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Category — Google Android 5.0 Lollipop
Android 'Trusted Voice': My Voice Is My Password

Android 'Trusted Voice': My Voice Is My Password

Apr 14, 2015
Today device unlocking has become far more secure over the years, from PIN number unlock to Pattern unlock and biometric unlocks including fingerprinting and facial recognition. But... ...What If Your Android Device Can Identify Your Voice before authenticating any access? This exactly what Google is trying to provide its Android 5.0 Lollipop users. Users running Android 5.0 Lollipop on their smartphone devices may soon be able to unlock their devices simply by saying " OK Google ." " Smart Lock " is one of the most convenient security features provided in Lollipop that offers a handful of clever ways to unlock an Android device automatically, which yet includes: Trusted Device Trusted Places Trusted Face However, Google is now rolling out a new smart lock, dubbed " Trusted Voice ," that uses your voice as a password to unlock your device. Just as your fingerprint or face recognition is considered distinctive enough for biom...
OnePlus OxygenOS Now Available for Download

OnePlus OxygenOS Now Available for Download

Apr 04, 2015
OnePlus One users might be waiting for the new Lollipop based ROM for their smartphones. The wait is over as the popular Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus has finally released its own custom ROM --  OnePlus OxygenOS , which is based on Android 5.0 Lollipop. Last month, the OnePlus announced the official release of its in-house OxygenOS to 'One' on or before March 27, but was failed to deliver the update due to a couple of security issues discovered in the update. The news disappointed many OnePlus customers, including me, who were looking forward to their Lollipop updates. However, the update is now ready for downloading from the OnePlus servers. Also, a full installation guide has been provided for customers who want to switch from the CyanogenMod 11S to the latest OxygenOS. "Developing OxygenOS has been an incredibly fun and challenging experience for all of us, " the company wrote . " In this environment where everyone is fighting to standou...
The Future of Serverless Security in 2025: From Logs to Runtime Protection

The Future of Serverless Security in 2025: From Logs to Runtime Protection

Nov 28, 2024Cloud Security / Threat Detection
Serverless environments, leveraging services such as AWS Lambda, offer incredible benefits in terms of scalability, efficiency, and reduced operational overhead. However, securing these environments is extremely challenging. The core of current serverless security practices often revolves around two key components: log monitoring and static analysis of code or system configuration. But here is the issue with that: 1. Logs Only Tell Part of the Story Logs can track external-facing activities, but they don't provide visibility into the internal execution of functions. For example, if an attacker injects malicious code into a serverless function that doesn't interact with external resources (e.g., external APIs or databases), traditional log-based tools will not detect this intrusion. The attacker may execute unauthorized processes, manipulate files, or escalate privileges—all without triggering log events. 2. Static Misconfiguration Detection is Incomplete Static tools that check ...
Billions of Android Devices Vulnerable to Privilege Escalation Except Android 5.0 Lollipop

Billions of Android Devices Vulnerable to Privilege Escalation Except Android 5.0 Lollipop

Nov 20, 2014
A security weakness in Android mobile operating system versions below 5.0 that puts potentially every Android device at risk for privilege escalation attacks, has been patched in  Android 5.0 Lollipop  – the latest version of the mobile operating system. The security vulnerability ( CVE-2014-7911 ), discovered by a security researcher named Jann Horn , could allow any potential attacker to bypass the Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) defense and execute arbitrary code of their choice on a target device under certain circumstances. ASLR is a technique involved in protection from buffer overflow attacks. The flaw resides in java.io.ObjectInputStream , which fails to check whether an Object that is being deserialized is actually a serializable object. The vulnerability was reported by the researcher to Google security team earlier this year. According to the security researcher, android apps can communicate with system_service, which runs under admin p...
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Creating, Managing and Securing Non-Human Identities

websitePermisoCybersecurity / Identity Security
A new class of identities has emerged alongside traditional human users: non-human identities (NHIs). Permiso Security's new eBook details everything you need to know about managing and securing non-human identities, and strategies to unify identity security without compromising agility.
7 Things About Android Lollipop 5.0 You Need To Know

7 Things About Android Lollipop 5.0 You Need To Know

Oct 18, 2014
After offering chocolate ( Kit-Kat ), now Google is ready to serve you Lollipops. Google on Wednesday finally revealed the official name of its next version Android L — Android 5.0 Lollipop . The newly released Android 5.0 Lollipop ships with the latest Motorola-made Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet built by HTC, but the company did not make the Lollipop available for download to other users immediately. The older versions of Nexus devices will receive the Lollipop update in the coming weeks. Lollipop features some significant changes to the Android platform with a sleek new user interface, cross platform support and improved performance via the new ART runtime engine. The operating system also offers better battery life, improved notifications, OpenGL ES 3.1 and 64-bit support, among other features. Here are some most notable features of Android 5.0 Lollipop , along with some insight as to when you might be able to get your hands on it. Google describes Lolli...
Researchers Uncover Spying Tool Used by Governments to Hijack all Types of Smartphones

Researchers Uncover Spying Tool Used by Governments to Hijack all Types of Smartphones

Jun 25, 2014
Purchasing malware to victimize people is illegal by laws but if the same thing any government official do, then its not!! Yes, the police forces around the World are following the footsteps of U.S. National Security Agency ( NSA ) and FBI. Researchers from the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and computer security firm Kaspersky Lab have unearthed a broad network of controversial spyware which is specially designed to give law enforcement agencies complete access to a suspect's phone for the purpose of surveillance. MALWARE FOR DESKTOPS AND ALL MOBILE DEVICES The malware , dubbed as Remote Control System (RCS) , also known as Da Vinci and Galileo, is developed by an Italian company known as Hacking Team, available for desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices. The latest version of the malware works for all phone including Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry devices, but best on Android devices , and can also b...
PlayDrone Reveals Secret Keys from Thousands of Play Store Android Apps

