillance cameras will be deployed globally by 2021, according to data compiled by IHS Markit. Russia is building one of the world’s largest facial recognition networks and it may even be bigger than China’s 200 million camera system. China’s installed base is expected to rise to over 560 million cameras by 2021, representing the largest share of surveillance devices installed globally, with the US rising to around 85 million cameras. Now US, like China, has about one surveillance camera for every four people (in 2018 China had 350 million cameras and USA 70 million). Surveillance cameras are getting better, smaller and cheaper and can be installed almost anywhere. It would be very easy to sneak another device onto a hotel’s Wi-Fi network, stream that video over the internet to the computer.
Facial recognition: Private companies and governments worldwide are already experimenting with facial recognition technology. Facial recognition software is touted as making us safer. But mass surveillance has downsides of major proportions. Massive errors found in facial recognition tech. Facial recognition systems can produce wildly inaccurate results, especially for non-whites. Russia is building one of the world’s largest facial recognition networks. Individuals, lawmakers, developers – and everyone in between – should be aware of the rise of facial recognition, and the risks it poses to rights to privacy, freedom, democracy and non-discrimination.
Shut off Internet: Worrying worldwide trend employed by various governments: preventing people from communicating on the web and accessing information. Amid widespread demonstrations over different issues many countries have started cutting Internet connections from people. Some countries, namely China, architected their internet infrastructure from the start with government control in mind. Russia is aiming to this direction. Iran, India, Russia. For better or worse, an internet blackout limits the government’s ability to conduct digital surveillance on citizens.
Security First: Implementing Cyber Best Practices Requires a Security-First Approach. Competing in today’s digital marketplace requires that organizations be cyber-savvy. The best defense is to start with a security-driven development and networking strategy that builds a hardened digital presence from the ground up. This not only ensures that your online services and web applications are protected from compromise, but also enables security to automatically evolve and adapt right alongside the development of your digital presence, rather than it having to be constantly rigged and retrofitted to adapt to digital innovation.
Zero Trust Network Access: Many of the most damaging breaches have been the result of users gaining access to unauthorized levels of network resources and devices. Zero Trust is an enforceable, identity-driven access policy that includes seamless and secure two-factor/OTP authentication across the organization. Zero Trust Network Access ensures that all users and devices are identified, profiled, and provided appropriate network access. It also ensures that new devices are automatically assigned to appropriate network segments based on things like device profiles and owners. When combined with Network Access Control (NAC), organizations can also discover, identify, grant appropriate access, and monitor devices, thereby enhancing your access and segmentation strategy.
Anti-virus software: Only Half of Malware Caught by Signature AV. The percentage of malware that successfully bypassed signature-based antivirus scanners at companies’ network gateways has increased significantly, either by scrambling
code known as “packing” using basic encryption techniques or by the automatic creation of code variants. It seems that new approaches like machine learning and behavioral detection are necessary to catch threats. Meanwhile, network attacks have risen, especially against older vulnerabilities.
Ransomware attacks: Ransomware will remain a major threat in the coming year, as the criminal business model continues to flourish. That’s a move that security professionals have long condemned, warning that paying the ransom in a ransomware attack could end up causing more turmoil for victims – as well as inspire other cybercriminals to launch ransomware attacks. Microsoft never encourage a ransomware victim to pay. What to do with this is question. How much does a large-scale ransomware attack cost, as opposed to just hiring an adequate number of skilled IT personnel, and having disaster recovery plans in place? There is no complete security solution that could stop all attacks, but you should have decent protection. It would seem prudent to have adequate staff and offline BACKUPS to deal with this kind of situation, so decent recovery would be possible. Having no backup system is the gamble many companies and public entities seem to be playing. Good backups helps to recover from ransom attacks. There are new tactics coming to use in ransomware. A new Snatch ransomware strain that will reboot computers it infects into Safe Mode to disable any resident security solutions. Another new tactic by ransomware developers is to release a victim’s data if they do not pay the ransom – they will publish data that they steal to a competitor if the ransom is not paid.
Public sector: Public Sector Security Is Lagging. The state of cybersecurity and resilience in the public sector needs an
urgent boost in many countries. U.S. citizens rely on state governments and local municipalities to provide a host of services everything from access to public records, law enforcement protection, education and welfare to voting and election services. Cybercriminals have been targeting state and local governments with ransomware tools, which infect an organization’s computer networks and lock up critical files.
Consumer confidence: Winning consumer confidence is crucial to the development of new digital services. In a PwC study, consumers are prepared to share personal information if it is of sufficient value to them. On the other hand, consumer confidence also needs to be earned that you keep the information safe.
API security: APIs now account for 40% of the attack surface for all web-enabled apps. It’s a good time to pay attention to API security, since some recent high-profile breaches have involved API vulnerabilities. OWASP, the Open Web Application Security Project known for its top 10 list of web application vulnerabilities, published the release candidate version of its API Security Top 10 list at the end of September 2019. Also it’s almost 2020 and some sysadmins are still leaving Docker admin ports exposed on the internet.
Skills gap: Security teams are already grappling with serious challenges due to the growing cybersecurity skills gap, are being tasked to secure an ever-expanding network footprint. Security teams are often left to secure virtual and cloud environments, the implementation of SaaS services, DevOps projects, the growing adoption of IoT, mobile workers, and an expanding array of personal connected devices after they have already been implemented. They often do not have enough people and enough knowledge on those new technologies to do their work well. The cybersecurity unemployment rate is zero, with over 1 million jobs currently unfilled, a number that is expected to climb to 3.5 million by 2021. 145% Growth is Needed to Meet Global Demand.
Think Like Your Adversary: Cybersecurity leaders need to access the potential vulnerabilities (from the mindset of the adversary) and devise effective defensive countermeasures unique to their company’s needs. Programmers Should Think like Hackers. Security must be taken into account in all programming steps.
Third party security: Most Companies Don’t Properly Manage Third-Party Cyber Risk. It’s been established that good cybersecurity requires not just an internal assessment of an organization’s own security practices, but also a close look at the security of the partners that businesses rely upon in today’s modern, interconnected world. Developing a Third-Party Cyber Risk Management (TPCRM) strategy is becoming more common with every news headline regarding a major breach that stemmed from a company’s relationship with a third-party.
Privacy and surveillance: Fears Grow on Digital Surveillance. Americans are increasingly fearful of monitoring of their online and offline activities, both by governments and private companies. More than 60 percent of US adults believe it is impossible to go about daily life without having personal information collected by companies or the government. Google and Facebook help connect the world and provide crucial services to billions. But their system can also be used for surveillance. Amnesty International says Facebook and Google’s omnipresent surveillance is inherently incompatible with the right to privacy and is a danger to human rights. The claim is that the companies’ surveillance-based business model is inherently incompatible with the right to privacy and poses a threat to a range of other rights including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of thought, and the right to equality and non-discrimination. Amnesty International has called for a radical transformation of the tech giants’ core business model and said that Google and Facebook should be forced to abandon what it calls their surveillance-based business model because it is “predicated on human rights abuse.”
5G: Forecasting that 2020 will be “the year of 5G” no longer qualifies as a bold prediction. Billions of dollars’ worth of 5G rollouts are scheduled for the coming year, which will bring the emergent technology to countries around the world. The arrival of 5G will fuel an explosion of never-before-seen IoT machines, introducing uncharted vulnerabilities and opening the door for cyber-criminals to compromise our increasingly intertwined cities. Claims that 5G offers “better security” for IoT may not ring true.
