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Just One Device? No, Government wants Apple to Unlock 12 More iPhones

Just One Device? No, Government wants Apple to Unlock 12 More iPhones

Feb 24, 2016
Until now, the FBI is asking for Apple's help in unlocking the iPhone belonging to one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino shootings that killed 14 and injured 24 in December. However, in addition to iPhone 5C belonged to San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, the U.S. Justice Department is looking at court orders forcing Apple to help officials unlock at least 12 iPhones. Citing sources, the Wall Street Journal reported that the federal authorities want to extract data from iPhones seized in a variety of criminal investigations are involved in undisclosed cases where prosecutors are compelling Apple to help them bypass iPhone's lockscreen. Although more details of these cases are not yet publicly disclosed, these dozen or so cases are all distinct from San Bernardino shooter's case and involve many iPhones using an older iOS version that has fewer security barriers to bypass. Also Read:    Police Reset Shooter's Apple ID that leaves iPhone Data U
NSA Data Center Experiencing 300 Million Hacking Attempts Per Day

NSA Data Center Experiencing 300 Million Hacking Attempts Per Day

Feb 22, 2016
Utah State computer systems are experiencing a massive cyber attack on up to 300 Million Hacking attempts per day due to National Security Agency's (NSA) data center in the state. Yes, 300,000,000 hacking attempts in a day! According to the statistical survey, it is evident that the computer systems in the US State of Utah began to experience the hacking attack a few years back, precisely, soon after the NSA revelations by global surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden. It is a less-known fact that the NSA has built its new data center near the city of Bluffdale, Utah. However, a couple of years back, when Snowden revealed the presence of the data center, the attacks have constantly been going on. The PRISM spying program by Big Brothers at NSA might have shifted the attention of hackers for the retaliation against mass-surveillance and flared up this heightened cyber attacks against the spying agency. According to Utah Commissioner of public safety, Keith S
How to Accelerate Vendor Risk Assessments in the Age of SaaS Sprawl

How to Accelerate Vendor Risk Assessments in the Age of SaaS Sprawl

Mar 21, 2024SaaS Security / Endpoint Security
In today's digital-first business environment dominated by SaaS applications, organizations increasingly depend on third-party vendors for essential cloud services and software solutions. As more vendors and services are added to the mix, the complexity and potential vulnerabilities within the  SaaS supply chain  snowball quickly. That's why effective vendor risk management (VRM) is a critical strategy in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to protect organizational assets and data integrity. Meanwhile, common approaches to vendor risk assessments are too slow and static for the modern world of SaaS. Most organizations have simply adapted their legacy evaluation techniques for on-premise software to apply to SaaS providers. This not only creates massive bottlenecks, but also causes organizations to inadvertently accept far too much risk. To effectively adapt to the realities of modern work, two major aspects need to change: the timeline of initial assessment must shorte
NSA’s Top-Secret SKYNET May Be Killing Thousands of Innocent Civilians

NSA's Top-Secret SKYNET May Be Killing Thousands of Innocent Civilians

Feb 17, 2016
So what do you expect from an Artificially intelligent program run by the government intelligence agency? Possibly killing innocent people. The real-life SKYNET , the fictional malevolent artificial intelligence in the Terminator movies, run by the US National Security Agency (NSA) is a surveillance program that uses cell phone metadata to track the GPS location and call activities of suspected terrorists, who may be shot by a Hellfire missile. Now, a new analysis of previously published NSA documents leaked by former NSA staffer Edward Snowden suggests that many of those people killed based on metadata may have been innocent. Last year, the leaked documents detailing the NSA's SKYNET programme published by The Intercept showed that NSA had used a machine learning algorithm on the cellular network metadata of 55 Million people in Pakistan to rate each citizen's likelihood of being a terrorist. You need to know that the US drone bombing campaigns in Pa
cyber security

Automated remediation solutions are crucial for security

websiteWing SecurityShadow IT / SaaS Security
Especially when it comes to securing employees' SaaS usage, don't settle for a longer to-do list. Auto-remediation is key to achieving SaaS security.
How Spy Agencies Hacked into Israeli Military Drones to Collect Live Video Feeds