PlayDrone Reveals Secret Keys from Thousands of Play Store Android Apps

Jun 19, 2014
Google's Android Mobile operating system for smartphones and tablets have Google's own Play Store that provides its Android users the most visible way to access the world of millions of apps. App developers produce more than thousands of applications each year, but majority of newbie and unprofessional developers use unsafe, unreliable, and insecure coding practices, as many developers store secret keys in their apps that could potentially allow cybercriminals to steal users' sensitive data. A team of researchers from the computer science department of the Columbia University have discovered a critical security problem in the Google's official Android app store from where millions of Android users download various apps. Researchers have found that most of the Android application developers often store their secret keys in their app's code, similar to usernames/passwords information, which could be then used by any bad actor to maliciously steal users' information or r...
Towelroot : One-Click Android Rooting Tool Released By Geohot

Towelroot : One-Click Android Rooting Tool Released By Geohot

Jun 18, 2014
Waiting for the root access for your AT&T or Verizon Android phone? Then there is really a Great News for you! Geohot (aka George Hotz) - a famed cracker who was responsible for hacking the PlayStation 3 and subsequently being sued by Sony - has built and released a root tool called Towelroot on Sunday night that will let most Android smartphones users to root their Android device with one click only, as long as it has an unpatched version of the Linux kernel. EXPLOITS LINUX KERNEL VULNERABILITY  Towelroot application exploits the same vulnerability (CVE-2014-3153) which was recently disclosed by the hacker Pinkie Pie in the Linux kernel version 3.14.5 and most versions of other Android devices, which could be leveraged by hackers to potentially acquire root access on affected devices. Having root access of your device simply means you make System-level changes to your device such as accessing and modifying any file or program using any mode (single- or mu...
Student Decrypts Simplocker Android Ransomware that Encrypts Files

Student Decrypts Simplocker Android Ransomware that Encrypts Files

Jun 17, 2014
In a previous story, I reported about a new ransomware threat known as Simplocker discovered by researchers at the security firm ESET, targeting Android users in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, India and Russia, for ransom. Simplocker (Android/Simplocker.A) is the latest Android ransomware that has ability to encrypt the files using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) on the Android device SD cards demanding users pay a ransom of 260 UAH ( Ukrainian hryvnias ), which is roughly equal to $21 US, for those files to be decrypted. To hide their track, the malware author is using the Command-and-Control server hosted on TOR .onion domain, which makes it difficult to trace the server's physical location or determine who is operating it. The malware collects information about the users' phone such as IMEI number, Operating System, phone model and manufacturer to send it all to Command-and-Control server. STUDENT CRACKS SIMPLOCKER RANSOMWARE Now, an undergraduate stu...
Chinese Android Smartphone comes with Pre-installed Spyware

Chinese Android Smartphone comes with Pre-installed Spyware

Jun 17, 2014
If US has banned its several major government departments, including NASA, Justice and Commerce Departments, from purchasing Chinese products and computer technology due to suspected backdoors, then they are not wrong at all. A popular Chinese Android Smartphone comes pre-installed with a Trojan that could allow manufacturer to spy onto their users' comprising their personal data and conversations without any restrictions and users knowledge. GOOGLE PLAY STORE OR A SPYING APP? According to the researchers at the German security firm G Data , the Star N9500 smartphone, a popular and cheap handset device in China, comes pre-installed with Uupay.D Trojan horse, disguising as a version of the Google Play Store. The trojan camouflage as the Google Play Store , so it enables Chinese Company to secretly install malicious apps, which creates the whole spectrum of abuse. STEALING WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS The nasty Spyware runs in the background and has capability to steal ...
Google Play Store Update Allows Apps to Silently Gain Control of Your Device

Google Play Store Update Allows Apps to Silently Gain Control of Your Device

Jun 13, 2014
Google just made a huge change to the way application permissions work on Android devices which has left a potential door open to malicious app developers and hackers. Google narrows down Android's 145 permissions into 13 broad categories and groups app permissions into ' groups of related permissions ', likely for Android users to have an easier time dealing with app permissions. Unfortunately, the new update has introduced a few potential security and privacy issues, as listed below: hiding permissions behind the group names auto-updating app with no warning for new permissions According to new update, once a user approves an app's permissions, he actually approves the whole respective permission groups. For example, if an app want to read your incoming SMS messages, then it requires the " Read SMS messages " permission. But now installing an app, you are actually giving it access to all SMS-related permissions. The app developer can then include...
First Android Ransomware that Encrypts SD Card Files

First Android Ransomware that Encrypts SD Card Files

Jun 05, 2014
We have seen cybercriminals targeting PCs with Ransomware malware that encrypts your files or lock down your computer and ask for a ransom amount to be paid in a specified duration of time to unlock it. To deliver the Ransomware malwares to the mobile devices, cyber criminals have already started creating malicious software programs for android devices. Last month, we reported about a new Police Ransomware malware that locks up the devices until the victims pay a ransom to get the keys to unlock the phone. But, the malware just lock the mobile screen and a loophole in the its implementation allowed users to recover their device and data stored on SDcard. Now, in an effort to overcome this, threat actors have adopted encryption in the development of mobile Ransomware malwares. Recently, the security firm ESET has discovered a new Android ransomware, dubbed as Android/Simplocker.A , that has ability to encrypt the files on the device SD card and then demand a ransom from the victim ...
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