5G security: The new 5G mobile networks will be the backbone of future digitalized operations. Therefore, it is also important to ensure the security and immunity of 5G networks.The Council of the European Union has warned member states that the introduction of 5G networks poses increased security risks while also bringing economic and infrastructure benefits. ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity has published a ThreatLandscape for 5G Networks, assessing the threats related to the fifth generation of mobile telecommunications networks (5G). Organised cybercrime, rogue insiders and nation-state-backed hackers are among the groups that could soon be targeting 5G networks. Claims that 5G offers “better security” for IoT may not ring true – with the technology remaining vulnerable to SIM-jacking attacks within private Industry 4.0-style deployments. 5G SIM-swap attacks could be even worse for industrial IoT than now. Criminals can convince telcos to port a victim’s number to a new SIM card controlled by the criminal. Trust your hardware or operator? Pah, you oughta trust nobody. Do not put all your security and identification to this SIM card.
DNS Over HTTPS (DoH): DoH encrypted DNS queries are already set to arrive in Chrome and Firefox web browsers. Microsoft Will Bring DNS Over HTTPS (DoH) to Windows 10 in an attempt to keep user traffic as private as possible. DoH support in Windows means encrypted DNS queries. Microsoft says that DoH doesn’t require DNS centralization if adoption is broad among operating systems and Internet service providers alike.
Firewall configuration: Now, more than ever, it is important to automate firewall processes to prevent misconfigurations and data breaches. Gartner has warned that “50% of enterprises will unknowingly and mistakenly have exposed some IaaS storage services, network segments, applications or APIs directly to the public internet, up from 25% at YE18.”. This is a human problem, not a firewall problem.
Bot attacks: Bots are being used to take over user accounts, perform DDoS attacks, abuse APIs, scrape unique content and pricing information and more. Organizations are Failing to Deal With Rising Bot Attacks.
Network security: Networks are continually growing in complexity and the cyberattack surface is constantly expanding. The network perimeter of today is elastic, expanding and contracting with the demands of both users and the business. In a rush to adopt digital business practices, many of these new network expansion projects are often being implemented ad hoc by individual lines of business. Routers sit at the edge of the network and see everything and they can be utilized to Making the Network the First Line of Defense. A critical step in building a stronger security posture and more robust data protection strategy is a 24×7 facility whose mission is to monitor, detect, investigate and resolve active threats. Cybercriminals only need to be successful once in finding a way to access the network – but the security team needs to monitor everything on the network and be right all the time to ensure security. Today’s core network is continually adapting to the introduction of new devices, applications, and workflows, along with shifting network configurations to support business requirements, requiring the use of advanced, intent-based segmentation.
Security-Driven Networking: Security-Driven Networking is a new, strategic approach to security that enables the seamless expansion of network environments and services without ever compromising on security. Essentially, it begins by crafting a comprehensive security policy that covers the entire organization. It outlines the protocols, enforcement and inspection technologies, policies, and protections required to be in place before any new network environment or solution is even placed on the drawing board. It requires the selection and full integration of security tools that not only work together to share and correlate intelligence and coordinate a unified response to threats, but that also work seamlessly across the widest variety of environments possible.
Critical infrastructure: Determined threat actors have, for some time, been extending their toolsets beyond Windows, and even beyond PC systems. In recent years, we have seen a number of high-profile attacks on critical infrastructure facilities and these have typically been aligned to wider geo-political objectives. Expect targeted attacks on critical infrastructure facilities to increase. APT33 has shifted targeting to industrial control systems software. We need to be worried about Cyber-Physical Security of the Power Grid. To protect this infrastructure you need to prioritize strategic risks that affect critical infrastructure: Concern yourself with the most important hacks, Understand the critical pieces of your infrastructure and Know your inter-dependencies.
Payment security: Payment security backslides for second straight year in 2019. Verizon’s 2019 Payment Security Report found that full compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) fell to36.7% globally, down from 52.5% in 2018. At the same time EU’s PSD2 (Payments Services Directive) lays down regulatory requirements for companies that provide payment services, including the use of personal data by new fintech companies that are not part of the established banking community. Security of online, including mobile, payments is a key aspect of the legislation. Nevertheless, as banks will be required to open their infrastructure and data to third parties. Although SSLv3 has been considered obsolete and insecure for a long time, a large number of web servers still support its use.
Election security: Nowadays, no elections can be held any longer without debate on influencing voters through online services. There are on-going accusations of Russian interference in US elections and fears about a possible reboot of this in the run-up to the 2020 elections. U.S. military cyber experts are plotting strategy in a fight against potential Russian and other cyberattacks ahead of the 2020 American and Montenegrin elections. As the 2020 Presidential election looms closer in the United
States, a key focus will be on securing election infrastructure to prevent tampering. Most of the largest US voting districts are still vulnerable to email spoofing. Also disinformation campaigns for political purposes are deeply rooted in cybercriminal endeavors. It’s quite possible that we will see changes to legislation and policy, as governments look to define more clearly what is and what isn’t allowed. Hacking is considered to be the biggest tech threats to 2020 elections in USA. Legislators are working on new laws, but it is not going to be enough in an era when technology is turning out entirely new attack surfaces.
False Flags: The use of false flags has become an important element in the playbook of several APT groups. This can be used to try to deflect attention away from those responsible for the attack or what is really happening.
Common attack tools: Cyber actors continually use commodity malware, scripts, publicly available security tools or administrator software during their attacks and for lateral movement, making attribution increasingly difficult.
Vulnerability disclosure: Most “white hat” cyber engineers seem to be driven by a sense of social responsibility best expressed as, “If you find something, say something.” Across the industry, the ethos is to share information quickly, whether the problem is a newly discovered exploit or an evolving cyber threat. The goal is to impel the affected vendor—hardware or software—to take quick action and produce a fix. There are good and bad ways to make vulnerabilities known. A premature “full disclosure” of a previously unknown issue can unleash the forces of evil, and the “black hats” often move faster than vendors or enterprise IT teams. The preferred path is a “responsible” or “coordinated” disclosure that happens behind the scenes. Public announcements occur after a specified period of time—typically 90 or 120 days. But things don’t work this way always.
Ransomware: Cybercriminals have become more targeted in their use of ransomware. It is inevitable that the cybercriminals will also attempt to diversify their attacks to include other types of devices besides PCs or servers. There is a Ransomware ‘Crisis’ in US Schools and in many cities in USA.
Supply chain: Use of supply chains will continue to be one of the most difficult delivery methods to address. It is likely that attackers will continue to expand this method through manipulated software containers, for example, and abuse of packages and libraries. Medium-sized companies are being targeted even more heavily by cyber criminals. They are often the weakest link in supply chains that include large corporations. There is the growth of counterfeit electronics.
Mobile: The main storage for our digital lives has moved from the PC to mobiles over last 10 years. Several countries have started demanding their own software (maybe in some cases also malware) to be installed to all smart phones. Putin signs law making Russian apps mandatory on smartphones, computers.
Android: Today 80% of Android apps are encrypting traffic by default. To ensure apps are safe, apps targeting Android 9 (API level 28) or higher automatically have a policy set by default that prevents unencrypted traffic for every domain. The heterogeneity of the Android versions will continue to be a problem in the coming year.
