The Hacker News | #1 Trusted Source for Cybersecurity News — Index Page

Good news for all Android Lollipop-ers! Google appears to be secretly working on a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service, dubbed ' Google VPN '. The news is still not confirmed, but the folks at Pocketables discovered an interesting hidden app called " Google Connectivity Services " under " All Apps " in the app manager, while digging through settings and apps after installing the latest version, Android 5.1 Lollipop on a Nexus 6 phone. After clicking on the created shortcut, the app greeted with a pop-up message that reads,  " Google VPN:  To help protect you on open Wi-Fi networks, your data will be transmitted securely through a Google VPN." The pop-up also has the " learn more " and " got it " options. However, since Google VPN feature is currently not in a functional state, you get redirected to a support page from Google if you click on " learn more " option. But if you click on the " ...

After the latest Microsoft Patch Tuesday updates that came with important patches for Stuxnet and FREAK encryption-downgrade attack , now its time to update your Adobe Flash Player. Adobe has rolled-out an update for its popular Flash Player software that patches a set of 11 critical security vulnerabilities in its program, most of which potentially allow hackers to remotely execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems. AFFECTED SOFTWARE All versions prior to the latest version 17.0.0.134 of the Flash Player are affected on Windows and Mac OS X machines. Therefore, Adobe Flash Player installed with Google Chrome, as well as Internet Explorer 10 and 11 on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, should automatically update to the newest version 17.0.0.134. In addition, Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.442 for Linux and Flash Player Extended Support Release 13.0.0.269 for Windows and Mac OS X are also affected by the vulnerabilities. So, users of Flash Player on Linux should update...

Can Hackers turn a remote computer into a bomb and explode it to kill someone, just like they do in hacker movies? Wait, wait! Before answering that, Let me tell you an interesting story about Killer USB drive: A man walking in the subway stole a USB flash drive from the outer pocket of someone else's bag. The pendrive had "128" written on it. After coming home, he inserted the pendrive into his laptop and instead discovering any useful data, he burnt half of his laptop down. The man then took out the USB pendrive, replaced the text "128" with "129" and put it in the outer pocket of his bag… Amen! I'm sure, you would really not imagine yourself being the 130th victim of this Killer perdrive, neither I. This above story was told to a Russian researcher, nicknamed Dark Purple, who found the concept very interesting and developed his own computer-frying USB Killer pendrive. He is working with electronic manufacturing company from where...

I had the honor of hosting the first episode of the Xposure Podcast live from Xposure Summit 2025. And I couldn't have asked for a better kickoff panel: three cybersecurity leaders who don't just talk security, they live it. Let me introduce them. Alex Delay , CISO at IDB Bank, knows what it means to defend a highly regulated environment. Ben Mead , Director of Cybersecurity at Avidity Biosciences, brings a forward-thinking security perspective that reflects the innovation behind Avidity's targeted RNA therapeutics. Last but not least, Michael Francess , Director of Cybersecurity Advanced Threat at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, leads the charge in protecting the franchise. Each brought a unique vantage point to a common challenge: applying Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) to complex production environments. Gartner made waves in 2023 with a bold prediction: organizations that prioritize CTEM will be three times less likely to be breached by 2026. But here's the kicker -...

It has been known from year 2013 that commands we have been whispering to Siri are being stored on Apple servers for up to two years for analysis, but this news might be the most shocking development yet. Apple admits that its Siri — an intelligent personal assistant for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices — is collecting and also transmitting users voice data to 3rd party companies, which was disclosed in an unsurprising revelation two weeks back on Reddit. FallenMyst , a Reddit user claimed to had recently started a new job with a company called Walk N' Talk Technologies, where job profile requires her to listen voice data collected from Apple, Microsoft users and check for incorrect interpretations. " I get to listen to sound bites [sic] and rate how the text matches up with what is said in an audio clip and give feedback on what should be improved. " Fallenmyst wrote. " Guys, I'm telling you, if you've said it to your phone, it's been recorded…and ...

A critical vulnerability has been discovered in the most popular plugin of the WordPress content management platform (CMS) that puts tens of Millions of websites at risks of being hacked by the attackers. The vulnerability actually resides in most versions of a WordPress plugin known as ' WordPress SEO by Yoast ,' which has more than 14 Million downloads according to Yoast website, making it one of the most popular plugins of WordPress for easily optimizing websites for search engines i.e Search engine optimization (SEO). The vulnerability in WordPress SEO by Yoast has been discovered by Ryan Dewhurst , developer of the WordPress vulnerability scanner ' WPScan '. All the versions prior to 1.7.3.3 of 'WordPress SEO by Yoast' are vulnerable to Blind SQL Injection web application flaw, according to an advisory published today. SQL injection (SQLi) vulnerabilities are ranked as critical one because it could cause a database breach and lead to confidential information ...