How Spy Agencies Hacked into Israeli Military Drones to Collect Live Video Feeds

Feb 01, 2016
Featured Image Only. See Original leaked images below. In a joint surveillance program, the US intelligence agency NSA ( National Security Agency ) and the British intelligence agency GCHQ ( Government Communications Headquarters ) hacked into, decrypted, and tracked live video feeds of Israeli Military Drones and Fighter Jets . This could be one of the most shocking and embarrassing disclosures for Israel, who is the United States' ally and prides itself on its technical capabilities. Published by The Intercept, the newly released documents from the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed that in an operation dubbed " Anarchist ," UK and US intelligence officials have been… ...regularly accessing Israeli drone cameras, allowing them to watch live video feeds from drones and fighter jets while Israel bombed Gaza and spied on Syria. But, how the intelligence officials were able to do so. Also Read: Google Wants to Fly Drones Over Your Head
British Intelligence Open-Sources its Large-Scale Graph Database Software

British Intelligence Open-Sources its Large-Scale Graph Database Software

Dec 16, 2015
UK's Secretive Spy Agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has open-sourced one of its tools on code-sharing website GitHub for free... A graph database called ' Gaffer .' Gaffer , written in Java, is a kind of database that makes it "easy to store large-scale graphs in which the nodes and edges have statistics such as counts, histograms and sketches." Github is a popular coding website that allows software developers to build their project on a single platform equipped with all the requirements that are gone in the making of a software. Gaffer and its Functionalities In short, Gaffer is a framework for creating mass-scale databases, to store and represent data, and is said to be useful for tasks including: Allow the creation of graphs with summarised properties within Accumulo with a very less amount of coding. Allow flexibility of stats that describe the entities and edges. Allow easy addition of nodes and edges. Allo
Today NSA has Stopped its Bulk Phone Surveillance Program

Today NSA has Stopped its Bulk Phone Surveillance Program

Nov 30, 2015
Rejoice! From this morning, you can call freely to anyone, talk anything without any fear of being spied by the United States National Security Agency (NSA), as the agency is not allowed to collect bulk phone records . Until now we all are aware of the NSA's bulk phone surveillance program – thanks to former NSA employee Edward Snowden , who leaked the very first top secret documents of the agency in 2013. However, more than two years later of the first revelation, that bulk phone surveillance program has finally come to an end. End of Bulk Phone Surveillance Program The White House announced Friday evening on the intelligence community's official Tumblr that the NSA will officially be shutting down its bulk phone surveillance program by Sunday, November 29. Under this program, the US intelligence agency collected only the " metadata " that reveals data related to the called phone numbers (i.e. which numbers are calling and what time they
Would Encryption Backdoor Stop Paris-like Terror Attacks?

Would Encryption Backdoor Stop Paris-like Terror Attacks?

Nov 17, 2015
With 129 people killed in Paris terror attacks and dozens critically wounded, the law enforcement and intelligence officials are reviving their efforts to force companies to put some backdoors in encryption so that they can access your information. How did the Intelligence agencies fail to Intercept terrorist plans of these attacks? In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, Former CIA Director Michael Morell argued on TV that encrypted communication services may have aided the planning and plotting of the Paris attacks, blaming Edward Snowden and US companies for the attacks. Also Read:  NO, We Can't Blame Edward Snowden and Encryption for Terror Attacks With more Surveillance and Encryption backdoor, Is it possible that Friday's attacks could have been stopped before they began? Morell suggested that recalcitrant US companies should be forced to install government backdoors in their software and hand over encryption keys to the government, thinking that Encryption Backd
NSA-linked Spying Malware Infected Top German Official's Computer

NSA-linked Spying Malware Infected Top German Official's Computer

Oct 27, 2015
The German authorities have initiated a further investigation into espionage by the United States secret service NSA and British intelligence agency GCHQ after...   ...the head of the German Federal Chancellery unit had his private laptop infected. According to a recent report published by Der Spiegel , the laptop of the Chancellery division leader was infected with Regin – a highly advanced espionage malware program that has been linked to the National Security Agency (NSA) and its UK counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). As The Hacker News reported almost a year ago, Regin is one of the most highly advanced, sophisticated malware programs that was used to spy on a wide range of international targets including: Internet service providers (ISPs) Telecommunications backbone operators Energy firms Airlines Government entities Research institutes Other high-profile individuals …around the world since at least 2008. Regin has d
How NSA successfully Broke Trillions of Encrypted Connections