DDoS attacks: DNS amplification attacks continue to dominate distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, while mobile devices make up a larger share of traffic. The number of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks rose 86% in the third quarter compared to a year ago. DNS amplification attacks accounted for 45% of the attacks, while HTTP
floods and TCP SYN attacks accounted for 14%. Mobile Devices Account for 41% of DDoS Attack Traffic.
Business security: Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) increasingly recognize that a reactive security posture is no longer sufficient for protecting their networks. Breaches will happen. Companies should treat cyberattacks “as a matter of when” and not “whether.” Inside threads are still a big issue as Employees are one of your biggest assets, but human beings are the weakest link in the security chain. Data leaks help attackers to craft more convincing social engineering attacks. Plan proper incident management because Quick, reliable, multichannel communication is a vital part of any incident management solution. Cybercriminals often choose very small companies as their targets because small businesses rarely spend significant money on security systems. Medium-sized companies are being targeted even more heavily by cyber criminals. They are often the weakest link in supply chains that include large corporations.
Cyber insurance: Cyber Has Emerged as a Risk That is Not Specifically Covered by Other Insurance Policies. Since business is now urged to take a risk management approach to cyber security, it is natural and inevitable that cyber insurance should be considered as part of the mix. Cyber insurance is set to grow.
New encryption: The problem with encrypted data is that you must decrypt it in order to work with it. There is a powerful solution to this scenario: homomorphic encryption. Homomorphic encryption makes it possible to analyze or manipulate encrypted data without revealing the data to anyone. Just like many other populr forms of encryption, homomorphic encryption uses a public key to encrypt the data. There are three main types of homomorphic encryption: partially homomorphic encryption (keeps sensitive data secure by only allowing select mathematical functions to be performed on encrypted data); somewhat homomorphic encryption (supports limited operations that can be performed only a set number of times); fully homomorphic encryption (this is the gold standard of homomorphic encryption that keeps information secure and accessible). Cryptographers have known of the concept of homomorphic encryption since 1978 but Gentry established the first homomorphic encryption scheme in 2009.The biggest barrier to widescale adoption of homomorphic encryption is that it is still very slow. Duality, a security startup co-founded by the creator of homomorphic encryption, raises $16M.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): The buzzword for 2019 that we have all heard a thousand times was Artificial Intelligence, AI. The term AI is often interchanged with machine learning. There is a lot of research to examine AI applications on cyber security. As cyberattacks grow in volume and complexity, hopefully artificial intelligence (AI) is helping under-resourced security operations analysts stay ahead of threats. Cybersecurity tools currently use this data aggregation and pattern analysis in the field of heuristic modeling: THE TRUE FUNCTION OF AI WILL BE TO DETERMINE WITH A LONG ARC OF TIME AND DATA, WHAT “NORMAL” LOOKS LIKE FOR A USER. AI can act as an advisor to analysts, helping them quickly identify and connect the dots between threats. Finnish cyber security company F-Secure is making research on AI agents and on that Mikko Hyppönen says that AI should not used to try to imitate humans and that artificial intelligence-based attacks are expected in the near future. Another Finnish cyber security company Nixu says that Artificial intelligence is going to revolutionize cyber security. According to Orlando Scott-Cowley from Amazon Web Services machine learning is the new normal in cyber security. Advanced Machine Learning layers are to be integrated into the latest Windows cybersecurity products. Leaders in artificial intelligence warn that progress is slowing, big challenges remain, and simply throwing more computers at a problem isn’t sustainable.
2020 problems: Has your business prepared for the ‘2020 problem’? Software updates for Windows 7 will end on January 14, 2020. As of Jan. 14, 2020, Windows 7 and Server 2008 technical support and software updates will no longer be available from Windows Update. There will no longer be updates for Office 2010. Some business users can buy extended security update support with extra money for some time. Python will stop supporting Python version 2 on January 1, 2020. Beginning on January 1, 2020, un-patched Splunk platform instances will be unable to recognize timestamps from events where the date contains a two-digit year. December 2019 Patch Tuesday was the last time Microsoft ever offered security updates for devices running Windows 10 Mobile.
Crypto wars continue: A decades-old debate: Government officials have long argued that encryption makes criminal investigations too hard. Governments all over the world say that Encrypted communication is a huge issue for law enforcement and the balance between the privacy of citizens and effective policing of criminal activity is top of mind for governments, technology companies, citizens and privacy organisations all over the world. The international police organization Interpol plans to condemn the spread of strong encryption. Top law enforcement officials in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, the larger group will cite difficulties in catching child sexual predators as grounds for companies opening up user communications to authorities wielding court warrants. Congress warns tech companies: Take action on encryption, or we will. US lawmakers are poised to “impose our will” if tech companies don’t weaken encryption so police can access data.
Do not weaken encryption: Companies, they say, should build in special access that law enforcement could use with a court’s permission. Technologists say creating these back doors would weaken digital security for everyone. Unfortunately, every privacy protection mechanism is subject to abuse by the morally challenged. That’s just a truth that must be accepted and overcome. Invading the privacy of the masses in order to catch criminals is unacceptable. Remember three things: One, that strong encryption is necessary for personal and national security. Two, that weakening encryption does more harm than good. And three, law enforcement has other avenues for criminal investigation than eavesdropping on communications and stored devices. If back-doors are added to encryption, they will be abused. If You Think Encryption Back Doors Won’t Be Abused, You May Be a Member of Congress. Bad encryption can have business consequences. Apple and Facebook told the committee that back doors would introduce massive privacy and security threats and would drive users to devices from overseas. In Australia 40% of firms say they have lost sales say they have lost sales or other commercial opportunities as a result of the encryption law being in place.
2FA: The second authentication factor might be a minor inconvenience, but it provides a major security boost. With past years riddled with security breaches, it is high time we evaluated the way we secure our online presence. Two factors are much better than one, but can still be hacked. Attacks that phish 2FA to access email accounts cost $100-$400; such attacks can be prevented with physical security keys. Also some physical security keys can be hacked as they turn to be less secure that what they were told to be in the advertisements.
Myth of sophisticated hacker in news: It’s the latest lexical stretch for an adjective that’s widely used in reports of cybersecurity incidents — and widely loathed by researchers as a result. If everything is sophisticated, nothing is sophisticated.
New security models: Google moved from perimeter-based to cloud-native security. Google’s architecture is the inspiration and template for what’s widely known as “cloud-native” today—using microservices and containers to enable workloads to be split into smaller, more manageable units for maintenance and discovery. Google’s cloud-native architecture was developed prioritizing security as part of every evolution.
Hacktivists: Hacktivists seek to obtain private information about large companies in order to embarrass or expose the company’s controversial business practices. Many companies are a treasure trove for personal information, whether they realize it or not. Experian is predicting that the emerging cannabis industry will experience an increase in data breaches and cybersecurity threats in 2020.
RCS messaging: RCS, expanded as Rich Communications Services, is a protocol that aims to replace SMS.RCS messaging has rolled out to Android users in the US. The update brings a lot of new features like chat, send hi-res videos and photos and create group chat. One criticism of RCS is that it doesn’t provide end-to-end encryption. RCS could be also better in many other security aspects. Researchers have discovered that the RCS protocol exposes most users to several cyber attacks. These risks are said to be mitigated by implementing the protocol with the security perspective in mind. The standard itself allows for poor security implementation, but GSMA advises its members to deploy rcs with the most secure settings possible.