Microsoft has come up with its most important Patch Tuesday for this year, addressing the recently disclosed critical the FREAK encryption-downgrade attack , and a separate five-year-old vulnerability leveraged by infamous Stuxnet malware to infect Windows operating system. Stuxnet malware , a sophisticated cyber-espionage malware allegedly developed by the US Intelligence and Israeli government together, was specially designed to sabotage the Iranian nuclear facilities a few years ago. First uncovered in 2010, Stuxnet targeted computers by exploiting vulnerabilities in Windows systems. Thankfully, Microsoft has issued a patch to protect its Windows machines that have been left vulnerable to Stuxnet and other similar attacks for the past five years. The fixes are included in MS15-020 which resolves Stuxnet issue. The company has also issued an update that patches the FREAK encryption vulnerability in its SSL/TSL implementation called Secure Channel (Schannel). The fix...

" Signup or Login with Facebook " ?? You might think twice before doing that next time. A security researcher has discovered a critical flaw that allows hackers take over Facebook accounts on websites that leverage ' Login with Facebook ' feature. The vulnerability doesn't grant hackers access to your actual Facebook password, but it does allow them to access your accounts using Facebook application developed by third-party websites such as Bit.ly , Mashable , Vimeo , About.me , Stumbleupon , Angel.co and possibly many more. FLAW EXPLOITS THREE CSRFs PROTECTION Egor Homakov , a researcher with pentesting company Sakurity, made the social network giant aware of the bug a year ago, but the company refused to fix the vulnerability because doing so would have ruined compatibility of Facebook with a vast number of websites over the Internet. The critical flaw abuses the lack of CSRF ( Cross-Site Request Forgery ) protection for three different proce...

Security researchers at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have worked for almost a decade to target security keys used to encrypt data stored on Apple devices in order to break the system. Citing the top-secret documents obtained from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, The Intercept blog reported that among an attempt to crack encryption keys implanted into Apple's mobile processor, the researchers working for CIA had created a dummy version of Xcode . CIA's WEAPON TO HACK APPLE DEVICES Xcode is an Apple's application development tool used by the company to create the vast majority of iOS apps. However using the compromised development software, CIA, NSA or other spies agencies were potentially allowed to inject surveillance backdoor into programs distributed on Apple's App Store. In addition, the custom version of Xcode could also be used to spy on users, steal passwords, account information, intercept communications, and disable core security features of...

Security researchers have find out ways to hijack the Intel-compatible PCs running Linux by exploiting the physical weaknesses in certain varieties of DDR DRAM (double data rate dynamic random-access memory) chips and gaining higher kernel privileges on the system. The technique, dubbed " rowhammer ", was outlined in a blog post published Monday by Google's Project Zero security initiative, a team of top security researchers dedicatedly identifies severe zero-day vulnerabilities in different software. Rowhammer is a problem with recent generation DRAM chips in which repeatedly accessing a row of memory can cause " bit flipping " in an adjacent row which could allow anyone to change the value of contents stored in computer memory. WHAT IS ROWHAMMER BUG DDR memory is arranged in an array of rows and columns, which are assigned to various services, applications and OS resources in large blocks. In order to prevent each application from access...

In this post-Snowden era of mass surveillance, being out-of-reach from the spying eyes really doesn't mean they can not get you. So, if you are concerned about your data privacy and are actually searching for a peer-to-peer encrypted messaging service, then it's time to get one. " Otr.to " — an open-source peer-to-peer browser-based messaging application that offers secure communication by making use of "Off-the-Record" (OTR) Messaging , a cryptographic protocol for encrypting instant messaging applications. OTR (Off-the-Record) is one of the most secure cryptographic protocol that offers strong encryption for real time communications i.e. Chatting and Messaging services. Off-the-Record simply means that there is nothing on the record, so nobody can prove that two parties had an Internet chat conversation or said anything specific. ORT.to uses WebRTC to exchange messages via decentralized peer-to-peer communication , which means chat logs bet...

Recently a mobile-security firm Bluebox claimed that the brand new Xiaomi Mi4 LTE comes pre-installed with spyware /adware and a " forked " vulnerable version of Android operating system on top of it, however, the company denies the claim. Xiaomi , which is also known as Apple of China, provides an affordable and in-budget smartphones with almost all features that an excellent smartphone provides. On 5th March, when Bluebox researchers claimed to have discovered some critical flaws in Mi4 LTE smartphone, Xiaomi issued a statement to The Hacker News claiming that " There are glaring inaccuracies in the Bluebox blog post " and that they are investigating the matter. RESEARCHERS GET TROLLED BY CHINESE SELLERS Now, Xiaomi responded to Bluebox Labs by preparing a lengthy denial to their claims and said the new Mi4 smartphone purchased by Bluebox team in China (known as the birthplace of fake smartphones) was not an original Xiaomi smartphone but a coun...

While WhatsApp is very reserved to its new calling feature, cyber scammers are targeting WhatsApp users across the world by circulating fake messages inviting users to activate the new ' WhatsApp calling feature for Android'  that infects their smartphones with malicious apps. If you receive an invitation message from any of your friend saying, "Hey, I'm inviting you to try WhatsApp Free Voice Calling feature, click here to activate now —> https://WhatsappCalling.com" ,  BEWARE! It is a Scam . The popular messaging app has begun rolling out its much-awaited Free Voice Calling feature — similar to other instant messaging apps like Skype and Viber — to Android users which allows users to make voice calls using Internet. However, for now, the free WhatsApp calling feature is invite-only and only appears to work for people running the latest version of WhatsApp app for Android on a Google Nexus 5 phone running the latest Android 5.0.1 Lollipop . H...