How NSA successfully Broke Trillions of Encrypted Connections

Oct 16, 2015
Yes, it seems like the mystery has been solved. We are aware of the United States National Security Agency (NSA) powers to break almost unbreakable encryption used on the Internet and intercept nearly Trillions of Internet connections – thanks to the revelations made by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013. However, what we are not aware of is exactly how did the NSA apparently intercept VPN connections, and decrypt SSH and HTTPS, allowing the agency to read hundreds of Millions of personal, private emails from persons around the globe. Also Read:  Top Best Password Managers . Now, computer scientists Alex Halderman and Nadia Heninger have presented a paper at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security that advances the most plausible theory as to how the NSA broke some of the most widespread encryption used on the Internet. According to the paper, the NSA has exploited common implementations of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm – a common
Every Call You Make or Text You Send, They'll Be Tracking From Today

Every Call You Make or Text You Send, They'll Be Tracking From Today

Oct 13, 2015
From today, every phone call you make, every text message you send and every email you write will compulsorily be tracked by the government agencies under a new metadata retention scheme. Yes, you heard right. If you are a citizen of Australia with a mobile phone and an Internet connection, your digital activity will be recorded. As the government's new data retention law comes into effect, the Australian telecommunications companies will now keep large amounts of your telecommunications metadata for two years. The law has allegedly been implemented to protect the country against organized terrorist and criminals, like every government agencies including the United States' intelligence agency NSA and British intelligence agency GCHQ claim. But… This new scheme vastly expands the retention of personal data, which has triggered a debate among Australians as it is a major invasion of privacy . WHAT IS BEING COLLECTED? Until today, data retention by
Obama Encryption Policy: White House Will Not Force Companies To Decode Encrypted Data

Obama Encryption Policy: White House Will Not Force Companies To Decode Encrypted Data

Oct 10, 2015
After the revelations that Whistleblower Edward Snowden made about the United States National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. citizens are in need of more transparent digital security. The Citizens of the United States have appealed to the Obama Administration through a campaign for rejecting any policy, mandate or law that stands against their security in the cyberspace and adopt strong encryption for them. The Washington Post reported that the Obama Administration has agreed partially on the encrypted communications issue. "The administration has decided not to seek a legislative remedy now, but it makes sense to continue the conversations with industry," James B. Comey , FBI Director, said at a Senate hearing Thursday of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. This decision is considered as the Status Quo. It is like a win-win situation to decrease the tension because of the Petition and regard the law enforcement agencies as well a
AdBlock Extension has been Sold to an 'Unknown Buyer'

AdBlock Extension has been Sold to an 'Unknown Buyer'

Oct 03, 2015
Shocking! Adblock Extension that blocks annoying online advertising has been sold... ...And more shocking, the most popular " Adblock Extension ", with more than 40 million users, quietly sold their creation to an unknown buyer ... ' Michael Gundlach ', the creator widely used Adblock Extension refuses to disclose the name, who purchased his company and how much it was sold for, just because buyer wishes to remain anonymous. After watching a popup message (as shown) on their browsers this week, the Adblock users are literally going crazy. " I am selling my company, and the buyer is turning on Acceptable Ads, " Gundlach said. Holy Sh*t! NSA Buys Adblock? The ' Anonymous buyer ' conspiracy has caused concern for Adblock users and they have raised number of questions on social media sites, such as: Should I trust AdBlock Extension anymore? Who owns the Software I have installed? Is it NSA? Also, reportedly, Michael Gun
Breaking: Edward Snowden Joins Twitter & Only Follows ‘NSA’

Breaking: Edward Snowden Joins Twitter & Only Follows 'NSA'

Sep 29, 2015
Whistleblower Edward Snowden just joined Twitter, and his first tweet seems to be directed at the US National Security Agency (NSA) . Yes, the world's most popular whistleblower and data privacy advocate has finally joined Twitter just two hours ago, and his first tweet came, " Can you hear me now? " Snowden has gained more than 260,000 followers in just less than two hours, but he is currently following only one account: @NSAGov , the official Twitter account for the National Security Agency. Twitter has verified Snowden's Twitter account ( @Snowden ), and his Twitter bio provides a short summary of his prolonged situation. Snowden's Twitter bio reads, "I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public. Director at @FreedomofPress." Snowden is listed as director of Freedom of the Press, a foundation dedicated to ensuring transparency in journalism in adverse situations. The former NSA contractor Edward Snowden sought asylum in
Meet the NSA's Best Friend in Spying On The Internet