Data breaches: Billions of Sensitive Files Exposed Online all the time. During the first six months of 2019, more than 4 billion records were exposed by data breaches. That’s a shocking statistic that’s made even more so when you realize that passwords were included in droves. On December 4, a security researcher discovered a treasure trove of more than a billion plain-text passwords in an unsecured online database. Many businesses wrongly assume they are too small to be on the radar of the threat actors. The truth is that it is all about the data, and small businesses often have less well-guarded data stores. All organizations are exposed to security breaches: from large multinationals to SMEs and public administrations. A common thread is unsecured cloud-based databases that left the sensitive information wide open for anyone to access online.
Phishing: Phishing remains 1 of the most pervasive online threats. Phishing emails are still managing to catch everyone out. Phishing e-mails which are used to steal credentials usually depend on user clicking a link which leads to a phishing website that looks like login page for some valid service. Google Chrome now offers better protection against it as safe Browsing displays warning messages to users ahead of visiting dangerous websites and before downloading harmful applications. New advanced ways to phish are taken to use.With dynamite phishing, the cyber criminals read the email communication from a system already infected with an information stealer. The infected user’s correspondents then receive malicious emails that quote the last “real” email between the two parties and look like a legitimate response from the infected user. Attacks that phish 2FA to access email accounts cost $100-$400; such attacks can be prevented with physical security keys.
Windows: Microsoft Doesn’t Back Up the Windows Registry Anymore. It’s still possible to perform Windows Registry backups, but the option is disabled by default. It’s time to disconnect RDP from the internet as brute-force attacks and BlueKeep exploits usurp convenience of direct RDP connection. Microsoft is ready to push a full-screen warning to Windows 7 users
who are still running the OS after January 14.
Linux: Support for 32 bit i386 architecture will be dropped by many Linux distributions. It turns out that there are essentially no upstream development resources dedicated to x86_32 Linux. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was badly broken.
Drones: Turkey is getting military drones armed with machine guns. Drone hacking happens. There is now Dronesploit – Metasploit for drones. Metasploit-style CLI framework tailored for tinkering with everybody’s favourite unmanned flying objects.
World market war: China tells government offices to remove all foreign computer equipment. China has ordered the replacement of all foreign PC hardware and operating systems in state offices over the next three years. This will mean that China to ditch all Windows PCs by 2022.China has already some of their own Linux distros like Kylin and Deepin. Many western countries are more or less banning Huawei teleocm equipment.
Cloud security: Traditional security tools and methodologies are ill-suited to protect cloud native’s developer-driven and infrastructure-agnostic multicloud patterns. The vision as laid out by these renown analysts is straightforward. The legacy “data center as the center of the universe” network and network security architecture are obsolete and has become an inhibitor to the needs of digital business. They describe the underpinning shift to cloud infrastructure, a digital transformation that has been underway for ten years. They also point out that the corporate network cannot protect end users who consume cloud applications from any location and any device without the contorting, expensive, backhaul of traffic through the corporate data center. Gartner coins a new term for the future of security and networks, SASE (pronounced sassy), Secure Access Service Edge, which is not anything really new. SASE promises to create a ubiquitous, resilient, and agile secure network service—globally. Most of the stolen data incidents in the cloud are related to simple human errors rather than concerted attacks. Expect that through 2020, 95% of cloud security failures will be the customer’s fault. A common thread is unsecured cloud-based databases that left the sensitive information wide open for anyone to access online. Also it’s almost 2020 and some sysadmins are still leaving Docker admin ports exposed on the internet.
Autocracy as a service: Now Any Government Can Buy China’s Tools for Censoring the Internet. “Autocracy as a service” lets countries buy or rent the technology and expertise they need, as they need it. China offers a full-stack of options up and down the layers of the internet, including policies and laws, communications service providers with full internet.
Geopolitics: US-China Tech Divide Could Cause Havoc. It is possible that world’s next major conflict can start in cyberspace. USA has ordered to ban certain hardware from China (Huawei and ZTE). China orders ban on US computers and software. Chinese government to replace foreign hardware and software within three years. Who needs who more?
International cyber politics: Lack of international standards for proper behavior in cyberspace prevents the United States and allies from policing adversaries as they wish to. US can’t ‘enforce standards that don’t exist’. We have international norms in the maritime; we don’t have those in cyber. It makes it difficult to enforce standard that don’t exist, and to therefore hold nations accountable for nefarious behavior. NATO did confirm in 2017 that it could invoke Article 5 of its charter should one or more member nations find themselves under a serious cyberattack that threatens critical military and civilian infrastructure.
Sources:
https://pentestmag.com/iot-security-its-complicated/
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https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/09/dronesploit_framework/
https://www.securityweek.com/blunt-effect-two-edged-sword-vulnerability-disclosures
https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.0/ReleaseNotes/FixDatetimexml2020
https://threatpost.com/email-voted-a-weak-link-for-election-security-with-dmarc-lagging/150909/
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/04/council_of_eu_5g_risks/
https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/05/major-voting-districts-vulnerable-email-security/
https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2019/12/241053-hack-for-hire/fulltext
http://read.uberflip.com/i/1180978-siliconexpert-growth-of-counterfeit-electronics-3/0?acctid=6759
https://www.zdnet.com/article/2020-is-when-cybersecurity-gets-even-weirder-so-get-ready/
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/09/china_orders_ban_on_us_computers_and_software/
https://www.securityweek.com/case-cyber-insurance
https://www.eetimes.eu/ai-will-empower-industry-4-0-when-it-arrives/
https://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/security/2019-the-ransomware-tsunami/
https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/2019/12/cloud-native-security-platform-age/
https://github.com/dhondta/dronesploit/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/1-in-every-172-active-rsa-certificates-are-vulnerable-to-exploit/
https://nationalcybersecurity.com/hacking-the-biggest-tech-threats-to-2020-elections/
https://www.welivesecurity.com/2019/12/17/bluekeep-time-disconnect-rdp-internet/
https://www.eff.org/wp/behind-the-one-way-mirror
https://www.gdatasoftware.com/blog/2019/12/35671-early-detection-and-repulsion-of-dangerous-attacks
https://www.is.fi/digitoday/tietoturva/art-2000006342803.html
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/30/duality-cybersecurity-16-million/
https://www.wired.com/story/sobering-message-future-ai-party/
https://security.googleblog.com/2019/12/an-update-on-android-tls-adoption.html?m=1
https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-all-android-users-in-the-us-just-got-rcs-next-gen-sms/
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2019/12/scaring_people_.html
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2019-June/001261.html
https://lwn.net/ml/oss-security/CALCETrW1z0gCLFJz-1Jwj_wcT3+axXkP_wOCxY8JkbSLzV80GA@mail.gmail.com/
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-australia-46463029
https://cyware.com/news/rcs-technology-most-users-are-vulnerable-to-hacking-b53f9a6f
https://hub.packtpub.com/core-python-team-confirms-sunsetting-python-2-on-january-1-2020/
https://www.cnet.com/news/congress-warns-tech-companies-take-action-on-encryption-or-we-will/
https://cyware.com/news/rcs-technology-most-users-are-vulnerable-to-hacking-b53f9a6f
https://edri.org/facial-recognition-and-fundamental-rights-101/
https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/10/insider-threats-startups-protect/
https://uk.pcmag.com/windows-10/121518/microsoft-doesnt-back-up-the-windows-registry-anymore
https://threatpost.com/ransomware-attack-new-jersey-largest-hospital-system/151148/
https://chiefexecutive.net/bridge-cybersecurity-skills-gap/
https://systemagic.co.uk/has-your-business-prepared-for-the-2020-problem/
https://news.yahoo.com/massive-errors-found-facial-recognition-tech-us-study-215334634.html
https://www.securityweek.com/most-companies-dont-properly-manage-third-party-cyber-risk
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/11/21/hyoty-panee-jakamaan-tietonsa-luottamus-ratkaisee/
https://pentestmag.com/advice-for-a-cybersecurity-leader-think-like-your-adversary/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/11/google-facebook-surveillance-privacy/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol30/1404/2019/en/
https://www.securityweek.com/compromised-connection-5g-will-unite-cities-and-also-put-them-risk
https://www.securityweek.com/amnesty-international-calls-facebook-google-rights-abusers
https://www.securityweek.com/microsoft-will-bring-dns-over-https-doh-windows
https://www.securityweek.com/cybersecurity-workforce-gap-145-growth-needed-meet-global-demand
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2019/11/19/successful-soc/
https://www.securityweek.com/making-network-first-line-defense
https://techbeacon.com/security/how-prioritize-strategic-risks-affect-critical-infrastructure
https://www.securityweek.com/transitioning-security-driven-networking-strategy
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/11/16/5g_iot_report/
https://www.securityweek.com/us-montenegro-plot-cyber-warfare-ahead-2020-elections
https://www.securityweek.com/fears-grow-digital-surveillance-us-survey
https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/attack-on-online-retail/31786/
https://www.securityweek.com/implementing-cyber-best-practices-requires-security-first-approach
https://securelist.com/advanced-threat-predictions-for-2020/95055/
https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/smart-building-security-awareness-grows/d/d-id/1336597
https://www.cisomag.com/the-future-of-ai-in-cybersecurity/
https://www.ibm.com/security/artificial-intelligence
https://www.welivesecurity.com/2019/12/13/2fa-double-down-your-security/
https://cannatechtoday.com/experian-predicts-an-increase-in-global-cannabis-industry-data-breaches/
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/11/21/f-secure-tutkimaan-tekoalyagentteja/
https://www.securityweek.com/ongoing-research-project-examines-application-ai-cybersecurity
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/10151-mikko-hypponen-tekoalyn-ei-pida-matkia-ihmista
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/10124-nixu-selvitti-tekoaly-mullistaa-kyberturvan
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/10120-kyberturvassa-koneoppiminen-on-uusi-normaali
https://www.is.fi/digitoday/tietoturva/art-2000006316233.html
https://www.cyberscoop.com/apt33-microsoft-iran-ics/
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/exploits-and-vulnerabilities/2019/11/exploit-kits-fall-2019-review/
https://www.enisa.europa.eu/news/enisa-news/enisa-draws-threat-landscape-of-5g-networks/
https://systemagic.co.uk/has-your-business-prepared-for-the-2020-problem/
https://smartgrid.ieee.org/newsletters/november-2019/the-cyber-physical-security-of-the-power-grid
https://www.wired.com/story/un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-internet-risks/
https://codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/russia-facial-recognition-networks/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/9/21002515/surveillance-cameras-globally-us-china-amount-citizens
https://www.wired.com/story/iran-internet-shutoff/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-recommends-that-you-keep-your-iot-devices-on-a-separate-network/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-interpol-encryption-exclusive-idUSKBN1XR0S7
https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/to-the-point/does-facial-recognition-software-threaten-our-freedom
1,468 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sysadmin: We have backups. Many moons of backups.
Schrödinger’s backup rule: The condition of any backup is unknown until a restore is attempted.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AI Based Defensive Systems Impact on Cybercriminal Strategy
https://pentestmag.com/ai-based-defensive-systems-impact-on-cybercriminal-strategy/
#pentest #magazine #pentestmag #pentestblog #PTblog #AI #defensive #systems #cybercriminal #strategy #cybersecurity #infosecurity #infosec
Tomi Engdahl says:
VOTE WATCH
‘Online and vulnerable’: Experts find nearly three dozen U.S. voting systems connected to internet
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/online-vulnerable-experts-find-nearly-three-dozen-u-s-voting-n1112436
A team of election security experts used a “Google for servers” to challenge claims that voting machines do not connect to the internet and found some did.
It was an assurance designed to bolster public confidence in the way America votes: Voting machines “are not connected to the internet.”
Then Acting Undersecretary for Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security Jeanette Manfra said those words in 2017, testifying before Congress while she was responsible for the security of the nation’s voting system.
But that is an overstatement, according to a team of 10 independent cybersecurity experts who specialize in voting systems and elections. While the voting machines themselves are not designed to be online, the larger voting systems in many states end up there, putting the voting process at risk.
“We found over 35 [voting systems] had been left online and we’re still continuing to find more,”
“We kept hearing from election officials that voting machines were never on the internet,” he said. “And we knew that wasn’t true. And so we set out to try and find the voting machines to see if we could find them on the internet, and especially the back-end systems that voting machines in the precinct were connecting to to report their results.”
The three largest voting manufacturing companies — Election Systems &Software, Dominion Voting Systems and Hart InterCivic — have acknowledged they all put modems in some of their tabulators and scanners. The reason? So that unofficial election results can more quickly be relayed to the public. Those modems connect to cell phone networks, which, in turn, are connected to the internet.
The largest manufacturer of voting machines, ES&S, told NBC News their systems are protected by firewalls and are not on the “public internet.”
“AT&T and Verizon and so on try and protect as best they can the security of their phone network from the rest of the internet, but it’s still part of the internet,” Appel explained. “There can still be security holes that allow hackers to get into the phone network.”
The 35 systems Skoglund’s team found represent a fraction of total voting systems nationwide
For election systems to be online, even momentarily, presents a serious problem, according to Appel.
“Once a hacker starts talking to the voting machine through the modem, the hacker cannot just change these unofficial election results, they can hack the software in the voting machine and make it cheat in future elections,” he said.
All the systems Skoglund’s group found online were manufactured by ES&S. The online systems were found in 11 states
While the company’s website states that “zero” of its voting tabulators are connected to the internet, ES&S told NBC News 14,000 of their DS200 tabulators with online modems are currently in use around the country.
With the 2020 presidential election only ten months away, Appel and Skoglund believe all modems can and should be removed from election systems.
“Modems in voting machines are a bad idea,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
THEY’RE ONLINEEEEE
Security vulnerabilities in voting machines show America still isn’t ready for the 2020 election
https://qz.com/1783766/these-voting-machine-security-flaws-threaten-election-2020/amp/
Tomi Engdahl says:
What is the future of online identity verification?
https://www.docusign.co.uk/blog/what-is-the-future-of-online-identity-verification/
Why is online identification getting more and more intrusive?
There are a number of ways that users can verify their identity online and these may require the use of facial recognition tools, video calling and use of personal information.
The process might seem like it is becoming more intrusive, but it needs to be in order to gain the trust of businesses and their customers. There are plenty of stories about people exploiting the anonymity of the internet to pose as others online.