Meet the NSA's Best Friend in Spying On The Internet

Aug 20, 2015
Fed up with the NSA-Snowden updates ? Wait a second...there's some more! Back in May 2013, when former NSA employee Edward Snowden leaked classified documents from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), we doubted the relationship between NSA and telecommunications giant AT&T. But, now their relationship has been revealed – NSA and AT&T are Best Friends . Yes, that's right, as recent revelations say that how desperately NSA relied on AT&T for its vast spying operations in the United States. NSA–AT&T's 30-Years-Old Friendship AT&T provided telecommunication interception facility to the United States' National Security Agency (NSA), and since 1985 they have been working hand in hand . AT&T cooperated in provided technical assistance in a manner that followed a secret court order which permitted the wiretapping of all Internet communications at the United Nations headquarters (also a customer of AT&T). Acc
NSA to Destroy Bulk Collection of Surveillance Data

NSA to Destroy Bulk Collection of Surveillance Data

Jul 28, 2015
The National Security Agency will restrict access to, and ultimately destroy, millions of US phone records previously collected by the spy agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) announced Monday. The federal law was passed in June ending the NSA's bulk collection of U.S. Citizen's Telephone records and destroying the data it collected under a controversial global spying program disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. So far, the ODNI didn't specify when the agency would destroy these metadata records , but noted that the metadata must be retained until the lawsuits around the metadata collection program are ongoing. NSA's Bulk Metadata Collection is illegal Section 215 of the Patriot Act legally authorizes the law enforcement agencies to collect "any tangible things" that the government proves are connected or linked to an investigation into any suspected terrorist. However, the verdict in May ruled that the mas
NSA Releases Open Source Network Security Tool for Linux

NSA Releases Open Source Network Security Tool for Linux

Jul 17, 2015
The United States National Security Agency (NSA) has released a network security tool for Government and the private sectors to help secure their networks against cyber attacks. Dubbed Systems Integrity Management Platform (SIMP) , the tool is now publicly available on the popular source code sharing website GitHub . According to an official release from NSA, SIMP makes it easier for government organizations and the private sector to "fortify their networks against cyber threats." SIMP aims at providing a reasonable combination of security compliance and operational flexibility , keeping networked systems compliant with security standards and requirements. It is considered to be a critical part of a layered, "defence-in-depth" approach to information security. " By releasing SIMP, the agency seeks to reduce duplication of effort and promote greater collaboration within the community: The wheel would not have to be reinvented for every organiza
France May Offer Asylum to Edward Snowden and Julian Assange

France May Offer Asylum to Edward Snowden and Julian Assange

Jun 26, 2015
In wake of the latest revelations about the National Security Agency (NSA) global spying on country's leaders, France may decide to offer political asylum to whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Julian Assange , as a " symbolic gesture ." Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden , who is facing criminal espionage charges in the U.S., has remained in Russia for almost two years after exposing the United States government's worldwide surveillance programs and he awaits responses from two dozen countries where he'd like to live. WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange has remained in the Ecuadorian embassy for three years in London to avoid extradition to Sweden, where Assange is facing sex crime allegations. French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told French news channel BFMTV on Thursday that if France decides to offer both of them asylum, she would "absolutely not be surprised." Recent WikiLeaks report claimed that the United States had been spying on
NSA Wants To Track Smartphone Users Based on How They Type and Swipe

NSA Wants To Track Smartphone Users Based on How They Type and Swipe

May 28, 2015
Just the way you swipe your smartphone screen is enough for your smartphone to identify you. Yes, it's a Fact, not Fiction! The United States National Security Agency (NSA) has a new technology that can identify you from the way your finger swipe strokes and text on a smartphone screen, according to officials with Lockheed Martin who helped design the technology. John Mears , a senior fellow for Lockheed IT and Security Solutions, told NextGov that Lockheed Martin has been working with the agency to create a " secure gesture authentication as a technique for using smartphones, " and " they are actually able to use it. " Mandrake – New Smartphone-Swipe Recognition Technology This new smartphone-swipe recognition technology, dubbed " Mandrake ," remotely analyses the curve, unique speed and acceleration of a person's finger strokes across their device's touchscreen. " Nobody else has the same strokes, " Mears ex
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