When it comes to using electronic signatures, businesses are becoming more aware and are imposing stricter identity checks, especially for confidential documentation, or for anything that needs to meet international laws.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A lazy fix 20 years ago means the Y2K bug is taking down computers now
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2229238-a-lazy-fix-20-years-ago-means-the-y2k-bug-is-taking-down-computers-now/
Programmers wanting to avoid the Y2K bug had two broad options:
entirely rewrite their code, or adopt a quick fix called windowing,
which would treat all dates from 00 to 20, as from the 2000s, rather
than the 1900s. An estimated 80 per cent of computers fixed in 1999
used the quicker, cheaper option..
Tomi Engdahl says:
2020: The Vulnerability Fujiwhara Effect Oracle and Microsoft Collide
https://www.riskbasedsecurity.com/2020/01/08/2020-the-vulnerability-fujiwhara-effect-oracle-and-microsoft-collide/
On the surface this may seem like a positive thing, and is certainly
an improvement on uncoordinated disclosures (still referred to as
irresponsible disclosure by many vendors and described as a situation
that hurts customers). But as more vendors have gravitated towards
releasing on Patch Tuesday, organizations are now being subjected to
the routine updates of six vendors on the same . day, with the
possibility of an additional seven. This is in stark contrast to the
normal day of vulnerability disclosures.. It cant be ignored that
there is a clear and substantial risk to organizations that do not
have the necessary vulnerability intelligence and processes in place
to enable the handling of the large volume of vulnerabilities being
disclosed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What the continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East means for
security
https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2020/01/mideast-tensions-preparations.html
Apt33/34 Actors have not only attacked traditional targets for
espionage but have shown an interest in attacking critical
infrastructure with the dam attack and have shown a willingness to be
destructive in their activities. Actors in the region have also shown
a willingness to attack some of the critical components of the
internet, most notably DNS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Deepfakes: The Looming Threat Of 2020
https://www.designnews.com/artificial-intelligence/deepfakes-looming-threat-2020/109800999062105?ADTRK=InformaMarkets&elq_mid=11763&elq_cid=876648
Deepfakes have been lurking on the internet for years now. But in 2020 the AI technology will become a powerful weapon for misinformation, fraud, and other crimes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Endpoint Protection Platforms Magic Quadrant
https://pentestmag.com/2019-endpoint-protection-platforms-magic-quadrant/
#pentest #magazine #pentestmag #pentestblog #PTblog #endpoint #protection #platforms #cybersecurity #infosecurity #infosec
Tomi Engdahl says:
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Researchers: AT&T, T-Mobile, Tracfone, US Mobile, and Verizon use vulnerable procedures for customer support that put users at risk of SIM swapping attacks — Researchers find that 17 of 140 major online services are vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks.
Academic research finds five US telcos vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks
https://www.zdnet.com/article/academic-research-finds-five-us-telcos-vulnerable-to-sim-swapping-attacks/
Researchers find that 17 of 140 major online services are vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Special sunglasses, license-plate dresses: How to be anonymous in the age of surveillance
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/special-sunglasses-license-plate-dresses-juggalo-face-paint-how-to-be-anonymous-in-the-age-of-surveillance/
Cory Doctorow’s sunglasses are seemingly ordinary. But they are far from it when seen on security footage, where his face is transformed into a glowing white orb.
The frames of his sunglasses, from Chicago-based eyewear line Reflectacles, are made of a material that reflects the infrared light found in surveillance cameras and represents a fringe movement of privacy advocates experimenting with clothes, ornate makeup and accessories as a defense against some surveillance technologies.
Some wearers are propelled by the desire to opt out of what has been called “surveillance capitalism” — an economy that churns human experiences into data for profit — while others fear government invasion of privacy.
Researchers have long criticized the lack of oversight around AI
“The general use of this technology in the United States is very reasonable,” said Castro. “They’re being undertaken by police agencies that are trying to balance communities’ public safety interests with individual privacy.”
The lenses of normal sunglasses become clear under any form of infrared light, but the special wavelength absorbers baked into Urban’s glasses soak up the light and turn them black.
Reflectacles’ absorbent quality makes them effective at blocking Face ID on the newest iPhones.
Urban has avoided the adoption of smart technologies that could store his personal information.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New CrowdStrike Report Finds an Increase in Cyber Adversaries Turning
to Business Disruption as Main Attack Objective
https://www.crowdstrike.com/press-releases/report-finds-business-disruption-is-main-objective-of-adversaries/
CrowdStrike® Inc. (Nasdaq: CRWD), a leader in cloud-delivered endpoint
protection, today announced the release of the CrowdStrike Services
Cyber Front Lines Report which provides valuable takeaways from the
front lines of incident response (IR) cases spanning 2019 and shares
insights that matter for 2020 and beyond. The report identifies new
attack methods and challenges, while offering
Tomi Engdahl says:
9 Reasons Why Cybersecurity Stress Is an Industry Epidemic
https://securityintelligence.com/articles/9-reasons-why-cybersecurity-stress-is-an-industry-epidemic/
Cybersecurity stress is an industrywide epidemic among security
professionals. Burnout is a hard conversation, but its necessary for
CISOs to face workplace stress before it compromises productivity,
talent retention or individual well-being.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mass surveillance for national security does conflict with EU privacy rights, court advisor suggests
https://tcrn.ch/2QWB2Do
Mass surveillance regimes in the UK, Belgium and France which require bulk collection of digital data for a national security purpose may be at least partially in breach of fundamental privacy rights of European Union citizens, per the opinion of an influential advisor to Europe’s top court issued today.
At stake is a now familiar argument: Privacy groups contend that states’ bulk data collection and retention regimes have overreached the law, becoming so indiscriminately intrusive as to breach fundamental EU privacy rights — while states counter-claim they must collect and retain citizens’ data in bulk in order to fight national security threats such as terrorism.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cloudflare is giving away its security tools to US political campaigns
https://tcrn.ch/3aeNTIA
Network security giant Cloudflare said it will provide its security tools and services to U.S. political campaigns for free, as part of its efforts to secure upcoming elections against cyberattacks and election interference.
The company said its new Cloudflare for Campaigns offering will include distributed denial-of-service attack mitigation, load balancing for campaign websites, a website firewall, and anti-bot protections.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 7 support has come to end.
https://www.howtogeek.com/443573/how-windows-7s-extended-security-updates-will-work/
If you are a business user, you can still buy more support and updates for Windows 7: “Extended Security Updates”
One year of support costs some money, and next year if you still want support costs more.
“Small businesses pay Microsoft up to $200 per device and year for extended support, Enterprises up to $200 per user and year. The support program is available already and there are prerequisites that need to be met.”
“Someone discovered a way to enable Extended Security Updates on all machines running Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system.”
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/12/07/someone-found-a-way-to-bypass-windows-7-extended-security-updates-checks/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Organizations Feel Threat of Nation-State Attacks, Survey Shows
https://www.securityweek.com/organizations-feel-threat-nation-state-attacks-survey-shows
An increasing number of companies believe they are being targeted by state-sponsored hacking groups, a new survey shows.
According to Radware’s latest Global Application & Network Security Report, of 561 respondents representing a broad range of organizations worldwide, 27% said their company was hit by nation-state hackers in 2019, a 42% increase compared to 2018, when only 19% of respondents claimed they experienced such attacks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
With the challenges of attack attribution, and the line between nation-state and criminal hackers becoming increasingly blurred, these numbers can easily be challenged.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using Gap Analysis to Fix a Leaky Enterprise
https://www.securityweek.com/using-gap-analysis-fix-leaky-enterprise
Attackers Evolve Quickly, and We Must Work Daily to Ensure We Are Ready for Their Next Move
Tomi Engdahl says:
The US government should stop demanding tech companies compromise on encryption
https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/15/encryption-is-not-the-enemy/
In a tweet late Tuesday, President Trump criticized Apple for refusing “to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements.” Trump was specifically referring to a locked iPhone that belonged to a Saudi airman who killed three U.S sailors in an attack on a Florida base in December.
The FBI Got Data From A Locked iPhone 11 Pro Max — So Why Is It Demanding Apple Unlock Older Phones?
http://on.forbes.com/61891jxy9
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Windows 7’s “Extended Security Updates” Will Work
https://www.howtogeek.com/443573/how-windows-7s-extended-security-updates-will-work/amp/
Someone found a way to bypass Windows 7 Extended Security Updates checks
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/12/07/someone-found-a-way-to-bypass-windows-7-extended-security-updates-checks/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cookies crumbling as Google phases them out
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51106526
Google is to restrict the number of advertising cookies on websites accessed via its Chrome browser, in response to calls for greater privacy controls.
It said that it would phase out third-party cookies within the next two years,
Cookies are small text files that are used to track users across the web.
It comes as a study suggests that many cookie consent pop-ups are flouting EU privacy laws.
Cookie consent forms pop up whenever someone visits a website but could their days be numbered?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://edri.org/ncc-report-online-advertising-industry-is-out-of-control/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The European Union is considering banning facial recognition technology in public areas for up to five years, to give it time to work out how to prevent abuses.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-ai/eu-mulls-five-year-ban-on-facial-recognition-tech-in-public-areas-idUSKBN1ZF2QL
Tomi Engdahl says:
Georgia election systems could have been hacked before 2016 vote
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/16/georgia-election-systems-could-have-been-hacked-before-2016-vote-100334
A Georgia election server contains evidence that it was possibly hacked before the 2016 presidential election and the 2018 vote that gave Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp a narrow victory over Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams, according to an election security expert.
The incident, which occurred in late 2014, long before either of those elections, not only calls into question the integrity of Georgia’s voting machines during critical elections, but raises new questions about whether attackers were able to manipulate election data and voter information through the compromised server.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everything is broken and hackable!
https://thorgate.eu/blog/everything-broken-and-hackable?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Facebook_Mobile_Feed&utm_campaign=Cybersecurity+Blogs&utm_content=everything+is+broken+blog
The beginning of December saw around 3,200 security researchers, hackers, and developers gather in the east side of London to listen to over a hundred of their peers and learn the latest news and methodologies about information security.
The message to us as web developers was overwhelmingly that in order to create secure sites, you need to understand the techniques black hat hackers use.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://cybermap.kaspersky.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Reality of Cybersecurity Awareness Programs and Their Shortcomings
https://pentestmag.com/the-reality-of-cybersecurity-awareness-programs-and-their-shortcomings/
Companies have to focus on the culture and governance to make any real progress for cyber security behavior, but unfortunately a lot of the cyber security awareness programs only focus on superficial methods. We’ll explore here the main issues with cyber security awareness programs and where we can go from here.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5 Most Strategic Ways to Protect Your Biggest Assets in the New Year and Beyond
https://pentestmag.com/the-5-most-strategic-ways-to-protect-your-biggest-assets-in-the-new-year-and-beyond/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A lazy man’s introduction to Multi-Party encryption and decryption
https://medium.com/@daser/a-lazy-mans-introduction-to-multi-party-encryption-and-decryption-59f62b8616d8
Tomi Engdahl says:
#EthicalWebDev – guide for ethical website development and maintenance
https://edri.org/ethical-web-dev/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://mathmesh.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK is nearly ready to launch force to hit hostile countries with cyberattacks
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cyber-warfare-security-force-iran-crisis-ministry-of-defence-a9278591.html
The specialist unit will be dedicated solely to offensive action to combat security threats, extremism, hackers, disinformation and election interference
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cybercrooks are targeting retirement accounts — and unlike credit cards, there’s no guarantee you’ll get your money back
https://eu.jsonline.com/story/money/2020/01/07/401-k-retirement-accounts-targeted-online-and-your-money-not-guaranteed/2799053001/
Tomi Engdahl says:
SIM swap fraud: What it is, why you should care and how to protect yourself
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/sim-swap-fraud-what-it-is-why-you-should-care-and-how-to-protect-yourself/?UniqueID=D23181BE-3851-11EA-9CF6-DEBCFCA12A29&ServiceType=facebook_page&PostType=link&ftag=COS-05-10aaa0a&TheTime=2020-01-16T11%3A17%3A45
Phone number theft is something most don’t think is even possible, but it’s all too easy for hackers to do, giving them the keys to take over your online accounts.
A recently published study showed just how easy it is for hackers and fraudsters to take control of your phone number, potentially leading to thousands of dollars in fraud — that’s your money on the line. The practice of SIM swapping is becoming more common, and despite carriers putting safeguards in place, it’s scary how quickly the researchers were able to take over a phone number.
hackers know that SIM cards are a fairly easy access point when it comes to taking over someone’s phone number, and in turn, gain access to their online accounts.
SIM swapping occurs when someone contacts your wireless carrier and is able to convince the call center employee that they are, in fact, you, using your personal data.
They do this by using data that’s often exposed in hacks, data breaches, or information you publicly share on social networks to trick the call center employ into switching the SIM card linked to your phone number, and replace it with a SIM card in their possession.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Special sunglasses, license-plate dresses: How to be anonymous in the age of surveillance
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/special-sunglasses-license-plate-dresses-juggalo-face-paint-how-to-be-anonymous-in-the-age-of-surveillance/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Clearview app lets strangers find your name, info with snap of a photo, report says
https://www.cnet.com/news/clearview-app-lets-strangers-find-your-name-info-with-snap-of-a-photo-report-says/
It may not be long before you’ll have to forget about walking down the street anonymously, says a New York Times report.
Tomi Engdahl says:
More than 50 nations, but not U.S., sign onto cybersecurity pact
https://www.axios.com/cybersecurity-paris-call-for-trust-france-21e434df-8a59-48bc-8cde-cd1c1f43dfd0.html
French President Emmanuel Macron released an international agreement on cybersecurity principles Monday as part of the Paris Peace Forum. The original signatories included more than 50 nations, 130 private sector groups and 90 charitable groups and universities, but not the United States, Russia or China.
The big picture: The Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace is another step in the disjointed effort to create international norms and laws for cybersecurity and warfare. In most international matters of regulating the internet, there tends to be a wide split between the liberal Western order and authoritarian nations like Russia and China.
Details: The agreement does not command any specific legislation.
The principles include agreements to promote human rights on the internet, thwart election hacking, cease the theft of intellectual property via hacking and stop “malicious cyber activities in peacetime, notably the ones threatening or resulting in significant, indiscriminate or systemic harm to individuals.” China, Russia and North Korea have each been accused of violating some or all of these in the past.
Private sector groups are tasked with having a unique responsibility in security.
It includes an endorsement of certain security measures, including basic security practices and responsible disclosure campaigns, allowing security researchers to alert organizations and governments to security vulnerabilities in their systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Old post but concerning. Seems that ransomware that blocks restore is actually a thing now too. It works by crippling the DVD drive and other external storage. [https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/gigabyte-firmware-flaws-allow-the-installation-of-uefi-ransomware/](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/gigabyte-firmware-flaws-allow-the-installation-of-uefi-ransomware/)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Believe it or not, the “possession” of certain numbers could get you into some serious trouble with the law.
This Number Is Illegal To Possess Or Distribute In The USA
https://www.iflscience.com/technology/possessing-and-distributing-particular-number-illegal/
Believe it or not, the “possession” of certain numbers could get you into some serious trouble with the law.
It’s all to do with data security. The principle of computer encryption is largely based around very large prime numbers.
There is one prime number (an extremely long, unspeakable number) that was the source code to unlock the copyrighted protected systems on DVDs. Using this number, you would be able to duplicate, download, or upload the data on the DVD. Under the 1998 Digital Rights Act, it could therefore be considered a tool to get around a copyrighted protected system.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LnEyjwdoj7g#
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Pennsylvania County’s Election Day Nightmare Underscores Voting Machine Concerns
How “everything went wrong” in Northampton County.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/us/politics/pennsylvania-voting-machines.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Online and vulnerable’: Experts find nearly three dozen U.S. voting systems connected to internet
A team of election security experts used a “Google for servers” to challenge claims that voting machines do not connect to the internet and found some did.
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Online and vulnerable’: Experts find nearly three dozen U.S. voting systems connected to internet
A team of election security experts used a “Google for servers” to challenge claims that voting machines do not connect to the internet and found some did.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/online-vulnerable-experts-find-nearly-three-dozen-u-s-voting-n1112436
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Value of Lean Security Research and Experimentation
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/value-lean-security-research-experimentation-ron-f-del-rosario
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Dangers Of Using A VPN On Home Computers For Work And What To Do Instead
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/01/17/the-dangers-of-using-vpn-on-home-computers-for-work-and-what-to-do-instead/
this policy is high risk with an undesirable attack vector when permitting access into your environment. For example, consider the following:
Lower Malware Defense
Home users are typically local administrators for their personal computers. They rarely create secondary standard user accounts for daily usage. This makes them more susceptible to malware that can take advantage of them.
Multiple Users
If a personal computer is shared among multiple family members, even with multiple user profiles, there are very few mitigations to prevent an infection or poor judgment of one individual from infecting others.
Lack Of Authority
Organizations do not have the authority to manage an individual’s home computer. While network access control solutions can validate antivirus signature versions and other basic hardware characteristics, they cannot inventory a home computer to ensure it is hardened and maintained like a corporate asset.
Inability To Secure Host
Corporate VPN solutions typically embed a certificate into a connection or user profile in order to validate the connection. This is independent of the authentication the user should provide via credentials and hopefully some form of two-factor authentication in order to make a connection. The security of the certificate and the credentials for authentication are only as secure as the security maintenance implemented for the asset. These are a prime target for a threat actor on a poorly maintained host
Lack Of Protective Resources
Lastly, home users typically only have antivirus on their computers. They usually do not have endpoint, detection and response (EDR) or endpoint privilege management (EPM), nor do they have vulnerability or patch management solutions to ensure their assets are being properly secured and to elevate any threats for awareness. Home users typically operate as independent workstations with no monitoring from security professionals to respond when something goes awry.
The initial decision to allow VPN software on home assets should be revisited, and businesses should consider other ways to allow remote access with lower risks:
• Issue corporate-owned assets that are hardened and managed to provide connectivity.
• License a third-party remote access solution that does not require a complex environment to provide connectivity and can perform the connection through a web browser without the need for VPN software, dedicated applications or protocol tunneling.
• If employees who need remote access have traditional desktop computers, consider replacing them with corporate-owned and managed laptops with docking stations.
• Don’t allow employees to work remotely. This is not as far fetched as it sounds. Companies like Yahoo required all employees to come into the office during its restructuring, and even certain governments require, by law, that employees cannot take work home after hours to prevent labor abuse.
It is puzzling to me that so many environments allow this practice when in many cases the cost of a tablet, managed by the company, can provide a more secure experience compared to the runtime costs of a bastion host and VDI environment. The choice is truly yours
Tomi Engdahl says:
Exclusive: Apple dropped plan for encrypting backups after FBI complained – sources
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusive/exclusive-apple-dropped-plan-for-encrypting-backups-after-fbi-complained-sources-idUSKBN1ZK1CT?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O) dropped plans to let iPhone users fully encrypt backups of their devices in the company’s iCloud service after the FBI complained that the move would harm investigations, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackers Are Coming for the 2020 Election — And We’re Not Ready
Why the threats to our elections are more sophisticated and widespread than ever
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-election-hacking-russia-iran-ransomware-interference-938109/
President Obama wanted a national cybersecurity preparedness plan for the upcoming election, and Ferrante was put in charge of creating it. He and his team spent months researching every detail of American elections and running different scenarios. What if a million people showed up to vote in Florida only to be told there was no record of them as a voter? What if a cyberattack took down the division of the Associated Press that supplies election-night reporting data to major news organizations like CNN? What if the internet crashed on Election Day?
Ferrante and his team had by that point conducted perhaps the most exhaustive study of the potential threats to our convoluted voting system. There were the cyberthreats they had envisioned and prepared for: hacked voter registration databases, disruptions to the flow of information on election night, faulty voter equipment. By Election Day, these threats weren’t all speculative: Two teams of Russian hackers, known as Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear, had broken into the Democratic National Committee and stolen reams of data.
The Dyn attack, resulting from a massive botnet that exploited flaws in internet-connected gadgets and appliances such as home security cameras and WiFi routers, showed it was possible to wreak havoc on the internet itself.
For Election Day, Ferrante created the first-ever cybercommand post in the White House Situation Room.
The sense of accomplishment he felt was outweighed by a sinking feeling over what he knew Russia had already done. By hacking the Democratic Party, spreading disinformation on social media, and compromising confidential voter data, it had proved to the rest of the world it was possible to successfully interfere in a U.S. election and come away largely unscathed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Big Tech Wants You To Ditch Your Password
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faU_d7DqoiY
The average office worker in the United States must keep track of between 20 to 40 different username and password combinations. With so many passwords to remember, many of us use the same ones over and over, or have a running list of passwords saved somewhere. Passwords are a very serious and expensive security risk. It’s why companies like Microsoft , Apple and Google are trying to reduce our dependence on them. But the question is, can these companies break our bad habits?
Passwords are a very serious and expensive security risk. A report by Verizon looked at 2,013 confirmed data breaches and found that 29% of those breaches involved the use of stolen credentials.
Another study by the Ponemon Institute and IBM Security found that the average cost of a single data breach in the U.S. was more than $8 million. Even when passwords are not stolen, companies can lose a lot of money trying to reset them.
“Our research has shown that the average fully loaded cost of a help desk call to reset a password is anywhere between $40 or $50 per call,” says Merritt Maxim, vice president and research director at Forrester.
“Generally speaking, a typical employee contacts a help desk somewhere between 6 and 10 times a year on password related issues,” Maxim said. “So if you just do the simple multiplication of six to 10 times, times 50 dollars per call, times number of employees, in your organization, you’re talking significantly hundreds of thousands of dollars or even potentially millions of dollars a year.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Zero-Day Actively Exploited, Patch Forthcoming
https://threatpost.com/microsoft-zero-day-actively-exploited-patch/152018/
CVE-2020-0674 is a critical flaw for most Internet Explorer versions, allowing remote code execution and complete takeover.